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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.70443
EAN num: 9781852273118
ISBN number: 1852273119
Label: Virgin Books
Manufacturer: Virgin Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: April 03, 2007
Publishing house: Virgin Books
Release Date: April 03, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 245894
Studio: Virgin Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Between coalition troops and the Iraqi security forces lies an unnamed and uncounted third column: soldiers of fortune. In September 2003, James Ashcroft, a former British Infantry captain who served in West Belfast and Bosnia, landed in Iraq as a 'gun for hire'. It was the beginning of an 18-month journey into chaos. Ashcroft provides a first-hand view of the secret world of private security where ex-soldiers employed to protect US and British interests can make up to $1,000 a day. But he also reveals a new kind of warfare where the rules - if you can call them that - are still being written.
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Rated by buyers 
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Very intereesting look into the actual life a high profile security contractor. Although a tad short, the stories told are very detailed and flow together with ease.
Rated by buyers 
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I think the book was well written by the author. He had good detail about his time in Iraq as a contractor. What I didn't like was that he seemed to down the US Military and the tactics they use. He makes it out that the Army just goes out and kills anything that moves(which is not true).
I served in Iraq as Marine and with the Army and I never witnessed any actions that he says he saw (Does it happen yes I am sure) But some security companies do cause problems for US soldiers as well. Security contractors do a great job and are needed in Iraq. Capt James Ashcroft should have spent time as a real soldier in a real war instead of a gun for hire before making such judgments about Americas troops. Beyond all that the book gives good accounts about his time in Iraq.
Rated by buyers -
I found this to be a really enjoyable read. It's definitely action-packed! I enjoyed the candid writing and the Brit perspective. As an active duty U.S. military officer and I found his descriptions extremely accurate and insightful. Here's to hoping he writes another book.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is a highly entertaining read! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only gave it 4 stars, but I can be a bit of a miser when it comes to ratings. Ashcroft really does a good job describing the early part of the Iraq occupation through the eyes of a Brit. I really like how his nationality and the differences in his military training and tactics influence the narrative in the book. I also found his many little stories about working with the local people to be very humorous and insightful at the same time. Not quite BlackHawk Down, but right up there with The Long Road Home or Lone Survivor in my opinion.
Rated by buyers -
I loved this book. Having read a number of military biographies from the Iraq conflict,I have really enjoyed reading about these front line experiences. I would much rather listen to a soldier who has been there than to some watered down version, delivered by journalists and edited for television. This book is no exception, and the author's experiences with the Iraqis nationals, give the book a different and unique perspective, one sadly that we as civilians leading our lives safely back home are generally kept ignorant of. I only wish the author would consider another book, and am going to purchase the video Shadow Company which he collaborated on... see www.makingakilling.co.uk. In my opinion it is up there with the best of them, 'Generation Kill', 'My War','House to House', 'Hard Corps', 'Just another Soldier'and Nathanial Flick's 'One Bullet Away'. I highly recommend all of the above.
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