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Title: Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab ISBN: 0-440-21880-2 Publisher: Island Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1994 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.48 (138 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Amazing - BUT NOT ALL TRUE
Comment: I bought this book when it first came out, and I loved it. I read "The One That Got Away" by Chris Ryan, who escaped this mission, and then "Storm Command" by Sir Peter de la Billiere, who commanded the UK forces in Desert Storm and who formerly commanded the SAS.
At the time, "Bravo Two Zero" seemed to confirm my view of the SAS as the world's premier elite unit, up there with the US's Delta Force and Israel's Sayeret Matkal. The tale that Andy McNab tells shows how training, guts and determination could overcome botches like being dropped too close to a hive of Iraqi soldiers with faulty intelligence and poor radio gear. The story of how the unit adapted to adversity was inspirational.
There's only one problem. Much of it is not true and I feel kicked in the teeth by the betrayal. Pick up a copy of "The Real Bravo Two Zero" by Michael Asher, published by Cassell & Co, ISBN 0-304-36436-3 in May 2002. The author is a former SAS trooper who has spent many years travelling in Arab lands. He read Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away and felt there was something wrong with them, apart from the fact that they flatly contradicted each other in many places. So he went into Iraq with a film crew and did some detective work.
Amazingly he found the original drop zone and all of the other significant sites in the book. He met the Iraqis who were on the other side and finds artifacts of the mission. The Iraqis (who were ordinary farmers and who, as we see, have no reason to lie) confirm the basic details of what the book says, but they (together with Asher's GPS) show up that many of the really heroic parts were exaggerated or plain made up by McNab!
For example, McNab exaggerated the distances they covered (journeys he says were 70km were actually 2km) and made up whole incidents (most of the combat scenes, the brutality of the Iraqis apart from the interrogators). Far from causing hundreds of Iraqi casualties, the whole patrol appear to have caused none. And, most importantly, Asher clears the soldier who McNab and Ryan blame for much of what went wrong.
Ryan's book, Asher concludes, was much more accurate except for three incidents: what Ryan said the wrongly-blamed soldier did; and the two combat incidents he lists. Ryan's story was epic and amazing, and it is a shame he had to make up some parts unnecessarily to make himself seem more glorious and brave than he was. His treatment of the poor soldier seems to be ex post facto justification of Ryan's own failure. McNab's story, too, would have been great if he kept to the real details, but he appears to have embellished it to sell copies of his book, sure in the knowledge that no-one could ever show him up. Well, Asher has.
Rating: 5
Summary: Amazing story of survival
Comment: The first time I heard about this story was from a History Channel special. Needless to say, I was intrigued. A few months later I saw the movie. I didn't want to do myself an injustice and not read the book that the TV special and movie were based upon.
Sergeant Andy McNab, was the commander of an 8-man British SAS (Special Air Service) squad charged with doing reconnaissance of a main supply road and to destroy SCUDs deep behind enemy lines in Iraq during the Gulf War. The SAS is one Britain's elite military groups similar to the US Navy SEALs or Army Delta Force. The mission quickly went sour and the entire squad was compromised.
This book details the escape and evasion of the 8-man squad (from McNab's point of view, obviously) and the eventual capture of half of the squad. One man managed to trek over 100 miles to the safety of the Syrian border. Three men did not escape with their lives. The four men that were captured were brutally tortured and beaten. It's amazing that these four weren't killed while held captive.
At times throughout the book I found myself wincing from the things that were done to McNab (and his squad members) while a prisoner of war (POW). I've never thought that being a POW would ever be a walk in the park, but I was a little shocked and appalled at some of the things that McNab had to endure. I also laughed at some of the things McNab had to say with his cheeky, British humor. Some of the vocabulary and phrases may be a little difficult to decipher, but there's a glossary in the back of the book and a lot of things can be made clear from the context.
There isn't a whole lot of action in the traditional sense of military books (shooting and things blowing up everywhere), but this book is definitely not boring. Read this book, if for no other reason than to get a glimpse of how Allied POWs were treated during the Gulf War. This book is the dog's bollocks; I highly recommend it. :)
Rating: 5
Summary: The real Bravo Two Zero is 'Bravo Two Zero'
Comment: Who do you believe? The author who actually was there and experienced all what occured, or a man who knows nothing about it, but got his information second hand? I know who I believe. Do you really think that this mission would go down in 'regimental history' and part of 'SAS legend' if it was all embelished. I think not. Let's not forget that all of McNab's books are screened by the Ministry Of Defence due to the content of his books. Do you think that they would allow him to include information in a true story that was untrue?
The book is a gripping and breathtaking 'true' story of super human strength and endurance! Read it! I would also recommend reading Immediate Action for a greater insight into the Author. After doing so you might realise that he doesn't seem like a man who would stretch the truth.
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Title: Immediate Action by Andy McNab ISBN: 0440222451 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 02 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Remote Control by Andy McNab ISBN: 0345428064 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 06 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title:Bravo Two Zero ASIN: B00005R87B Publisher: Dimension Home Video Pub. Date: 18 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.99 |
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Title: The One That Got Away by Chris Ryan ISBN: 1574881566 Publisher: Brasseys, Inc. Pub. Date: 01 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Crisis Four by Andy McNab ISBN: 0345428080 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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