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Bomb Hunters: Life and Death Stories with Britain's Elite Bomb Disposal Unit in Afghanistan
'Bomb Hunters' tells the story of the British army's elite team of bomb disposal experts, men who face death every day in the most dangerous region of the most lethal country on earth - Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published January 25, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 23, 2011
How do they do it? How do 18 year old boys/men go out into Sangin, Afghanistan, day after day knowing that there's every possibility that they are about to step on a pressure plate and die, or see mates and team members die, in most horrible ways? How do they do this and still stay sane?
I read quite a bit of military and war non fiction, but for some reason this book was the one that made me realise how young these men are that are going to war. or maybe it wasn't that, maybe it was because these young 18 year old men are going to war to work for the bomb disposal unit.
The losses IEDs, the unseen enemy, are inflicting upon Coalition Forces in Afghanistan is staggering. And every one of these Bomb Disposal guys and girls will see someone die in this theatre, in fact, likely many someones, in the most gruesome way you can imagine. It is a tough, demanding and terrifying job and I don't know how they do it. To say that they are brave just doesn't seem enough.
As for the book itself and the author? He's not the best that's for sure, and if I could rate the author's skill I would give him 3 stars. His incessantly repeating the same lines and opinions was very distracting. He'll say "the men are very suspicious and they all wear lucky charms" and then 5 pages later, say exactly the same thing. It is prevalent in the book. A Goodreads friend read it at the same time as me and he noticed the same thing. So, I wiped a star off the board for that flaw, but all in all this is an incredible eye popping book. Not for the faint hearted, not for the squeamish, not for those who don't read war books. I think everyone should read about the Bomb Disposal engineers so they know what these boys and girls are doing and what they are going through, but I can understand that the brutal honesty of this book would be difficult fodder for those unfamiliar with War non fiction.
I read quite a bit of military and war non fiction, but for some reason this book was the one that made me realise how young these men are that are going to war. or maybe it wasn't that, maybe it was because these young 18 year old men are going to war to work for the bomb disposal unit.
The losses IEDs, the unseen enemy, are inflicting upon Coalition Forces in Afghanistan is staggering. And every one of these Bomb Disposal guys and girls will see someone die in this theatre, in fact, likely many someones, in the most gruesome way you can imagine. It is a tough, demanding and terrifying job and I don't know how they do it. To say that they are brave just doesn't seem enough.
As for the book itself and the author? He's not the best that's for sure, and if I could rate the author's skill I would give him 3 stars. His incessantly repeating the same lines and opinions was very distracting. He'll say "the men are very suspicious and they all wear lucky charms" and then 5 pages later, say exactly the same thing. It is prevalent in the book. A Goodreads friend read it at the same time as me and he noticed the same thing. So, I wiped a star off the board for that flaw, but all in all this is an incredible eye popping book. Not for the faint hearted, not for the squeamish, not for those who don't read war books. I think everyone should read about the Bomb Disposal engineers so they know what these boys and girls are doing and what they are going through, but I can understand that the brutal honesty of this book would be difficult fodder for those unfamiliar with War non fiction.
June 29, 2011
An heart stopping account of young British Soldiers who put their lives on the line day after day dealing with the epidemic of IED's in Afghanistan. The heroic acts these professionals do as part of their daily routine speaks volumes of their character.
April 6, 2012
IEDs are the weapon of choice for terrorists and insurgents from Afghanistan to Ireland. Among the best in the business of defusing these horrific devices are the Ammunition Technical Officers of the British Army’s Royal Logistic Corps. Commonly called “ATOs,” they are the equivalent of what Americans refer to as Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians or “EOD Techs.”
In Bomb Hunters, former British para-turned journalist Sean Rayment tells the story of Royal Engineer Search Teams (REST) that locate IEDs, the “bleeps” that jam the electronic spectrum to prevent radio-controlled detonations, the ATOs who take “the long walk” to disrupt, defuse, or render safe IEDs, and the weapons intelligence specialists who collect post-blast information that can lead to the bomber or bomb-maker. Rayment specifically focuses on counter-IED efforts in Helmand province in Afghanistan based on several visits there between August 2008 and March 2010.
