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No other army in the world could have done what the British Army did in the Sierra Leone jungles in 1999 – in terms of speed, ingenuity, daring and, above all, willingness to put the lives of its own men at risk in the face of overwhelming odds.
This is the untold, epic story of the single most daring Special Forces operation since World War Two; the rescue by the SAS of British soldiers who were being held captive by drug-crazed rebel group The West Side Boys in the Sierra Leone jungle.
Officially called Operation Barras, but known to the men on the ground as Operation Certain Death, 200 crack forces were sent in to rescue 11 British hostages, who faced execution and worse at the hands of the rebels. This was a joint operation between the Paras, the SBS, the Navy and the RAF, but spearheaded by the SAS.
Extensive interviews with the hostages and the assault forces have produced this blow-by-blow account, in which Lewis recounts the sights, the smells, the fear and the adrenaline rush of combat, and the soul-shattering confrontations.
Because of the traditional secrecy surrounding special forces operations, this story has never before been publicised. But it is one the men themselves want told. Here it is in their own words. Join them on a journey into the very heart of darkness...
It was the UK’s second highest selling military hardback in 2004, rising to number four in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The dramatic true story was serialised on the front page of the Sunday Times over a two-week period. The paperback spent 26 weeks at number 11 in the UK’s 20 top-selling history books for 2005. The book has been optioned as a feature film.
book reviews
- Freddie Forsyth
What a story! As good as thriller as any I have ever read. This is obviously the low down. - The Sunday Times
When the SAS was told to rescue British soldiers in Sierra Leone, the odds were so high that the top brass warned of a potential disaster .. Damien Lewis reveals a true story of British courage and daring behind a resuce in the African jungle. - Richard & Judy, the Richard and Judy Show
Operation Certain Death is .. the riveting story of how a small band of elite British soldiers fought one of the most audacious and dangerous hit and run military operations of the decade .. an intense firefight and one of the most difficult operations the SAS has ever had to pull off. The story is now a text book example of how to hit the enemy harder than ever he thought possible. - Gerry Ryan, RTE's The Gerry Ryan Show
A rollercoaster journey into the very heart of darkness, made even more chilling by the fact that this terrible tale is true. - Sky News
Damien Lewis's book reveals the horror of the kidnapping of British soldiers in Sierra Leone in August 2000, and the lightning assault by British speical forces to rescue them. - John Weisman, New York Times
It takes a special kind of writer to get behind the eyes and inside the hearts and minds and brains of warriors, showing what makes them adapt, overcome and ultimately prevail. Operation Certain Death is evocative proof that Damien Lewis has joined this select company. - NUTS Magazine
When elite British forces were sent into the vicious heart of Sierra Leone on a rescue mission, they vowed to kill each other rather than be taken alive. Flying in to assault a rebel base controlled by the infamous West Side Boys gang, they knew they were outnumbered by five to one .. The elite Special Forces ominously nicknamed their mission "Operation Certain Death". Lewis's book offers a griping no-holds-barred account of that story. - Ink Magazine
Nothing is spared in Lewis's exciting and well-researched book, which means there's plenty of graphic - but not gratuitous - violence. The UK troops are portayed accurately as exceptionally well trained and committed fighting men, rather than as the supermen of media hyperbole."
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