Rogue heroes : the history of the SAS, Britain's secret special forces unit that sabotaged the Nazis and changed the nature of war /
Macintyre, Ben, 1963-
Rogue heroes : the history of the SAS, Britain's secret special forces unit that sabotaged the Nazis and changed the nature of war / Ben MacIntyre. - First edition. - xvi, 380 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm
"Simultaneously published in the UK by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, and in Canada by Signal, an imprint of Random House Canada"--Title page verso. British edition titled: SAS : rogue heroes : the authorized wartime story.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-364) and index.
Prologue: Into the dark -- WAR IN THE DESERT -- Cowboy soldier -- L Detachment -- Recruits -- Into the desert -- The Long Range Desert Group -- Devil country -- A party of ghosts -- Blitz buggy -- Benghazi bed-and-breakfast -- Seven airfields -- Mass sabotage at Sidi Haneish -- Desert doctors -- Quite, quite mad -- Alamein -- WAR IN EUROPE -- Italy -- Bulbasket -- Houndsworth -- An eye for an eye -- Paddy McGinty's goat -- A predilection for risk -- Battaglione Alleata -- Into the Reich -- Liberation -- Who dares survives.
"Britain's Special Air Service--or SAS--was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young gadabout aristocrat with a remarkable strategic mind. Where his colleagues looked at a map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind Nazi lines and sabotage their airplanes and supplies. Paired with his constitutional opposite, the disciplined martinet Jock Lewes, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Bringing his keen eye for psychological detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to the SAS archives to shine a light on a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy--one whose hard methods would influence contemporary special forces around the world. The result is not only a tremendous war story, but also a fascinating group portrait of men of whom history and country asked the most"--From front flap and publisher description.
9781101904169 (hardcover) 110190416X (hardcover)
2016303874
Stirling, David, 1915-1990.
Lewes, Jock, 1913-1941.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service --History.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service --Biography.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service.
World War (1939-1945)
1900 - 1999.
World War, 1939-1945--Commando operations--Great Britain.
Special forces (Military science)--History--Great Britain--20th century.
World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--Great Britain.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Africa, North.
HISTORY / Military / World War II.
TRUE CRIME / Espionage.
HISTORY / Europe / Great B.
Commando troops.
Regimental histories.
Special forces (Military science)
Great Britain.
History.
D760.S59 / M33 2016
940.54/1241
Rogue heroes : the history of the SAS, Britain's secret special forces unit that sabotaged the Nazis and changed the nature of war / Ben MacIntyre. - First edition. - xvi, 380 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm
"Simultaneously published in the UK by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, and in Canada by Signal, an imprint of Random House Canada"--Title page verso. British edition titled: SAS : rogue heroes : the authorized wartime story.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-364) and index.
Prologue: Into the dark -- WAR IN THE DESERT -- Cowboy soldier -- L Detachment -- Recruits -- Into the desert -- The Long Range Desert Group -- Devil country -- A party of ghosts -- Blitz buggy -- Benghazi bed-and-breakfast -- Seven airfields -- Mass sabotage at Sidi Haneish -- Desert doctors -- Quite, quite mad -- Alamein -- WAR IN EUROPE -- Italy -- Bulbasket -- Houndsworth -- An eye for an eye -- Paddy McGinty's goat -- A predilection for risk -- Battaglione Alleata -- Into the Reich -- Liberation -- Who dares survives.
"Britain's Special Air Service--or SAS--was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young gadabout aristocrat with a remarkable strategic mind. Where his colleagues looked at a map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind Nazi lines and sabotage their airplanes and supplies. Paired with his constitutional opposite, the disciplined martinet Jock Lewes, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Bringing his keen eye for psychological detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to the SAS archives to shine a light on a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy--one whose hard methods would influence contemporary special forces around the world. The result is not only a tremendous war story, but also a fascinating group portrait of men of whom history and country asked the most"--From front flap and publisher description.
9781101904169 (hardcover) 110190416X (hardcover)
2016303874
Stirling, David, 1915-1990.
Lewes, Jock, 1913-1941.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service --History.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service --Biography.
Great Britain. Army. Special Air Service.
World War (1939-1945)
1900 - 1999.
World War, 1939-1945--Commando operations--Great Britain.
Special forces (Military science)--History--Great Britain--20th century.
World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--Great Britain.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Africa, North.
HISTORY / Military / World War II.
TRUE CRIME / Espionage.
HISTORY / Europe / Great B.
Commando troops.
Regimental histories.
Special forces (Military science)
Great Britain.
History.
D760.S59 / M33 2016
940.54/1241