In Foreign Fields

I am currently reading a non-fiction book by Dan Collins entitled In Foreign Fields and it is a truly captivating read. It is the self-told accounts of 25 British heroes of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq who were awarded medals for acts of bravery and gallantry. Irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with British foreign policy in these countries I guarantee you will reinforce your respect and admiration for the total commitment and dedication of our brave servicemen and women. The rights or wrongs of the conflicts are not the subject of the book. It is merely a factual account of daily life in the theatres of conflict.

The 25 interviewees were nominated by their colleagues and superiors. They range in rank from Private to the highest levels and each one of them stressed that their awards were the result of excellent team work by their colleagues who would have performed their difficult tasks in exactly the same way as they had done.

As Dan Collins states modern Britain can seem a strange and superficial country at times. It's a country where people whose sole distinction is that they have appeared on reality TV shows can become overnight millionaires, where pop singers lecture us on politics while Prime Ministers proclaim their love of 'The Arctic Monkeys' and where a football 'hero' spends more on his highlighted haircuts than the daily pay of a young soldier.

Meanwhile, out in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, far from the comforts we regard as essential, those young soldiers are risking their lives every day. For most of us, the greatest danger we face is of death from over-eating or drinking too much. For them, it's very different. They have no say in when and where they fight; to paraphrase Tennyson, theirs is not to reason why, theirs is but to do and, sometimes, die.

We owe them all a great debt of gratitude. One of the interviewees is Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Martin 'Sammy' Sampson, DSO, who is the son of a friend of mine. His account of flying a very fast Harrier jet at just 1500 feet in support of ground troops is both harrowing and inspirational at the same time.

A truly outstanding read, excellent....simply unputdownable. A gripping account of life on the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. Astonishing feats of bravery illustrated in laconic, first-person prose. Buy this book! A significant percentage of the profits will be donated to service charities.

My copy is paper back and cost £7.99. It is published by Monday Books and you can order a copy at www.mondaybooks.com

The ISBN reference is 978-1-906308-07-0