Customer Reviews

The SAS Mental Endurance Handbook

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Potential buyers will very probably think that this book outlines a methodical training program for increasing one's mental toughness and readiness for battle or other lethal confrontations. It does no such thing. There is instead, a hodgepodge of information from military manuals about general military tactics, interspersed with a bunch of commentaries about how tough the training is for various elite military units. A serious student of military science will have seen most of this info before. I gave it two stars because a reader without any background will probably find it somewhat interesting. I haven't read any of McNab's other books, so I can't make a comparison. But if you're looking for a guide to the actual toughening process used by the SAS or any other high-speed unit, you won't find it here.

...The title of the book has almost nothing to do with the contents, which skip around so many different military subjects I'm not sure what the point is. He touches on each subject just long enough to list a few common-sense tips, then on to the next. I especially like the ambush diagrams which show the different ambush elements and teams firing at each other ( no - it wasn't a "how not to do it" picture). Very disappointing...

I come from a background of enlisted and officer Marine Corps, working in psychiatric hospitals and counseling psychology. If you are looking for a book to strengthen your mental endurance, this ISN'T the book for you. While the book talks of improving one's mental agility, it instead talks of what some military special units do for training. General and vague, and certainly lacking do-it-yourself. Possibly the book "Art of Cross Examination" and "The Tactical Edge" are more helpful titles.

I've bought this book 'cause is one of the few talking about mental conditioning and training (this is also the reason for the second star on my rate!) involved in elite units. I've served the Italian Navy Spec. forces and i've passed a lot of "bad" days because i was very young and i didn't know anything about mental strenght...

NOTHING OF ALL THIS STUFF IS IN THIS BOOK! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY, YOUR TIME AND YOUR ENERGY with this mixture of informations catched around.

A lot of commonsense sentences, big tactical mistakes, wrong names (COMBUSIN instead of COM.SUB.IN. !!)), useless relaxing techniques which make you like the fool of the village.

Search, study, experiment, try on your skin and then tell : "I'm ready to read a book to sharp my edge", and start the loop again, for all your life.

Simply another useless book.

Though this book can't really teach mental toughness, it does reveal much of interest such as: only about 15 per cent of US combat soldiers in WWII actually fired their weapons during encounters with the enemy; the best combat soldiers tend to come from stable family backgrounds; good combat soldiers generally have a higher IQ than those who buckle under fire. There is also some interesting stuff on counter-terrorist psychology and riot control. There is no other book like this on the market (I think), and it does give a detailed introduction into how the mind plays its part in winning wars. A good starting place before moving on to more academic studies.

If you just want to know what some special forces units go through, then this book may be worth a look.

Maybe I'm just dumb, but what I read in the description led me to expect a much different book. I am probably naive, but I would a book titles "The SAS Mental Endurance Handbook" to be written by someone with SAS experience and to be laid out as a ...handbook. This just is not.

I am always fascinated to read how different groups approach the problems of mental endurance and performance under stress. I wish I could say this was a valuable addition to my library, but it's merely an OK read for people looking for general info and no actual training methods.

Another great SAS book! An absolute must for any emergency situation---the ability to remain calm & focused. If unfortunately "captured", know how to 'exercise' one's mind--and how to be evasive with the 'enemy'! Mental endurance is a trait all of us could benefit from! Mark Ritz (ritzaceking)

It was interesting but no real useful information would be great for someone with little to no military knowledge. it isn't a guide or a how to gain mental endurance. it would be nice if all of the little quizes and old intel. tests had answers someplace!

This book has splashes of excellence in patches but that doesn't carry over throughout the whole book. It is a good collection on various topics but it covers to much to material for a good book. The good parts of the book is the mental conditioning. It does a good job discussing material from a wide range of sources on the mental part of combat. It is written in a how to sort of way. To me the mental part of war has always been very interesting. It is the key in how few numbers can trump all other parts of war. This book does explain that in a little way. However they don't talk that much on it. It is sort of a tease. This psychological aspect of the material could be applied to other fields with some imagination.

Then the author gets lost in discussion of basic tactics. This part of the book is written like a real manual. It puts out the basics and that is it. It also is written in such a basic way some people will easily get bored.

The book does have a very interesting chapter on torture and interrogation. This chapter does offer some details about what is going on which is hinted at in the media but not addressed.

The book isn't worthless but not not worthy of a high priority on your schedule either.

Tom

A good general introduction to the psychological training of soldiers for combat. Some interesting stuff on leadership and combat intelligence, and a solid profile of how realistic training prepares the mind for actual combat. Also a revealing chapter on counter-insurgency warfare which also looks into the personality of the typical terrorist as well as the character required for combatting insurgents. Recommended.