Free Fall: A Sniper's Story from Chechnya - Softcover

Lilin, Nicolai

3.83

920 ratings by Goodreads

9781847679710: Free Fall: A Sniper's Story from Chechnya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847679714 ISBN 13: 9781847679710

Publisher: Canongate Books, 2011

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Free Fall is a brutal but engrossing memoir of the Second Chechen War, through the eyes of a young Russian soldier. Nicolai Lilin was conscripted and then trained as a sniper in an unorthodox Russian Special Forces regiment called the Saboteurs. This elite band of men, which operated outside the purview of traditional military code, fought their way through multiple assignments, including guerilla warfare in inhospitable mountainous terrain and intense hand-to-hand fighting in urban areas. Along the way, the Saboteurs faced mercenary fighters, anti-personnel mines and torture of the most extreme kind. Both an immediate sequel to the author's previous book, Siberian Education, and a remarkable stand-alone memoir, Free Fall offers a unique perspective on one of the most controversial wars in living memory. Lilin writes with honesty and extreme cynicism, and with a sharp eye for the banality of evil. It is an unflinching, unforgiving and unputdownable read.

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Review:

Lilin's astonishing account of his life takes you into some very strange worlds; frightening, violent and yet with spirited moments of redemption which both offer hope and keep you reading . . . a breath-taking memoir. -- Misha Glenny * * Mail on Sunday [on SIBERIAN EDUCATION] * * Force yourself to forget about categories of good and evil, you have to just be there and read . . . produces a thrill of pleasure that is hard to forget. -- Roberto Saviano, author of GOMORRAH * * [on SIBERIAN EDUCATION] * * A marvellous and illuminating book . . .This story makes most of what we call true crime writing seem insipid and effete. -- Irvine Welsh * * [on SIBERIAN EDUCATION] * * Extraordinary...Lilin serves up brilliantly harrowing set-pieces, but also illuminates the soul of the warrior. * * Scotland on Sunday * * A unique and remarkable war memoir by an internationally acclaimed author. ... Lilin writes with honesty and extreme cynicism, and with a sharp eye for the banality of evil. It is an unflinching and unforgiving read. * * Belfast News * * This extraordinary memoir plunges us back into the carnage of the last decade's Second Chechen War -- Gavin Bowd * * Scotland on Sunday * * compelling mini-epic -- Gavin Bowd * * Scotland on Sunday * * Brilliantly harrowing set-pieces... illuminate the soul of the warrior -- Gavin Bowd * * Scotland on Sunday * * relentless... pierced with firm feeling for his 'family' of fellow saboteurs * * Metro * * highly graphic...in the best Russian tradition * * Sunday Business Post * * a mean story with sure instincts * * Sunday Business Post * * a unique and remarkable war memoir * * Belfast News * * superb stand-alone memoir in its own right... a unique perspective on one of the most controversial wars in living memory * * Belfast News * *

Book Description:

A unique and remarkable account of the war in Chechnya by the internationally acclaimed author of Siberian Education

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