High Risk: A True Story of the SAS, Drugs and Other Bad Behaviour - Hardcover

Timberlake, Ben

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1787384632 ISBN 13: 9781787384637

Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2021

Synopsis

’Funny, chaotic but unexpectedly profound, [High Risk] provides not just a clear-eyed memoir of addiction, but an examination of human behaviour and the reasons why some people choose to put themselves in situations that most others would not.’ -- Times Magazine

This is a dark, raw and uncompromising tale of the human condition in extremis, drawing on the many lives of Ben Timberlake: as an archaeologist, Special Forces soldier, combat medic and drug addict.

Starting with Ben's first near-death experience--in a Nazi-themed bar in wartime Yugoslavia--High Risk is a whirlwind tour of everything from service in the SAS, combat in Iraq, and encounters with a gambling-obsessed 9/11 hijacker, to veterans blissed out on MDMA, hook-ups in the world of extreme sex, and battling a heroin habit on a remote Scottish island.

Ben pursued the rush, and the chase often took him over the edge. Instead of asking why, he asked, why not? Blending confessional narrative, classic reportage and acerbic humour, this memoir takes a gonzo look at terrorists, junkies, soldiers and strippers, through the tale of one extraordinary life.

About this title

About the Author

Ben Timberlake is a security consultant and medic in high-risk areas, specialising in Iraq and Syria. In a previous life his undercover missions concerned nuclear terrorism, the Far Right, and the trafficking of people, wildlife, looted antiquities and organs. He has written for the Financial Times, The Guardian and The Economist, and made Channel 4 and Discovery films on topics from Japanese mummies to prehistoric rock art.

Edition details

• Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1787384632
• ISBN 13: 9781787384637
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256