Customer Reviews

Bravo Two-Zero

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This book is the true story of operation gone horribly wrong during the Gulf War. An eight-man team of the elite British Special Air Service were dropped by helicopter into the desert of western Iraq, each carrying well over 200 lbs. of equipment. Their mission was to watch a road for military traffic and hunt for mobile Iraqi SCUD missile launchers. They were soon discovered by a local shepherd boy. The local Iraqi militia were called out, and the poop hit the fan.

Their radios didn't work, and so they had no way to call for an extraction. They decided to trek 100 miles west to the Syrian border. But one man had injured his leg during the evasion of the Iraqi forces. Another had been wearing his thermal underwear since the compromise, and so had sweating profusely the entire time and was now dangerously dehydrated. How any managed to survive is a true testament to the power of the human will, and to the rigorous standards to which the SAS trains its men.

The overall book is excellent. McNab has put together one of the most readable military stories I've ever come across. It's a cliche, but this book is a real page-turner. There's military jargon galore, but he usually explains it for the layman reader. A glossary at the back helps with that, and with some of the British army slang, but the regular British stuff you have to figure out by context.

It's the little things McNab adds that make this book so readable and "enjoyable," (if you can use that word about a book in which a man describes himself and his friends being tortured, and some dying gruesome deaths.) To a military professional, the tactics and gear of the SAS are an interesting part of the book. [To my grunt bubbas, make sure to check out the pictures of the packs and gear they carried.] But even the average person can find things to identify with in the book: The joking between the members of the patrol, even after they've been discovered; The story about the old Iraqi farmer who they run into while escaping. There are others, but I won't spoil the entire book for you.

This is one of the most no-holds-barred looks at warfare I've ever read. The only book I can compare it to, for realism and readability purposes, is "Nam" by Mark Baker. If you enjoy military books, or true stories of adventure and survival against all odds, you'll like this book.

BTW, if you already read this book, McNab's account of his life before the Gulf War, "Immediate Action," would be well worth your time also. I've also heard the BBC (or some British TV station) did an excellent movie version of this story, starring Sean Bean ("Sharpe" movies, "GoldenEye,") as McNab. I haven't seen it, but that'd probably be worth checking out, too.

What an amazing story. Bravo Two Zero tells the tale of a squad of British SAS soldiers on a mission in Iraq during the Gulf War to take out mobile Scud launchers. When I started reading the book, I expected to read about the detailed accounts of how the launchers were wiped out and how Sgt. Andy McNab's team contributed to this effort. I was shocked as a chain of unfortunate events ruined the mission and put McNab's team in great peril. Several of them died and some were captured by Iraqi troops.

Bravo Two Zero is not for the faint of heart. The detailed account of McNab's torture and brutal beatings at the hand of the Iraqis is tough reading. I'm in awe of the fortitude and subtle defiance that he and his men exhibited in the face of such terrible cruelty.

But don't mistake this book for a "prison journal." It's anything but. McNab goes into great detail about how the Scud hunting missions and special forces missions in general are planned and executed. You begin to realize that even the best-laid plans can be subject to failure if minute details are overlooked. As McNab points out however, in a speech he recalls from his regimental commander, the true mettle of a soldier is measured not only by his successes, but by how he performs when all hell has broken loose and the mission seems to be a total failure.

Bravo Two Zero is not only an amazing real-life adventure story, but also a testament to the endurance, determination and courage of the British SAS troops who took part in the Gulf War, playing a crucial role in the defeat of Sadaam Hussein.

Andy McNab has become a bestselling fiction author in the UK. But his first book, Bravo Two Zero, was supposed to be the nonfiction true story of the ill fated mission behind Iraqi lines that he commanded during the Gulf War. But the truth is that McNab was writing fiction from the very beginning! It has been proven that McNab exaggerated and blatantly lied about what happened during the mission. Those looking for a true account of a Special Forces mission should look elsewhere. All McNab does is tell fairytales to turn himself into a pop culture war hero. So many credible sources (including other surviving members of the BTZ patrol) have given reliable testimony that McNab's version of events was false that I find it hard to believe that he has not become a laughing stock to the general public (supposedly he is now regarded with "contempt and ridicule" within the SAS itself).