Rayment relays in vivid detail the challenges of bomb disposal while enveloped in unbearable heat and operating – literally – within Taliban crosshairs. The heroism described through Bomb Hunters, including one ATO disarming IEDs with one hand after his dominant hand is broken, and the somber remembrance of several ATOs who made the ultimate sacrifice, will humble any reader. The book also includes several accounts of direct action between British soldiers and the Taliban before, during, after, and outside of counter-IED operations. Perhaps Rayment’s most salient and interesting account is not of bomb disposal, but of a sophisticated ambush derived from the British study and analysis of Taliban tactics vis-a-vis medical evacuations via helo.
Bomb Hunters is another important book on the war on terrorism that will prove invaluable to soldiers, historians, and the friends and family of disposaleers who served so honorably in Helmand Province.
In Bomb Hunters, former British para-turned journalist Sean Rayment tells the story of Royal Engineer Search Teams (REST) that locate IEDs, the “bleeps” that jam the electronic spectrum to prevent radio-controlled detonations, the ATOs who take “the long walk” to disrupt, defuse, or render safe IEDs, and the weapons intelligence specialists who collect post-blast information that can lead to the bomber or bomb-maker. Rayment specifically focuses on counter-IED efforts in Helmand province in Afghanistan based on several visits there between August 2008 and March 2010.
Rayment relays in vivid detail the challenges of bomb disposal while enveloped in unbearable heat and operating – literally – within Taliban crosshairs. The heroism described through Bomb Hunters, including one ATO disarming IEDs with one hand after his dominant hand is broken, and the somber remembrance of several ATOs who made the ultimate sacrifice, will humble any reader. The book also includes several accounts of direct action between British soldiers and the Taliban before, during, after, and outside of counter-IED operations. Perhaps Rayment’s most salient and interesting account is not of bomb disposal, but of a sophisticated ambush derived from the British study and analysis of Taliban tactics vis-a-vis medical evacuations via helo.
Bomb Hunters is another important book on the war on terrorism that will prove invaluable to soldiers, historians, and the friends and family of disposaleers who served so honorably in Helmand Province.
July 24, 2013
The most informative of the present generation British military memoirs and compilations. The author was a paratroops officer in earlier years. He raises the question as to whether the British bomb disposal technicians are correctly deployed in Aghanistan. The British Army has a higher level technical qualification than the NATO standard, owing to Northern Ireland experience. Rayment questions the use of such highly skilled personnel against high frequency cruder devices in Afghanistan, and implies that fatigue has led to disaster on occasion. A more mature and reflective work than some others concerning recent campaigns.
November 13, 2020
Very good
August 17, 2022
Great book
April 30, 2024
Very good read. Intense, scary and sad. Interesting insight into the role of the Bomb Hunter!
September 29, 2025
Bomb Hunters by Sean Rayment – 4 stars
Sean Rayment's Bomb Hunters is worth the read, no doubt—it's a raw, up-close look at the madness of EOD in Afghanistan, the kind of book that makes you sweat just turning the pages. Rayment was attached to us during my deployment, and yeah, I feature in it, even on the back cover, so I've got that insider edge. The cover photo's of Woody, our ATO, who earned his Military Cross on a job I was right there for—clearing a kilometer of road under fire, taking bullets while perched on a wall to give him a safe lane. That day's chaos is in here, and it's the kind of stuff that sticks: the wins, the losses, the psychological grind of knowing every step could be your last.
Rayment's got a good eye for the stories—the early bits on the Joint Force EOD Group's losses hit hard, showing the danger from the off. It's not glamour; it's the quiet terror of hunting low-metal bombs with metal detectors that barely work, the constant mind games of staying sharp when your brain wants to shut down. I reckon a lot of readers would rate it higher than me, maybe 4.5 or 5 stars, because from the outside it captures the heroism of the ATOs like Woody without pulling punches. But here's the rub: the title Bomb Hunters promises a focus on searchers like me, the ones clearing lanes and eating dirt, and it doesn't quite deliver. It's heavy on the bomb disposal officers, giving them the glory while we take a back seat. The searchers are the cogs that make it all work, but you don't get the full picture of that grind.
There's slight white lies in the bits where I'm mentioned—like my Vallon not turning on and Izzy chewing me out for it, which never happened (battery housing was always loose, but no drama). It's just storytelling flair, I get that, but it makes you wonder what else got tweaked. Wish Rayment had reached out to more team members for the full picture—he wasn't attached for Woody's MC day, so he missed how the whole team made it possible. And yeah, it could've pushed harder for what we deserved: more recognition, better pay, better kit. We were out there with crap for low-metal hunts, and no one talks about that enough.
