Jihad!

by Tom Carew

Release Date: 01 March, 2001

Edition: Hardcover

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What's in a hero ?

As "Tom Carew", a S.A.S. soldier joins up with British and American intelligence he finds himself deep in the heart of the ultimate soldiers nightmare; Afghanistan. Its 1980 and soviet forces are wrecking the landscape, killing any unfortunate soul crossing their path. Tom is teamed up with the mujahideen and has a double task; search for specific military equipement and find ways and places to train the Afghan resistance against the Soviet forces. What happens next might very well be one of the best accounts of "modern" guerilla warfare and black bag operations,and written in a human point of view, this story is down to earth and has actually managed to capture the true feelings and pains of a soldiers life. Correct that, a human's life. One of the best books ever written about the S.A.S. and their way of life,a book worthwhile reading.

Interesting anecdotes, but left me hanging

Tom Carew, in recent press, has been reportedly uncovered as having made false claims about his service in Afghanistan. Regardless of what you believe or don't believe, the story is interesting in and of itself. While a lot of the data could have been gleaned from the countless books and reports written during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the book certainly has its moments. I rated the book 3 stars, not because of the claims made against Carew, but because the book as advertised when I bought it (early 2001 in the UK), purported to discuss Carew's operational experience in the Balkans. If you read the book hoping to see this aspect of his special operations career, you would have been sadly dissapointed. If Carew has lied about his special operations experience, the story makes for an interesting account nonetheless.