In the Combat Zone: Social Forces Since 1945

By Robin Neillands

Book Overview

The Green Berets. The Navy SEALs. The secret Delta Force. The British SAS. The Israeli Mossad. Almost every country has a special force unit in their military. But what do they do, whom do they recruit, and how do they train? Robin Neillands, renowned military historian and himself a former Royal Marine Commando, tells the story of special forces since the end of the World War II, where possible in the words of the soldiers themselves. He describes the operational successes and failures, advances in military technology crucial to special force effectiveness, and the achievements, challenges, and exploits of a wide range of special force units. From the intense cold of the Korean winter, the mountains of Cyprus, and the Libyan night, to the jungle heat of Vietnam and the green hills of Northern Ireland, In the Combat Zone provides a compelling and revealing portrait of these highly trained troops, without the by-now banal glorification so characteristic of such discussions. As Neillands writes, "A great many special forces soldiers have helped me with this book, on the understanding that I told it straight and did not use their accounts to produce yet another 'gung-ho heroes' epic." In a world plagued by terrorism and small wars, interest in special forces has never been higher and In the Combat Zone couldn't be more timely.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814757952
• ISBN13: 9780814757956
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: NYU Press
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A book filled with information on special forces and warfare

Great book, filled cover to cover with info about special forces. I loved the book for its complete cover on the subject. However, in my opinion, it may get alittle boring, and I jumped few not-so interesting text-parts over. And for what I would've wished for, would've been more information about recent wars, in the gulf, for example. But what was great was that it covered from 1917 (if I remember correct) to recent day, a very great deal of British and American special force activity. And you have to love the complete index of world's special forces in the back. It even lists the Finnish Airborne Rangers. A definite plus from my patriotic point of view.