Last Night Another Soldier...: Quick Read (Quick Reads) [Paperback]

Andy McNab (Author)

Book Description

Series: Quick Reads | Publication Date: April 27, 2010

A new Quick Read title from the author of Bravo Two Zero.

Afghanistan, 2009. A Rifle section is halfway through their six-month tour of duty in Helmand Province. Sixteen men from their Battalion have already been killed. Forty-seven others have been wounded and flown back home.

The last three months have been tough and it shows. Their kit is in a bad way. They are in a bad way. Young men with tans, scruffy beards, peeling noses and lips burnt raw by the Afghan sun. Despite the hardships they are enjoying their time out here learning how to fight the Taliban. The lads are on their way to becoming the best soldiers in the Army.

Last Night Another Soldier... is the story of four of the young men in this Rifle section, partly told from the point of view of eighteen-year-old squaddie, David 'Briggsy' Briggs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ANDY McNABB joined the infantry as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was 'badged' as a member of 22 SAS Regiment and was involved in both covert and overt special operations worldwide. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He wrote about his experiences in three books: the phenomenal bestseller Bravo Two Zero, Immediate Action and Seven Troop. He is also the author of the bestselling Nick Stone thrillers, several novels for children and a previous Quick Read novel, The Grey Man. Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Corgi (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552161683
• ISBN-13: 978-0552161688
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,213,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, July 18, 2010

By 

Bertus B - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Last Night Another Soldier (Quick Reads) (Kindle Edition)

A very good read. No Hollywood heroes, just soldiers doing what they do best, looking out for one another and trying to survive.If you are an Andy McNab fan this book will not disappoint.

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, May 19, 2011

By 

Northern Bootneck "Book Review" (North East) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Night Another Soldier...: Quick Read (Quick Reads) (Paperback)

I found this book okay as a story, some times over descriptive. But being fair it was a decent read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Well Written, Lets the Reader Experience Life in Afghanistan. Best of the Modern Wartime Quick Reads, April 23, 2011

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Last Night Another Soldier...: Quick Read (Quick Reads) (Paperback)

This is easily the best of the modern wartime selection from the Quick Reads short stories series. While Reilly's Hell Island, and Lewis' Desert Claw make might make a watchable cartoon if turned into one, or a B grade Hollywood type action movie, neither seem very realistic. McNab's Last Night Another Soldier, is the complete opposite. Through eighteen year old David Briggs' eyes, the experience for the reader is like you are right there. Both on the front lines in the poppy fields in violent conflict against the Taliban, as well as back at camp, where we get to know what makes a soldier want to be there, why they joined up, and why they will do anything to get back on patrol even when injured so they don't let down their mates. This is so well written that you really feel for David Briggs when he loses mates in action, gets injured or just has to put up with his mother's carrying on when he's on the phone home to her. The book if nothing else certainly gives you a much healthier respect for those who are serving over there and in other wars on the front line.

McNab himself was in the SAS between 1984 and 1993 so that's probably why his stories seem so realistic. If you haven't read any of Andy McNab's full length novels, this is an ideal taster for his work, being it's only 108 pages long. McNab does have another book in the Quick Reads series but it's not really representative of his usual style or even high quality writing to be honest. That one's called The Grey Man if you're interested, and is about a loser type guy who works in a bank and decides to rob a few safety deposit boxes.

If you're unfamiliar with the Quick Reads initiative, they are books published to increase literacy levels by encouraging those who don't like to read beyond magazines and comic books, to try fiction through cheap priced (current Quick Reads all sell of the rack for under two pounds in the UK) short story length fiction and non fiction.