Special Force

The exploits of the British Army's elite 22nd Special Air Service Regiment - the regiment of the SAS that forms part of the Regular army - are shrouded in mystery and myths abound about its members. But what is the truth behind the public facade of clinical professionalism? How has such a small regiment attracted so many weighty legends? And what is the purpose of the SAS in the 21st century? "Special Force" provides an original and unusually critical overview of the activities of the SAS from the Malayan Emergency of 1950 to the present day. In the context of a detailed and often controversial analysis of the post-war activities of the Regiment, MacKenzie establishes that the Regiment's almost legendary professional competence is often not backed up by reality. Far from being part of a structured deployment of strategic military assets, MacKenzie argues that the use of the SAS in recent years has been primarily driven by the 'entrepreneurial' actions of a few SAS commanding officers. "Special Force" not only offers a revelatory history of the SAS in the modern period, it is also a disturbing expose of the truth behind the myth. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the British military - past, present and future.

ISBN 1848850719   Pages 368 ISBN13 9781848850712 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 658 Publisher I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd   Published in London Imprint I.B.Tauris   Height (mm) 234 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 156 Publication date 30 Oct 2011   Spine width (mm) 36 DEWEY 356.1670941   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

'A thought-provoking, hard-hitting insider critique that raises important questions about SAS operations.' - Tim Jones, author of SAS, the First Secret Wars (I.B.Tauris)

 Be the first to write a customer review