Seven Troop

I found this book a great read. I enjoy McNab's books as he is very matter-of-fact and describes events well. This book is insightful and describes the bonds that those who work so closely together and under extreme stress develop. I subsequently went on to read the books written by some of his other soldier friends - they too were excellent reads, though very sad due to the fact that some took their own lives. A review I have read here describes this book quite negatively and I do not share that person's deductions. This book is about real people who had/have real struggles and McNab shares realistically and intelligently about his and his friends' experiences as special forces soldiers and their lives post army.

I have read hundreds of books by SF people. Some fiction, some non-fiction. This one captures the look back of a mature adult reflecting on past events. McNab doesn't have a "pity party" as another reviewer states. The whole point of the book is to bring PTSD and related afflictions into the light. McNab is one author I would like to share a beer with.

Immediate Action was McNab's story of his life and introduction into the SAS and this book does cover much of the same ground, although with additional focus on McNabs colleagues. In this, we start with his introduction into Seven Troop and the assorted characters and as we move through Andy McNab's SAS career, we see what then happens to some of these characters. Now it has been a long time since I read Immediate Action and I have probably read close to a 1000 books since, so I didn't mind the re-hash which includes a brief description of the famous Bravo Two Zero event. But as we move through his career we start to get to know the other guys as well and by the time the author ends his story, there are not many of them left, with assorted KIA and a couple of rather sad suicides. But you do feel the bond and it is surprising how many of these elite soldiers can't cope with real life, the cause might be PTSD or just their inability to cope when not out there doing their stuff. But I found it interesting to see the way the band of brothers style switched into a reality where most of them fall by the wayside. Not comfortable reading but still compelling stuff.