If you're into military memoirs, this is solid—repetitive in spots, but the intensity carries it. I'm writing my own book on my time in Afghanistan, hoping to get it published soon, so I know how hard it is to nail the truth. Bomb Hunters gets the job done, but it could've been the definitive take on the unsung side of the hunt. 4 stars from me, but your mileage might vary.
Sean Rayment's Bomb Hunters is worth the read, no doubt—it's a raw, up-close look at the madness of EOD in Afghanistan, the kind of book that makes you sweat just turning the pages. Rayment was attached to us during my deployment, and yeah, I feature in it, even on the back cover, so I've got that insider edge. The cover photo's of Woody, our ATO, who earned his Military Cross on a job I was right there for—clearing a kilometer of road under fire, taking bullets while perched on a wall to give him a safe lane. That day's chaos is in here, and it's the kind of stuff that sticks: the wins, the losses, the psychological grind of knowing every step could be your last.
Rayment's got a good eye for the stories—the early bits on the Joint Force EOD Group's losses hit hard, showing the danger from the off. It's not glamour; it's the quiet terror of hunting low-metal bombs with metal detectors that barely work, the constant mind games of staying sharp when your brain wants to shut down. I reckon a lot of readers would rate it higher than me, maybe 4.5 or 5 stars, because from the outside it captures the heroism of the ATOs like Woody without pulling punches. But here's the rub: the title Bomb Hunters promises a focus on searchers like me, the ones clearing lanes and eating dirt, and it doesn't quite deliver. It's heavy on the bomb disposal officers, giving them the glory while we take a back seat. The searchers are the cogs that make it all work, but you don't get the full picture of that grind.
There's slight white lies in the bits where I'm mentioned—like my Vallon not turning on and Izzy chewing me out for it, which never happened (battery housing was always loose, but no drama). It's just storytelling flair, I get that, but it makes you wonder what else got tweaked. Wish Rayment had reached out to more team members for the full picture—he wasn't attached for Woody's MC day, so he missed how the whole team made it possible. And yeah, it could've pushed harder for what we deserved: more recognition, better pay, better kit. We were out there with crap for low-metal hunts, and no one talks about that enough.
If you're into military memoirs, this is solid—repetitive in spots, but the intensity carries it. I'm writing my own book on my time in Afghanistan, hoping to get it published soon, so I know how hard it is to nail the truth. Bomb Hunters gets the job done, but it could've been the definitive take on the unsung side of the hunt. 4 stars from me, but your mileage might vary.
September 6, 2013
The ATO was on hand to disarm the PP IED found by ISAF.
Once more we are in the land of jargon and TLA. Eventually I learnt to ignore it. The reader does not really need to know how ISAF, ANSF, ANA and ANP are related to one another, even if they are packed into one sentence.
Sean Rayment, ex Para, who has covered the Afghan war since 2001 is embedded with the bomb hunters to tell their story.
The book hammers home the physical and psychological threat the ever more sophisticated IED's pose to allied troops and the alarmingly small number of bomb disposal units available to deal with them.
The film, The Hurt Locker, might make a certain sort of person sign up for the duty but I don't think this book will have a queue forming outside the recruitment office.
The book opens a small window on the duties of these people and how they physically operate. You never get close to understanding how they mentally operate, I suspect you never could.
Eventually you are left with a sense of futility, a war with no clearly defined victory criteria cannot be won.
A great book to read if you think you're having a bad day. Chances are it is not so bad after all. Generally a sameness crept into the text and a sense that events, more interesting, were happening just off page.
Once more we are in the land of jargon and TLA. Eventually I learnt to ignore it. The reader does not really need to know how ISAF, ANSF, ANA and ANP are related to one another, even if they are packed into one sentence.
Sean Rayment, ex Para, who has covered the Afghan war since 2001 is embedded with the bomb hunters to tell their story.
The book hammers home the physical and psychological threat the ever more sophisticated IED's pose to allied troops and the alarmingly small number of bomb disposal units available to deal with them.
The film, The Hurt Locker, might make a certain sort of person sign up for the duty but I don't think this book will have a queue forming outside the recruitment office.
The book opens a small window on the duties of these people and how they physically operate. You never get close to understanding how they mentally operate, I suspect you never could.
Eventually you are left with a sense of futility, a war with no clearly defined victory criteria cannot be won.
