Operation Snakebite: The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege - Softcover

Grey, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141038306 ISBN 13: 9780141038308

Publisher: Penguin, 2010

Synopsis

Coming up to Christmas, and reporter Stephen Grey is embedded with B Company, 2 Yorks, in southern Afghanistan during Operation Snakebite. Their mission: to take the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala. For some this battle will be their last.

In the thick of the fighting, Grey provides a breathtaking boots-and-bullets glimpse of combat chaos as British, American and Afghan forces struggle to secure a dusty little desert town known to be crucial to the drug trade.

Operation Snakebite reveals everything you need to know about the brutal conflict in Afghanistan: from the political infighting and bureaucratic interference to the frontline troops soldiering on with unsuitable gear and poor intelligence.

About this title

Review:

Exemplary. An uncommonly vivid portrait of battle, matched by sharp investigation of purposes, intrigues and cock-ups (Max Hastings Sunday Times)

Superb, fast-paced. Captures the grit and the gore, the exhaustion and emotion, the killing and the dying. A fine piece of war reporting (Raymond Bonner Guardian)

Grey manages to get across the chaos and the hellish fear experienced by those under fire at the sharp end of battle. Will long outlast the events it recounts (Sunday Herald)

The fear, the courage, the uncertainty, the gut-wrenching personal tragedies and the sheer mayhem of two days' intensive fighting is frequently more vivid than any film. Terrific (Misha Glenny Mail on Sunday)

A fascinating insight . . . a catalogue of doubt, criticism and anger (David Crouch Financial Times)

A revealing, exceptional piece of reportage (Michael Smith New Statesman)

From the Back Cover:

'An uncommonly vivid portrait of battle, matched by sharp investigation of intrigues and cock-ups' Max Hastings, Sunday Times

Southern Afghanistan: Reporter Stephen Grey is embedded with B Company, 2 Yorks, during Operation Snakebite. The mission: to take the stronghold of Musa Qala, deep in hostile Taliban territory.

Dropped into the thick of the fighting, Grey provides a bombs-and-bullets glimpse of combat chaos as British, American and Afghan forces struggle to secure a town crucial to the drug trade. Amidst the flames and flying bullets, soldiers fought to simply stay alive, let alone take a dusty desert citadel.

Operation Snakebite tells the astonishing story of a bloody battle and the men who fought to win - no matter the cost to themselves.

'Superb, fast-paced. Captures the grit and the gore, the exhaustion and emotion, the killing and the dying' Guardian

'A fascinating insight . . . a catalogue of doubt, criticism and anger' Financial Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0141038306
• ISBN 13: 9780141038308
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400