Customer Reviews

The Longest Walk: The World of Bomb Disposal

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The never-before-told history of bomb disposal in the british military and police forces. Related in a highly professional manner. The author has peeled off the thin skin of smoke from a subject rarely revealed in book format while not revealing any tricks of the trade which would assist potential bomb makers. Worth a TEN star rating alone as a silent salute to all those bomb techs who died in the line of duty. Highly recommended reading. A challenge to other authors to help tell the full story of explosive ordnance disposal. Bravo Zulu Peter Birchall.

"The Longest Walk" is a well written history of the U.K.'s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community from its inception through the late 1990's. As implied by the cover, Peter Birchall provides insight into the heroic actions of Ammunition Technical Officers (ATOs) defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in N. Ireland - but "The Longest Walk" includes much more. Birchall describes the birth of EOD in the UK, provides insight into EOD selection and training, and devotes pages to several counter-IED campaigns including actions in Hong Kong, Cyprus, and the Falkland Islands. He even gives a nod to Draper Kauffman, the father of the U.S. EOD community. Birchall served as an ATO, so his writing is strengthened by an authenticity that only someone who has "Been there, done that..." can provide. This book will serve as a valuable addition to any historian's library, and is a must for all displosaleers.

Also recommended: A Special Kind of Courage: 321 EOD Squadron Battling the Bombers, Eight Lives Down: The Story of the World's Most Dangerous Job in the World's Most Dangerous Place, BOMB SQUAD: A YEAR INSIDE THE NATION'S MOST EXCLUSIVE POLICE UNITAmerica's First Frogman: The Draper Kauffman Story

An excellent first person treatise on the most delicate of subjects, Public Safety Bomb Disposal. While not revealing anything of an operational or technical nature, so as not to tip the hand to the bombers, the author leads us through a whirlwind tour of many places angels fear to tread. Chock full of details of the fight to keep the streets of Northern Ireland among other places, safe to travel, there are few slow points in the text. An excellent read, looking forward to volume two!