Basically, McNab took a real event that he was involved in and turned it into a pop culture Rambo fantasy of what an SAS mission is like. His lies and misrepresentations are so numerous that its embarassing. The squad's mission was NOT to hunt down and attack mobile SCUD launchers and destroy an all-important fibre optic communications line. Their mission was to man an observation post and report any significant activity on an Iraqi Main Supply Route. As for the SCUDs, they were to report any sightings of the mobile launchers so that those targets could be marked for airstrikes (not to attack the launchers themselves). This stuff may not sound as action-esque and sexy as the mission McNab describes, but it makes a lot more sense, and it is the way a small spec ops patrol alone behind enemy lines would really operate.

The patrol did NOT charge into an entire platoon of Iraqis, driving off or killing all of them and blowing up their Armored Personnel Carriers. When they were discovered by enemy forces, they actually did the smart thing and immediately broke contact and ran away into the desert, going into "escape and evasion" mode. Although they did return some fire to cover their retreat, they certainly did not kill any significant number of enemy troops let alone blow up any APCs.

Later, after the remaining members of McNab's group hijacked a taxicab in order to drive across the border to Syria, they did not assault a vehicle checkpoint and lay massive damage on the enemy troops garrisoned there. Again, they actually did the smart thing by getting out of the car before reaching the checkpoint and attempting to bypass the checkpoint covertly on foot. At this point their sole objective was to reach Syria and escape to safety. They were certainly not about to start any unnecessary fights to get themselves killed. McNab claims in his book that according to intel reports, the squad inflicted 250 casualties on the enemy throughout their ordeal. This is complete nonsense, as according to the official statements given to the SAS command during debriefing, there were no more than several confirmed kills mentioned. McNab has never bothered to produce the alleged "intelligence report" to confirm the statements in his book. Fellow surviving members of the mission have even testified in court that McNab lied about some of the more extreme instances of torture he described in his book. According to one of the men who was with him in captivity, instances in mcNab's book where he describes getting his tooth pulled out with pliers and having a burning hot spoon placed on his tongue never happened.

If you are looking for a more credible firsthand account of what happened during the mission, pick up "Soldier Five" by Mike Coburn. Coburn was with McNab during the mission and he gives an honest and rational view on what happened. His version does not support McNab's. He does not sensationalize the mission, nor does he glorify himself or his teammates. He surely doesn't even imply that the patrol had any significant number of confirmed kills, let alone 250. He himself never mentions personally witnessing or inflicting any confirmed kills at all. I'm sure that the team must have inflicted some degree of casualties but there is no way to be certain of the amount, and the fact remains that the actual number of confirmed kills were few. When compared with the reliable facts surrounding the mission, Coburn's account holds up but McNab's falls apart.

What the Bravo Two Zero business shows is that although Special forces soldiers have a very admirable and elite profession, they are not superhuman Rambos capable of taking out armies by themselves. They are only human. And just like in any group of humans, you will find dirtbags and opportunists among them. Andy McNab is one such opportunist. With his shamelessness, he has deceived the public and distorted the true nature of Special operations and modern warfare. He wanted fame and fortune. In order to get it he gave the public just the type of fantastic hero story they wanted to believe, rather than giving them a true insight into his real experiences that they could learn from. He and those like him are a disgrace to their proud profession. Don't buy his books, and don't let yourself be misled.

I was recommended this true-life adventure by a correspondent in the American Special Forces. It is the account of an eight-man team of the British SAS during Desert Storm: their "suicide" mission and subsequent capture and torture by Iraqi forces. The episodes of their sadistic "beasting" at the hands of their captors are difficult enough just to *read* about! Yet such was the specialized training of these commandos, that they not only endured without breaking, but actually sustained themselves throughout their ordeal with grim humor. "At least they can't make us pregnant," they joke amongst themselves. Despite the graphic violence I very much enjoyed the writing style and dialogue of this narrative; it's very earthy and English. And also very sobering. The Gulf War was so "sanitized" by CNN that it was easy to overlook how dangerous it was, especially for the elite warriors who went in behind enemy lines. For action and drama, this memoir reads like an exciting novel.

Bravo Two Zero tells the secret story of what went on during the Gulf War - never mind the all-American hero bit. Sorry, guys, I know you were there doing your high-tech thing, and I acknowledge that you played a VERY major part in the rapid sucess of the skirmish, but a lot of what went on - intelligence reporting and deep penetration hits - was undertaken by a few very brave men of the British SAS.

