First Into Action: A Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS

· Hachette UK
4.7
44 reviews
Ebook
448
Pages

About this ebook

The SBS was first into battle a month before the SAS in the Falklands War and again in the Gulf War, yet hitherto it is the SAS that has had by far the higher profile. The SBS draws its manpower solely from the Marine Commando Units, and the Royal Marines are the oldest and most battle-honoured regiment in the world. FIRST INTO ACTION is the first Special Boat Services memoir written from the inside. It tells how Duncan Falconer trained with the Royal Marines in Deal before being recruited into the SBS at Poole in Dorset. The regimen of ruthless training is graphically described and the book also includes revelatory accounts of SBS operations in Ulster, Bosnia and the Gulf War, and of the intense rivalry between the SAS's individualist mentality and the more team-based, marine ethos of the SBS. Duncan Falconer's grippingly detailed memoir is sure to command the attention of anyone interested in the Special Forces and how they operate.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
44 reviews
Siegfried Fairless
July 31, 2019
Interesting book shedding light on the SBS and many interesting characters. I understand the desire to tell the story and viewpoint from an SBS member, especially with the amount of inter-unit rivalry around that often turns nasty without crediting what different units actually do and the difficulties they face. It also candidly written with plenty of exciting stories along the way.
Chris Hart
July 30, 2017
In my opinion one of the better accounts of special forces life. Duncan Falconer does well to mix the anecdotes, failures warts and all and those more successful to make a good read. Albeit dated - the Northern Ireland troubles and Falklands conflicts now confined to history - some good messages throughout about humility and pride in what appeared to be a widely varied career without the normal self-aggrandizement. Recommended to those interested in the genre.
2 people found this review helpful
Darren Morris
February 16, 2014
A fantastic book that tells you about the greatest special forces in the world bar none. Parts of this book make you think "i rember seening that on the news" while others will make you laugh out loud with some of the high jinx a band of tight knit loyal friends. This book is a must for anyone who wants to know that the sas isnt the only special foces we have.
1 person found this review helpful

About the author

Duncan Falconer grew up in Battersea in London, spending the first ten years of his life in an orphanage. He became a Special Forces operative at the age of nineteen (it is unlikely there will ever be one as young again). He is now a successful screenwriter in Los Angeles.

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