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Rogue Heroes
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
The latest from the bestselling author of Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends -- the untold story of one of WWII's most important secret military units. Ben Macintyre's latest book of derring-do and wartime intrigue reveals the incredible story of the last truly unsung secret organization of World War II -- Britain's Special Air Service, or the SAS. Facing long odds and a tough slog against Rommel and the German tanks in the Middle East theatre, Britain turned to the brainchild of one its most unlikely heroes -- David Stirling, a young man whose aimlessness and almost practiced ennui belied a remarkable mind for strategy. With the help of his equally unusual colleague, the rough-and-tumble Jock Lewes, Stirling sought to assemble a crack team of highly trained men who would parachute in behind enemy lines to throw monkey wrenches into the German war machine. Though he faced stiff resistance from those who believed such activities violated the classic rules of war, Stirling persevered and in the process created a legacy. Staffed by brilliant, idiosyncratic men whose talents defied both tradition and expectations, the SAS would not only change the course of the war, but the very nature of combat itself. Written with complete access to the never-before-seen SAS archives (who chose Macintyre as their official historian), Rogue Heroes offers a powerfully intimate look at life on the battlefield as lived by a group of remarkable soldiers whose contributions have, until now, gone unrecognized beyond the classified world. Filled with wrenching set pieces and weaving its way through multiple theatres of our grandest and most terrible war, this book is both an excellent addition to the Macintyre library and a critical piece in our understanding of the war's unfolding.
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EmilieGR
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I love Ben Macintyre- the best “story-telling historian” writing right now, in my opinion. Though not my favorite of his books, I still had trouble putting this book down. He did a nice job of raising the “how far is too far” question in terms of what they were willing to do to win the war. While in no doubt of the bravery and importance of these soldiers, you can‘t helping thinking of the old adage: “it‘s the winners who write the history.”

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Oblomov26
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Pickpick

Another military history, the one focussing on the actions of the SAS in WW2. The key thing which I took away from this book was how unlike regular soldiers these guys were; misfits, outsiders, troublemakers whose discipline came from within rather than imposed externally, closer to being outlaws raiding behind enemy lines conducting sabotage, targeted killing and creating confusion. The template for one class of modern special forces soldier.

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Nitpickyabouttrains
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I liked this audiobook a lot. Story of the origin of the SAS

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mattyuk2018
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Good write ups of the men and soldiers behind some of the infamous campaigns of the regiment. Fascinating.

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ChrisBohjalian
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Poolside reading. Bookmark by my daughter from 1997.

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ssravp
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Pickpick

I can't get enough of Ben Macintyre's books, particularly in audio form. This doesn't disappoint.

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Jediash1
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Pickpick

I've been in the mood for history recently and checked out this book after hearing about it at ALA (all the ARCs were gone by the time I got there, sadly). This was an interesting read about a special British unit during WWII who carried out top secret attacks behind enemy lines. This book captures both the personalities of the ragtag band of soldiers and the significance of their actions to the war. Loved it!

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irregularreader
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http://wp.me/p7D1lG-zi New #bookreview at www.theirregularreaderblog.wordpress.com! Rogue Heroes is a fascinating history of the British SAS by Ben MacIntyre!

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irregularreader
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I'm loving this history of the British SAS. Some of the things these guys did are absolutely unbelievable!

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Alwayscoolwb
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All about the SAS and how they were a small brave force with great leaders.

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Alwayscoolwb
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This is what I do during a slow day at work

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meichner87
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I like Ben MacIntyre's nonfiction style, which is really the reason I finished this book. The kind of hyper-bravado requirred for SAS service is not the kind of story I'm most interested in. (Dinner: sweet potato & chickpea soup & leftover greens gratin) #bookanddinner

Chachic Look at you doing a #bookanddinner shot! 😁 7y
meichner87 @Chachic Yeah, you inspired me. :) 7y
Chachic That makes me happy.😄 7y
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rabbitprincess
Pickpick

If I had a better attention span at the moment, it would be an unreserved Pick. It is still a Pick, because what I did manage to read yielded lots of interesting quotes.

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rabbitprincess
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I am impressed by anyone being able to improvise convincingly in Shakespearean style.

LeahBergen Me, too. 😳 7y
rabbitprincess @LeahBergen I can't even do improv in modern English! 7y
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rabbitprincess
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Now there's an interesting image.

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rabbitprincess
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Mo sounds awesome. Also, glad that my neighbours aren't this noisy 😆