Ultimate Special Forces

by Hugh McManners

An illustrated tour of history's most highly trained military units, from the ancient Spartans to modern-day U.S. Navy SEALs covers in extensive visual detail the equipment and techniques used today, sharing in-depth accounts of the background, organization, operations, intelligence-gathering methods, vehicles, and special gear for each. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2003

About the author

After 18 years in the British Army including the Falklands War working with the SBS, Hugh became a non-fiction author and television producer. He was the Defence Correspondent of The Sunday Times from 1995 -2000. Hugh started writing fiction in 2022.
Hugh says: "I'm a campaigner and enthusiast. Having written a wide variety of non-fiction books, I'm now writing fiction - "military historical thrillers".
He's starting with a five book series running from 1980 until the end of the Falklands War in 1982. The first book "The Sunday Service" about the SAS and PIRA in Northern Ireland, is now published.
"I'm writing fiction as with all my books, to explain the reality of extreme situations to people who haven't experienced it for themselves," Hugh says.
"Fiction that uses action and violence with military characters and settings needs to be accurately portrayed. The brave people who risk life and limb for our security deserve this.
"Plus, I really dislike the word 'thrill" -dictionary definition: "a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure". It's superficial, vicarious and simple, totally unlike the reality of military operations. But if you've not been a soldier on operations, how could you know that?
"I'm not quite sure where this gets me with writing "thrillers". I'll leave further comment to my readers."

Hugh is also a musician: a guitarist and songwriter. He was Director of The Scars of War Foundation at the University of Oxford, a pioneering research into the cognitive neuroscience of combat-related PTSD and brain injury in war veterans.

Reviews

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

What could have been an interesting book was hampered by a myriad of problems. First, some of the comments are just ludicrous and show a bias that severely hampers the quality of writing (saying experts have often called the War on Terror as "World War 3"??? I have read/watched/listened to many opinions about counterterrorism/US wars in the Middle East and cannot recall this EVER being said or, staying on this war, claiming that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were over after 2003 when that was clearly never the case. There are many more like this). Also the formatting, the images are fine for what they are but oftentimes they overlap and make the actual writing very difficult to read. This seems like something that just shouldn't happen in a book like this.

At the end of the day, this work was also just rather uninteresting more often than not. The equipment section at the end, as well as the final few pages listing special forces contingents around the world, are probably the best sections but don't make the book worth getting.

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tertarik beli dan baca buku ini karena Tall, Dark and Dangerous-nya Suzanne Brockmann tentang Navy Seal. Sangat curious tentang macam-macam Special Forces di dunia terutama Navy Seal dan setelah baca buku ini, pengetahuan ku bertambah.

[Kayla Rector · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informative!!

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très détaillés, sur toute sortes d'aspects de la vie militaire jusqu'aux différents groupes tactiques

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/8/11
I stared a new book for the remader of the year called Ultimate Special Forces its a good book. All senior have to go back on may 20th so this will be my last book of school.


5/11/11
Ultimate Special Forces is a good book it shows you difernt couchers special forces units and what they do and what they get to play with. It would be cool to be in some of this special forces units to do big and inportent things no one will know about.


5/24/11
Goodreads dos not have this book that you gave me called The Wild Side crime and punishment. Its an ok book I read Bonnie and Clyde and The Great Train Robbery both were good stores. I can not releat to them for I have not killed or robbed.

[Chathura Perera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got all the info you will ever need about special forces.Its got all the weapons used by forces around the world techniques employed by them famous operations they carried out and types of spec ops teams around the globe .

[Wabernathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a decent overview of all of the big dog special forces units around the world. My question is, how did the French Foreign Legion wheedle their way in there?