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Immediate Action

Immediate Action

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Liar Liar, Pants on Fire
Review: After reading Michael Asher's book on 'The Real Bravo Two Zero', I seriously begin to doubt much of McNab's wild claims. This book hasn't got him too ambitious, and he admits to many shortcomings and failures.

He's a great soldier-- but why did he have to fabricate kill records in 'Bravo Two Zero' and then tell us that being a soldier isn't about how many you kill here?

I also seriously doubt that a guy who feeds Africans jam-coated cubes of hexamine and calls Arabs 'Rag Heads' has respect for ancient cultures.

He carries himself like a teenager, even late in the game. McNab needs to grow up. It's no wonder that among his peers in the 22 SAS he is riddiculed and laughed at.

At least he has his millions from the books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great read for the Bravo Two Zero enthusiast.
Review: Andy McNab is an extraordinary guy. He failed high school, almost got in trouble with the law, joined the army, became a member of the world's most elite special forces and ended up becoming a best selling author. This is his life story.

The book fills in everything Bravo Two Zero left out about this guy. What motivated him to join the army? Why did he want to join the SAS? What does life in the SAS involve? The book answers all these questions and more.

The best selling author of Bravo Two Zero has led an interesting life, its good for all us people who wouldn't know what to do in any kind of situation where we got guys shooting at us to dream of being a hero, this guy has done it.

This is a great book, 5 Stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A God Amongst Men
Review: Andy McNab lives the life many dream of but do not have the cahones to do so. This book gives one an insight into the life and mentality of an SAS agent. I found myself picturing myself as McNab in many different parts like when he did selection and was in Brize Norton etc.

My only reason for writing this review is to share the profound influence this book and BTZ has had on my life. Before reading these books i would have never envisioned myself doing anything in the military because my interests lie elsewhere. Now, I would join in a heart beat if i hadn't already committed myself to law. Next Summer basic training for sure.

"Proper Planning and Preparation prevents piss poor performance"

Nothing rings truer.

McNab, I know you will probably never see this, but thank you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A God Amongst Men
Review: Andy McNab lives the life many dream of but do not have the cahones to do so. This book gives one an insight into the life and mentality of an SAS agent. I found myself picturing myself as McNab in many different parts like when he did selection and was in Brize Norton etc.

My only reason for writing this review is to share the profound influence this book and BTZ has had on my life. Before reading these books i would have never envisioned myself doing anything in the military because my interests lie elsewhere. Now, I would join in a heart beat if i hadn't already committed myself to law. Next Summer basic training for sure.

"Proper Planning and Preparation prevents piss poor performance"

Nothing rings truer.

McNab, I know you will probably never see this, but thank you.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Solid Book About Every Day SAS life
Review: As a preface, let me begin by saying I read Bravo Two Zero (by the same author) before I read this. Having read this second, this was a bit of a letdown. I was expecting a similar sort of amazing story to emerge from this book when I picked it up. While this book, on its own, was a good read from front to back, it really doesn't stand up to the excitement that Bravo Two Zero delivers.

However, I realize that it's not fair to compare the two and I will try to do my best in keeping them separate. One is a single amazing story behind enemy lines in Iraq, while the other is a series of smaller narratives pertaining to what life is like in the British SAS. This book lacks the explosiveness of the other, but has more of a complete picture of what the Regiment (as McNab refers to it) is like on a day to day basis.

If you're looking for a glimpse into the daily life of the British SAS, this book is for you. If you're looking for something of the same caliber as Bravo Two Zero, this isn't the same sort of thing. Consider yourself fairly warned.

Having prefaced that, quite lengthily, I did enjoy this book. It is a solid read. McNab does a good job portraying what Regiment life is like and the various degrees of action he saw while he was part of it. It's not filled with "shoot 'em up" Hollywood-style action scenes. Far from it. In fact, McNab explains that many times their mission is to never fire their weapons lest they expose themselves prematurely and risk the success of the mission.

The book really sets you straight in a lot of ways. Gone are the notions that special forces teams exist to kill first, second, and third. As McNab says, there are times when it becomes necessary, but by and large, killing is not what it's all about. Finishing the mission is.

Another aspect I like about this book is that we see a realization by McNab that he screwed up his married life time and time again. By devoting himself so fully to the service he was part of, he didn't realize until much later that he was paying no mind to his current wife. All the while, his marriage was going down the tubes. It's refreshing to see him be able to look back and shoulder the blame for that.

His observations of third world cultures are enlightening also. Often times we think that everything to be had is here in the Western world. McNab comes to the realization that the cultures of many of these societies are simple, yet complex. Again, I mention this because as a reader, I was surprised and refreshed at the perspective McNab is able to bring as a member of a special forces team.

Again, this book is a very good read. I recommend it. I give it 4 stars because it's not what I was expecting coming into it. There are times when it tends to bog down in the mundane, every day life of just being a soldier. But overall, it's a good read which I enjoyed from start to finish. Definitely recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting read, but not as informative as I'd've liked
Review: For Andy McNab's best work, read BRAVO TWO ZERO, the harrowing account of McNab's duty in Iraq and unfortunate capture by Iraqi forces during Gulf War I. You get a much more detailed account of what's involved in planning and executing a mission in the SAS, and the story is much more involving.

Still, IMMEDIATE ACTION is a good read and clears up a lot of the details about special forces duty that civilians like myself might have. While the book sells itself as divulging information that the British government wanted to "suppress," I found myself asking more questions. I think McNab holds back quite a bit. I can't fault him. I'm sure a lot of the information he withholds is crucial to the national security of Britain and for honor's sake alone, had to remain secret.

You get a real good idea what kind of duty the SAS has been involved with for the past three decades. From IRA suppression in Northern Ireland, to South Africa, Belize and drug cartel suppression in Colombia, the SAS really gets around. And the variation of the missions is impressive. The SAS trains its troops to be able to handle all sorts of duty, from surveillance, to assault, to training the forces of other countries, the SAS does it all. The final mission described in the book, in Colombia, is the most fascinating and approaches the level of detail that I wanted to see in the entire book.

A good, informative read, but often lacking in the level of detail that I would really like to see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: REAL AND TO THE POINT
Review: I LIKE ANDYS WORK,HE TELLS YOU LIKE IT IS.THE WORK AND DISIPLINE
NEEDED HERE,MOST PEOPLE JUST DONT HAVE IT,TO KEEP GOING.
WELL DONE MATE.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A bit disappointing
Review: I must say that I was disappointed with this book.

First of all, there isn't enough detail to warrant the tagline "The controversial book the British Government tried to suppress!" Honestly, I have no idea why the British government would not want this book published--it's not like Andy McNab detailed out the whole SAS selection process or gave away classified information (at least not from my point of view).

Another tagline on the cover of the book that has me scratching my head is "The explosive true story of the toughest and most highly secretive strike force in the world". This book was hardly explosive, in my opinion. In fact, I was really disappointed with the lack of action in the book. With the two taglines on the book, I expected McNab to detail many of his classified operations he took part in while serving with the SAS. Instead, the book reads almost like an autobiography, telling of McNab's first experience with death as a young boy and how he eventually joined the army to forego jail time. McNab doesn't even get into the Regiment (SAS' vernacular for the SAS) until nearly halfway through the book.

Another thing that bothered me with the book is that McNab bounces around when writing. I had to re-read passages several times to figure out what he was talking about because he inexplicably jumped from one scenario to another. It was difficult to follow at times.

The book is not totally without merit, though. It was at times entertaining and offered a better perspective into the SAS than I already had. I can't say that I know that much more about the SAS than what I already knew, but it did offer some new bits of information.

I wish I could definitively recommend this book, but I can't. To me, it lacked substance and wasn't as exciting or action-packed as I hoped it would be. Others have seemed to find it a good read, though.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A bit disappointing
Review: I must say that I was disappointed with this book.

First of all, there isn't enough detail to warrant the tagline "The controversial book the British Government tried to suppress!" Honestly, I have no idea why the British government would not want this book published--it's not like Andy McNab detailed out the whole SAS selection process or gave away classified information (at least not from my point of view).

Another tagline on the cover of the book that has me scratching my head is "The explosive true story of the toughest and most highly secretive strike force in the world". This book was hardly explosive, in my opinion. In fact, I was really disappointed with the lack of action in the book. With the two taglines on the book, I expected McNab to detail many of his classified operations he took part in while serving with the SAS. Instead, the book reads almost like an autobiography, telling of McNab's first experience with death as a young boy and how he eventually joined the army to forego jail time. McNab doesn't even get into the Regiment (SAS' vernacular for the SAS) until nearly halfway through the book.

Another thing that bothered me with the book is that McNab bounces around when writing. I had to re-read passages several times to figure out what he was talking about because he inexplicably jumped from one scenario to another. It was difficult to follow at times.

The book is not totally without merit, though. It was at times entertaining and offered a better perspective into the SAS than I already had. I can't say that I know that much more about the SAS than what I already knew, but it did offer some new bits of information.

I wish I could definitively recommend this book, but I can't. To me, it lacked substance and wasn't as exciting or action-packed as I hoped it would be. Others have seemed to find it a good read, though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than Bravo Two Zero
Review: I read "Immediate Action" after reading "Bravo Two Zero" and found it better than BTZ. It discusses SAS selection which I find fascinating. And it seems to have that laid back confidence, devil may care attitude so common with SAS books. Rather than a lot of gung ho, testosterone filled bull, McNab is straightforward and describes his training and covert SAS assignments casually and matter of factly. The way a good SAS trooper should.

This book is refreshingly free of that lunatic fringe, Army Ranger psychology. Its a book of a professional special forces operative who just is a hard worker and gets the job done. Its sad American SOF units couldnt try to instill and emulate the laid back confidence of the SAS psychology, which is so different from the chest thumping, Army Ranger mentality found in so many American SOF units.


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