Author:Mike Rossiter
In the dead of night on 20 March 2003, Royal Navy Marines from 40 and 42 Commando board a fleet of twenty helicopters. With faces blackened and mouths dry at the thought of what lies ahead, they have been given the job of capturing the oil pipelines and pumping stations through which 90 per cent of Iraq's oil is exported, to seal off the whole of the Faw peninsula and hold it against any counter-attack by the Iraqi Army. They will be the first troops on the ground in Iraq, literally kicking the door down. They will also suffer the first allied casualties in the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Operation Telic was a bold and audacious break with military doctrine, a night-time airborne assault against heavily defended positions.
With the Commandos lightly armed and isolated, the night-time landing was just the beginning. They were engaged in a series of fast-moving and hard-fought battles as they moved rapidly north until they reached the outskirts of Basra.
Finally, after a two-day battle that broke the back of the Iraqi resistance, and eighteen days after their first contact with the enemy, Royal Marine Commandos entered the presidential palace in Basra.
Told from the perspective, and with the cooperation of officers and men in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, Target Basra is a story of courage, fortitude and the harsh realities of modern war, fought in the context of the turmoil of the Middle East.
Fast-paced with relentless battle action, this is the superb story of the unsung heroes of the war in Iraq
—— News of the WorldAn unusual true story...she tells movingly of the brainwashing, privation and heartbreak
—— Sunday ExpressEssential reading
—— Time OutUnforgettable
—— Financial TimesAlmost a millennium of Chinese history, reduced to a human scale
—— London Review of BooksA tour de force
—— Washington PostDelightful...a tour de force of the cyclical rise and fall of China
—— Steve Tsang , Far Eastern ReviewThis enjoyably meandering history
—— The New YorkerThe tone is light and Moore a delightful writer
—— London LiteA live and amusing... interesting and entertaining read
—— TNT MagazineFor any biographer this would be a dream of a life, but Snyder is exceptional in bringing not only a vast expertise to the subject, but also an elegant style and gift for narrative.
—— Christopher Hart , The Sunday TimesAn engaging portrait of a little-known and puzzling character
—— Ian Pinder , GuardianThe talented historian Timothy Snyder recounts an intriguing life-history against the turbulent backdrop of east-central Europe in the first half of the 20th century
—— History MagazineTimothy Snyder is not only one of the leading authorities on Central European history writing today, he is also an elegant stylist, with a talent for storytelling - a wonderful combination
—— Anne ApplebaumIt reads like Sovietology rendered by John le Carré
—— Timothy SnyderThe book is well written with flashes of mordant humour and sufficient records of personal foibles and institutional stupidity to keep the reader going through some dreadful moments of human history
—— Political Studies Review