On the night of 22nd January 1991, at a remote airfield in Saudi Arabia, under cover of darkness and in conditions of the utmost secrecy, eight members of the SAS regiment boarded a helicopter that was to infiltrate them deep behind enemy lines. Their call-sign was "Bravo Two-Zero", and their mission, under the command of Sergeant Andy McNab, was to sever the underground communication link between Baghdad and north-west Iraq, and to seek and destroy mobile Scud launchers before Israel was provoked into entering the war. Unfortunately they were discovered and had to try to fight their way out - eight men versus large chunks of the Iraq army. The gun fights in which, despite being massively outnumbered, they still wreaked havoc - the distances they had to walk causing their feet almost to fall of - the hypothermia - the hunger and thirst they suffered - can only be summarized by the word IMPRESSIVE. And then, worst of all, the extensive torturing some had to go through when they were caught. At the same time, they remained humane, not killing one single Iraqi civilian, even when that might have significantly improved their chances of survival

A few people have read the book and think it's a bit far-fetched (some even think it's a work of fiction), but they don't realise that during the Gulf War, patrols like that did go out and if you were found by the enemy, you were tortured until you gave the answers they wanted. The fact that, against the odds, some of McNab's patrol survived, and mostly with morale intact, shows what the human spirit is capable of and how much punishment the body can take without the mind giving up.

A lot of authors can talk the talk but only McNab can walk the walk. Having read the book, I have nothing but respect for a man who has gone through hell and come out the side to tell the tale. And a nice ending to the tale is that Andy McNab is now making a living as a successful writer. Check out his other books too. (Immediate Action, The One that got Away, and Remote Control)

Some people have criticized this book as fiction, and claim that McNabb made this story up or exaggerated or what ever. I guess you'll have to be the judge.

This is the story of a 8 man squad dropped behind enemy lines in the first Gulf War that were part of the great SCUD hunt. Things did not go well for these guys. Of the eight, 3 were killed, 4 captured and 1 made it to freedom.

This is a pretty intense story, and from what we now know of Saddam's Murder Inc. inside Iraq and the continued blood thirsty killers still on the loose, there is a loud dollop of truth coming out of this book.

To say I enjoyed the story is misleading. These soldiers went through the ringer. I don't get the Rambo comparison here. What I read was a credible account of highly trained troops doing what they were trained to do in a very hostile environment.

Read this book because it is important.

It is also well written.

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. :)

Former SAS trooper Michael Asher ( who speaks Arabic ) retraced the Gulf War mission described in this book and found that plausible eyewitness accounts differed greatly from the events written in this book . He also tried to carry the heavy baggage the same distance as described in the book and found it impossible , but his most suprising revelation was that no enemy was killed in mortal combat at the hands of this SAS team , which makes the author's ludicrous figure of 250 enemy dead laughable . It's also come to light that there are glaring discrepancies between the information given by the author at his SAS debriefing ceremony , and the events that take place in this book .

If this book had been published as a work of fiction I would have given it more stars as it is a rolicking story that Hollywood would have been proud of , but to publish it as fact is irresponsible to say the least , given that certain reputations have been damaged by this book .

Even though the Bravo Two Zero mission was a failure, it brought to the world what goes on 'behind the scenes'. As another reviewer said, war in the media is nothing more than glorious explosions and hi-tech missile 'cams'. Only with the likes of Andy McNab writing a book about the doomed mission do we grasp the horror and reality of combat, and the appendages that go with war - misinformation, confusion, lack of equipment, and geological errors (the surprising fact that the Iraq desert at night is freezing).

The most damning thing was luck - i.e., the lack of. Most operations gather that some things will inevitably go wrong, but with this mission nothing went right, from no communication on the radios, to the fearsome weather and the splitting of the patrol into two groups.

McNab's adventure resembles something that was last seen during the Second World War - secrecy, hand-to-hand combat, and the reality and horror of captivity in an alien world.

It is sad and regrettable that three of the men die, especially as two of them perished by hypothermia (which could have been easily prevented if intelligence knew the reality of the harshnest of the Iraqi wastelands at night).

