SAS: Phantoms of War: A History of the Australian Special Air Service [Paperback]

David Horner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

This definitive history recounts the secretive operations and strategies of one of the world's most elite fighting forces. The Special Air Service (SAS) operated deep behind enemy lines, conducting surveillance at close range, poised to spring into action at a moment's notice. This Australian military classic tells the story of the formation of the military known to the Viet Cong as “phantoms of the jungle,” its secret role in Borneo during confrontation with Indonesia, and its operations in Vietnam. After its involvement in Vietnam, the SAS formed a crack counter-terrorist force that saw action in Somalia, Kuwait, and East Timor and in the security of the 2000 Olympic Games.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Horner is a professor of Australian defense history in the Strategic and Defense Studies Centre. He is the author of numerous books on military command, operations, and strategy including Inside the War Cabinet and The Gunners, and editor of Battles That Shaped Australia and The Army and the Future.

Product Details

• Paperback: 616 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin; Updated edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1865086479
• ISBN-13: 978-1865086477
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about the SASR, January 30, 2008

By 

J. W. Mullins (West, by God, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SAS: Phantoms of War: A History of the Australian Special Air Service (Paperback)

The boook I have is called SAS Phantoms of the Jungle, which I purchased in New Zealand. Phantoms of the Jungle refers to the 1989 published version of this book. Phantoms of War is an updated book that includes the 1990s until almost present day.

The Australian involvement in Vietnam is a little known fact to many Americans now a days. Which is unfortunate because they played a vital and heroic role in that war. The SAS played a vital part in that war and like American special forces it was one of the events that would define the unit and what it would become. Phantoms of the Jungle is a history of the Australian SASR from their founding in 25th July 1957 until the mid 80. Its a book full of facts, and reads as a history, not a best selling war novel. With that in mind it is a great look into a unit that until the war in Afghanistan was little known to the majority of Americans.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A proud history, March 7, 2010

By 

Nicholas R.W. Henning (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SAS: Phantoms of War: A History of the Australian Special Air Service (Paperback)

I found this book very pleasing, as it provides an excellent history of Australia's highly elite Special Air Service. This book is comprehensive with detail, which includes information regarding the formation of the SAS, and activities that I was not aware of until reading this book. Learning about engagements in Borneo in the early 1960's and the depth of services of the SAS, which includes counter-terrorism made for good reading. It came as a suprise that more SAS personnel have lost their lives in training activities than from enemy fire. It is therefore important to appreciate the highly specialised training that they undertake to protect Australia. The Vietnam aspect of the book interested me most, and it is not often that an enemy in war offers such a complimentary nickname, such as the Vietnamese referring to the SAS as "phantoms of the jungle." This book inspired me to have a character in one of my own novels to have an SAS background.

Nicholas R.W. Henning - Australian Author