Operation Snakebite
The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege
Published on 4. February 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-0-14-103830-8 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
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 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
436 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-103830-8 (9780141038308)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2009
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Stephen Grey is a 41-year-old journalist based in London best known for his world-exclusive revelations on the CIA's secret rendition program. His first book Ghost Plane, on the subject of rendition, was published in 2006. He is a former editor on the Sunday Times' investigations unit.