Short description
A fast-paced, earthy, dramatic, funny and occasionally disturbing account of Peter Ratcliffe's 25-year career in the SAS.
Review
Subtitled 'Twenty-Five Years in Action with the SAS', Peter Ratcliffe's remarkable book is probably the most revealing and authoritative account of the most famous of British regiments. Ratcliffe served in the SAS for a good part of his adult life, and saw many of the key conflicts of the modern age. He began his career at Oman in the 1970s, and undertook dangerous missions in strife-torn Northern Ireland, along with seeing combat in the Falklands War. In the Gulf, he served as RSM (some of the book's most powerful passages are in this section), and his turbulent career included many other hairy moments, all vividly rendered here. Readers of this kind of book expect unvarnished, first-hand accounts of bitter conflicts, and Ratcliffe doesn't disappoint; his reminiscences have been shaped by Noel Botham and Brian Hitchen into a truly compelling read. Many men wonder how they would fare in the punishing regime of the SAS, and Ratcliffe's often blistering text demonstrates the qualities required. If you feel you could deal with dodging bullets in Iraq or going undercover in other trouble spots, here's the low-down. Ratcliffe also sets about undercutting some of the long-cherished myths and untruths about the Regiment, and for anyone interested in the subject, this is required reading. (Kirkus UK)