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- (author.). Macintyre, Ben 1963- SAS. (Added Author).

Summary:

"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.

Record details

ISBN: 9781101904169 (hardcover)
ISBN: 110190416X (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781101904176 (eBook)
Physical Description: xvi, 380 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Crown, [2016]
Copyright: ©2016

Content descriptions

General Note:	"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.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-364) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	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.