Despite the pain and brutality that the SAS patrol go through, this is a ripping story of adventure. Even if you are not interested in the mysterious mechanisms of Special Forces and their operations, you will still find the book exciting, as it journeys to the very edge of what human beings can endure.

I also suggest reading Chris Ryan's "The One That Got Away". He was the only member of the patrol to escape and his incredible journey of 200 miles on foot to the Syrian border is a story on its own (he drank poisoned water, had very little food, lost all his toe nails, and was nearly lynched at the very end of his epic journey).

There are accusations that some parts of the book are ficticious, especially in regards to the combat situations. However, I bought this book - and Ryan's book, because of the endurance that they both went through (McNab's torture and Ryan's horrific walk). Both NcNab's torture and Ryan's escape are true - and its these two brutal senarios that make the book a thrilling, and chilling, read.

I'm not sure that a five star recommendation is really suitable for this book and I find it hard to 'recommend' it to anyone. Stories of military forces in action have never really appealed to me but I came across this book and decided to read it, especially as it had been a bestseller. And I'm still not sure why it has been so popular. Anyway, a hundred pages in, when the SAS team are on the helicopter flight into unknown regions behind Iraqi enemy lines, and you're hooked. I could not put it down, even when I really wanted to. The first half of the book begins with a brief account of McNab's early life and his entry into the elite SAS squadron. This quickly moves into the team of eight's preparations for their mission into Iraq and then onto the beginning of the mission itself. Suffice it to say that things quickly go wrong, by which point I expect most readers' eyes were popping out of their heads, especially when reading about the firefight between the SAS team and the Iraqi soldiers.

From here on the book is almost unrelievedly TENSE. I felt sick reading it, especially as McNab makes sure that the book is written in such a way that you can't help but identify and empathise with the team, McNab especially. You REALLY don't want them to get caught, even though you read each page knowing that this is exactly what happens. To get caught when he does, and after such huge feats of endurance, stamina and bravery was just too cruel. Halfway through the inevitable occurs though, and this is where my 'problem' with the book begins. The last 150 pages consist pretty much of McNab getting dragged in and out of various interrogation rooms and getting tortured, mentally as well as physically, in the most harrowing, sickening manner imaginable. And it goes on and on, day after day, sometimes with only a few hours between 'beastings'. He's sat in a chair and beaten to a pulp; kicked; beaten with a wooden pole; burnt with a red-hot spoon pressed into running sores; has cigarettes stubbed out on his neck by laughing Iraqi soldiers; beaten again; kicked again with steel-capped boots in the head, face; his eardrums burst; teeth are smashed; he's forced to clear an Iraqi toilet out with his hands and then ordered to lick the excrement from his fingers. The litany of brutality seems never ending. I don't think I'm especially faint-hearted but I found reading McNab's account tough.

There is no 'pleasure' to be gained from the book. But still I could not put it down. The atmosphere and reality of intimidation, pain, utter brutality, fear, degradation, humiliation, physical injury, inhumane treatment and sheer cruelty is so vividly evoked that after I'd finished the book it left me feeling like I had a ball of metal in my stomach. I was glad to close the book, but part of me didn't want it to finish. An EXTRA-ordinary book relating an experience that no ordinary person is likely to ever encounter in their entire lives. I found it truly, genuinely shocking. By the time the torture starts you can't help but LIKE McNab, which makes what happens to him even harder to read about. Sometimes you find it hard to believe that such things actually happened because what DOES happen is beyond the experience of most people. It's hard to get your head around it. How could anyone suffer such prolonged attacks and beatings and survive? I've heard that there has been a conflicting account of this ill-fated mission from another Bravo Two Zero team member: Chris Ryan, but only McNab knows what went on in those interrogation rooms and so must be given the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps part of me just doesn't want to admit that people are capable of actions of such sustained cruelty and barbarity.

In summary, this is an account of tremendous human courage and survival, but the two things that will stay with me the most are the tenacity of McNab's mental strength to mentally survive the experience and the bewildering horror of the torture he is subjected to. Don't read this lightly or take it with you on holiday to read on the beach. It deserves more respect. This book is harrowing but I thank McNab for sharing his experiences and demonstrating that the even though the body can be punished, the human spirit can remain indomitable. He certainly gets my admiration and respect, along with the other team members who made it back to Britain alive.