Reviews

Macy, retired after 23 years in the British army, does for the Apache helicopter's gunships what Dan Mills did for the infantry in Sniper One: he puts readers in the cockpit of an aircraft that requires great skill and attention to keep in the air. Macy takes readers to Afghanistan's Helmand Province: remote and mountainous, a center of the world opium traffic and chosen battleground of the Taliban. His squadron's eight Apaches faced both modern missiles and 19th-century rifles while supporting ground troops too few for a mission never clearly defined by the government. The book's climax comes when a British marine is listed as missing in action. In an unauthorized mission that reads like pulp fiction but whose details have been independently verified, Macy and another pilot fly into a Taliban fort to bring him out-dead. When the four crewmen are awarded the Military Cross, Prince Philip asks, "Are you all mad?" But since the days of Alexander the Great, Afghanistan has taught invaders two cruel lessons: never leave a man behind, and never count the cost. 16 pages of photos; maps. (May) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Macy, now retired from the British army, spent an active tour in Afghanistan's Helmand Province flying Apache helicopter combat sorties in support of the NATO ground mission there. He loved the work, which was demanding, violent, and incredibly expensive. An absorbing, exciting chronicle of a 21st-century soldier fighting on the high-tech side of asymmetric warfare; sure to be popular with general readers. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.