[.ca] The One that Got Away: My SAS Mission behind Enemy Lines (ISBN 1574881566)

good book:
i think this book is very good. i was in the SAS and i fought against the IRA.

The real professionals.:
Whith all respects to Chris Ryan and the SAS whom both I admire, I beleive that Chris Ryan story is the valid one based on actual experience in special ops, Andy Mc Nab's story comes out of a comic book compared to Ryan account, I understand Ryan attacks on Mc Nab and I beleive he is right, What amazed me more in this whole story is that while the coalition was fighting this war in the Gulf not far away from them similar commando's where going with their secret wars for more than 10 years. I mean guys with more than 100 missions behind enemy lines and the worst of them, the ones the free world is fighting now, Guys who have real kills that counts in hundreds in one mission, guys who where mutilated in prisons and came back fighting, not writing books and living a trauma after 8 days of E & E. Those real secret warriors who will remain in secrecy with their stories and amazing experience, are the ones I call the real professionals.

Fiction perporting to be fact:
This book together with Bravo Two Zero, both written under pseudonyms are spiffing yarns and deserve a high scoring for that. However they misrepresent themselves as fact which they are not. Both stories are in the literal sense incredible. They have been thoughroughly debunked as highly embellished accounts of the actual events by a number of reliable sources, including Peter Ratcliffe the Regimental Sergeant Major of 22 SAS at the time of the war. In Ratcliffe's book 'The Eye of The Storm' written under his own name he points out a number of 'issues' with both books and the fact that neither concurr in a number of important areas with the very detailed de-brief of the men after the operation. If you want fact not fiction buy Radcliff's book as well as 'SAS Operation Oman' by Colonel Tony Jeapes former SAS Commanding Officer during the Oman campaign of the early to mid 1970s.

Escape and Evasion at its finest.:
I read this book right after reading Bravo Two Zero by Andy Mcnab. Both books are a tale of survival, all be it in different ways. Chris Ryan sure has a good story to tell, he was the only member of the Bravo Two Zero patrol to escape Iraq. He evaded capture for many days on very little food or water. He battled fatigue, extreme weather and many many Iraqis. He also battled himself, he didn't let his body give in while his mind was still working, he fought for every step and his story is truly one of courage and self determination. The book does focus alot on Ryan's own 'heroism', he obviously feels he should have been the commander of the patrol and expresses this many times through the book, in the end this gets a bit tired and old. He seems to think that the problems the patrol encountered would have been just fine if he was in command, it seems a bit pretentious as it continues. There are alot of inconsistencies between the books and it is upto the reader who he should choose to believe. I personally think this book was written to ride on the success of the first book by raising questions that will never be answered. However it is a must read for any one with an interest in the SAS, 2 Stars

A definite page turner:
If you are a fan of Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab then I highly recommend that you pick this one. This is the story that Bravo Two Zero didn't go into. This is the story of raw courage and great determination as told by the one man who went through misery and hell to finish his mission. Chris Ryan's story is something that you have never read before. Use your imagination here. This man walks from Iraq to Syria after his mission falls apart during the Gulf War. Mr. Ryan covered details that I was hoping he would. His feelings during his hellish trek. His thoughts when he was hiding and came within inches of capture. The feelings of the rest of the team that also made it home and how the special operations world benefited from his experience. He also touched base on how it affected life at home. That is something that every service man faces. Thanks Chris for sharing that portion of your life. This is a book that you want to read, especially if you served in the Gulf. I put it on the shelf next to my copy of Bravo Two Zero. This is no Rambo story, so if you are looking for blood and guts look for another book. This is a story of courage and determination.