A great book to read if you think you're having a bad day. Chances are it is not so bad after all. Generally a sameness crept into the text and a sense that events, more interesting, were happening just off page.
June 27, 2015
Hard to read, seems more like a listing of events, names, numbers and facts, in particular bomb-types and weapons, and overall simply saddening and depressing and simply had me asking, why are our governments sending troops out there in the first place? Overworking soldiers, everyday heroes that could do more good in OUR OWN countries than out in these places where the majority (I'm not saying all) of the people are very corrupt and messed up and fanatically religious with nothing but killing on their minds due to their lack of education. And while it is inhumane to leave these countries to themselves and let the killing continue, in particular that of innocent people, is it not also inhumane to send out our own men and women so that THEY in turn get killed?
It is hard to see a point in these wars and in the loss of these precious soldiers as I personally (or maybe I've just missed the news article on bbc.com, could you send me the link please??) have not yet seen any great progress in these countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, etc) despite our vigorous military efforts out there.
Overall though an important book with an important message and if you are at all interested in military or war then I say it's a must-read, although it definitely doesn't have the exciting flow of a novel.
It is hard to see a point in these wars and in the loss of these precious soldiers as I personally (or maybe I've just missed the news article on bbc.com, could you send me the link please??) have not yet seen any great progress in these countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, etc) despite our vigorous military efforts out there.
Overall though an important book with an important message and if you are at all interested in military or war then I say it's a must-read, although it definitely doesn't have the exciting flow of a novel.
April 17, 2020
An engaging and insightful glimpse into the reclusive world of the British Army's elite Royal Engineers who are tasked with the most dangerous and deadly mission outside the wire: Locating and defusing hidden killers lying in wait for a passing military convoy or innocent civilian. The insidious and incredibly lethal threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are the most feared weapons of choice for Taliban and Al-Qaeda enemy insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It takes a special breed of warrior to confront this sinister scourge. Often the mission comes at an extremely high price for combat engineers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, and Military Working Dog Scout Teams. Investigative British Journalist Sean Rayment gives the reader an immersive and visceral first-hand experience downrange confronting the most ingenious and diabolical weapons of terror ever devised on the modern battlefield. If you're a fan of Chris Hunter's "Eight Lives Down" or Kevin Ivison's EOD memoir "Red One," this book is for you!
It takes a special breed of warrior to confront this sinister scourge. Often the mission comes at an extremely high price for combat engineers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, and Military Working Dog Scout Teams. Investigative British Journalist Sean Rayment gives the reader an immersive and visceral first-hand experience downrange confronting the most ingenious and diabolical weapons of terror ever devised on the modern battlefield. If you're a fan of Chris Hunter's "Eight Lives Down" or Kevin Ivison's EOD memoir "Red One," this book is for you!
February 22, 2012
Worth a read, but definitely could have used some more editing before publication. In addition to repeating himself (sometimes word for word), the author often uses present tense for events that happened in the past. Moreover, the entire story seems to be the author's trip to Afghanistan and listening to stories of soldiers there. There is some first-person account, but most of his book contains stories he was told -- this results in the odd narrative of the author telling a story about stories told to him. It's kind of odd. You do get a glimpse of the life of a bomb-defuser in Afghanistan, though, which is interesting in itself.
January 18, 2014
I enjoyed this book a great deal, it made me realize how brave our soldiers are serving in Afghanistan.
This book is an account of those soldiers who concentrate on the disposal of IED's, who are out every day of their 6 month tour searching for IED's, diffusing and disposing of them whilst receiving fire from the Taliban.
It is bravery of the highest order.
This book is an account of those soldiers who concentrate on the disposal of IED's, who are out every day of their 6 month tour searching for IED's, diffusing and disposing of them whilst receiving fire from the Taliban.
It is bravery of the highest order.
November 4, 2016
An exceptional overview of the work,commitment,courage and sacrifice of the EOD teams to operate within the most hostile of environments to make it safe for o t hers to operate.
The commit m ent and sacrifice by so few for so many will not be forgotten by those who serve, and th I see who have served.
The commit m ent and sacrifice by so few for so many will not be forgotten by those who serve, and th I see who have served.
December 12, 2012
This book, although good, seems to miss the generic group of people it's aiming for. It's not a page turner at all.
July 15, 2012
It was a pretty good book. Well written, although it could have used a glossary for us 'Yanks.'
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews