Rating: 
Summary: The original story of heroism and survival
Review: I first watched the movie of Bravo Two Zero when I was 14, since then I have held an interest in all things SAS, Since reading the book though I have held these guys in a much higher regard. The movie does the book no justice and am sure people notice many things wrong with it. The book however is detailed and describes many aspects of SAS life. By now most people have a general idea what happened to the patrol Bravo Two Zero, with the history channel specials and many more documentaries surrounding the ill-fated patrol. The reason the book is so successful I believe is because it has everything that people want, although these people technically failed to do what they were in Iraq to do (through bad intelligence etc.) its still a story or heroism and survival against the odds. Just the kind of story peoples everywhere Love. Andy Mcnab's writing style is perfect for this kind of book, he doesn't try to put his story across like he is writing the Queens speech, he isn't in any way pretentious, he is what he is (and now a multi best selling author), A former SAS Trooper. This was the first of many SAS books I read but still remains the best. 5 Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Brutal and intense!
Review: This book is not for everybody. The author goes into detail about his torture and it is gripping. I am glad these guys were on our side. This is also a great story on what kind of men make up special forces. Our own Delta force was modeled after the British SAS.
I could not put this book down once it got to their escape and capture. As you are reading this you will be asking yourself how you would fair in this situation. These soldiers are tough!
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the best......
Review: ......war story I've ever read. Ranks right up there with "From Here to Eternity", "Devils in Baggy Pants", and a few of the others on the "Best" list.
Rating:
Summary: Legendary
Review: McNab gives a brilliant insight into this specific mission, but also about how the elitesolidiers in SAS tackles situations like this and it is done in a brilliant and humourous manner.
Rating:
Summary: five stars BUT...
Review: I'm not sure that a five star recommendation is really suitable for this book and I find it hard to 'recommend' it to anyone. Stories of military forces in action have never really appealed to me but I came across this book and decided to read it, especially as it had been a bestseller. And I'm still not sure why it has been so popular. Anyway, a hundred pages in, when the SAS team are on the helicopter flight into unknown regions behind Iraqi enemy lines, and you're hooked. I could not put it down, even when I really wanted to. The first half of the book begins with a brief account of McNab's early life and his entry into the elite SAS squadron. This quickly moves into the team of eight's preparations for their mission into Iraq and then onto the beginning of the mission itself. Suffice it to say that things quickly go wrong, by which point I expect most readers' eyes were popping out of their heads, especially when reading about the firefight between the SAS team and the Iraqi soldiers. From here on the book is almost unrelievedly TENSE. I felt sick reading it, especially as McNab makes sure that the book is written in such a way that you can't help but identify and empathise with the team, McNab especially. You REALLY don't want them to get caught, even though you read each page knowing that this is exactly what happens. To get caught when he does, and after such huge feats of endurance, stamina and bravery was just too cruel. Halfway through the inevitable occurs though, and this is where my 'problem' with the book begins. The last 150 pages consist pretty much of McNab getting dragged in and out of various interrogation rooms and getting tortured, mentally as well as physically, in the most harrowing, sickening manner imaginable. And it goes on and on, day after day, sometimes with only a few hours between 'beastings'. He's sat in a chair and beaten to a pulp; kicked; beaten with a wooden pole; burnt with a red-hot spoon pressed into running sores; has cigarettes stubbed out on his neck by laughing Iraqi soldiers; beaten again; kicked again with steel-capped boots in the head, face; his eardrums burst; teeth are smashed; he's forced to clear an Iraqi toilet out with his hands and then ordered to lick the excrement from his fingers. The litany of brutality seems never ending. I don't think I'm especially faint-hearted but I found reading McNab's account tough. There is no 'pleasure' to be gained from the book. But still I could not put it down. The atmosphere and reality of intimidation, pain, utter brutality, fear, degradation, humiliation, physical injury, inhumane treatment and sheer cruelty is so vividly evoked that after I'd finished the book it left me feeling like I had a ball of metal in my stomach. I was glad to close the book, but part of me didn't want it to finish. An EXTRA-ordinary book relating an experience that no ordinary person is likely to ever encounter in their entire lives. I found it truly, genuinely shocking. By the time the torture starts you can't help but LIKE McNab, which makes what happens to him even harder to read about. Sometimes you find it hard to believe that such things actually happened because what DOES happen is beyond the experience of most people. It's hard to get your head around it. How could anyone suffer such prolonged attacks and beatings and survive? I've heard that there has been a conflicting account of this ill-fated mission from another Bravo Two Zero team member: Chris Ryan, but only McNab knows what went on in those interrogation rooms and so must be given the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps part of me just doesn't want to admit that people are capable of actions of such sustained cruelty and barbarity. In summary, this is an account of tremendous human courage and survival, but the two things that will stay with me the most are the tenacity of McNab's mental strength to mentally survive the experience and the bewildering horror of the torture he is subjected to. Don't read this lightly or take it with you on holiday to read on the beach. It deserves more respect. This book is harrowing but I thank McNab for sharing his experiences and demonstrating that the even though the body can be punished, the human spirit can remain indomitable. He certainly gets my admiration and respect, along with the other team members who made it back to Britain alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: As a Desert Storm vet, I eagerly anticipated reading this book for a different perspective than my own. My unit was on the other side of the line than the SAS (behind enemy lines), and I expected to read about scud hunting, special ops mayhem, and outwitting the Iraqi military. Instead, the few pages of patrolling and fire-fights don't make up for the excrutiatingly slow story after the guys are caught. I would have enjoyed reading about McNab's non-Desert Storm exploits rather than all of the filler information.
Rating:
Summary: A farce
Review: According to friends in the armed forces, the author became pretty unpopular amongst his former colleagues for some of the claims made in this book. Let's just say that you shouldn't believe everything you read (especially the unfair criticism of Vince Phillips). Read "The Real Bravo Two Zero" for a more accurate version of what happened. As for the 4 and 5 star reviewers here, use some basic intelligence - how can a mission when 8 went out and only 1 came back be described as anything other than a disaster? Look at the numerous mistakes made, it is a classic example of oxymoronic military "intelligence" and poor planning. Brave men died unnecessarily because basic kit was missing or failed in the field (e.g. their homing beacons), thanks to red tape and government bureaucracy which has left the British army chronically under-supplied and short of useful, reliable equipment. Finally, if you still believe everything McNab wrote, ask yourself why much of the heroics described in this book were not even mentioned at the mission debriefing - funny that, eh? I have no doubt that "McNab" displayed bravery in the field. it's just a shame then that he felt the need to embellish his story.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: It's no wonder they are in the world's most elite fighting force. The author went through so much but ended up smiling. This is the attitude we need when we meet our challenges in daily life.
Rating:
Summary: Its bloody (&) brilliant
Review: This is just a great book. Written in the voice of a British soldier, I found it impossible to put down. Its WAY better than Blackhawk Down. Required reading bearing in mind the current situation in Iraq.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent
Review: Bravo Two Zero is an excelent book about realy up to date issues, Andy is a great authour and he tells the story from an interezting view point, and including personal feelings and morals.
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