Darkly funny, shockingly honest, Brothers in Arms is an unforgettable account of a soldier's tour of Afghanistan, the brutal reality of war – every scary, exciting moment – and the bonds of friendship that can never be destroyed.‘If you could choose which two limbs got blown off, what would you go for?’ Danny said. ‘Your arms or your legs?’In July 2009, Geraint (Gez) Jones was sitting in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with the rest of The Firm – Danny, Jay, Toby and Jake, his four closest friends, all junior NCOs and combat-hardened infantrymen. Thanks to the mangled remains of a Jackal vehicle left tactlessly outside their tent, IEDs were never far from their mind. Within days they’d be on the ground in Musa Qala with the rest of 3 Platoon – a mixed bunch of men Gez would die for. As they fight furiously, are pushed to their limits, hemmed in by IEDs and hampered by the chain of command, Gez starts to wonder what is the point of it all. The bombs they uncover on patrol, on their stomachs brushing the sand away, are replaced the next day. Firefights are a momentary victory in a war they can see is unwinnable. Gez is a warrior – he wants more than this. But then death and injury start to take their toll on The Firm, leaving Gez with PTSD and a new battle just beginning.'Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour.' – Major Adam Jowett, bestselling author of No Way Out'A gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant.' – Tom Marcus, author of Soldier Spy
CONTRIBUTORS: Geraint JonesEAN: 9781529000412COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 500 gHEIGHT: 233 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Pan MacmillanDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Afghan War (2001-2021), HISTORY / Modern / 21st CenturyWIDTH: 153 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Autobiography: historical, political and military, Memoirs, True war and combat stories, Military veterans, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts
A stunning account of war that gives a detailed look into the psyche of the twenty-first century British infantryman. Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour. The pace is unrelenting, whilst the epilogue stands as the sobering full stop for a generation of soldiers who campaigned in Iraq and Afghanistan., A gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant., At times darkly funny, at times tragic, this is a powerful and honest book about the British soldier, about the reality of conflict and the struggles some face when they come home., Powerful, raw and poignant, but also darkly funny in places.
Geraint Jones deployed as an infantry soldier on three tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan. For his actions in Basra, Geraint was awarded the General Officer Commanding's Commendation. Upon leaving the military, Geraint worked to protect commercial shipping against Somali- and Nigerian-based piracy. He is the author of historical fiction novels Blood Forest and Siege, and writes with James Patterson under the name Rees Jones. He also wrote Major Adam Jowett's account of a siege in Musa Qala, No Way Out, which was a top-ten bestseller. He now writes full time and also has a podcast, Veteran State of Mind.
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Darkly funny, shockingly honest, Brothers in Arms is an unforgettable account of a soldier's tour of Afghanistan, the brutal reality of war – every scary, exciting moment – and the bonds of friendship that can never be destroyed.‘If you could choose which two limbs got blown off, what would you go for?’ Danny said. ‘Your arms or your legs?’In July 2009, Geraint (Gez) Jones was sitting in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with the rest of The Firm – Danny, Jay, Toby and Jake, his four closest friends, all junior NCOs and combat-hardened infantrymen. Thanks to the mangled remains of a Jackal vehicle left tactlessly outside their tent, IEDs were never far from their mind. Within days they’d be on the ground in Musa Qala with the rest of 3 Platoon – a mixed bunch of men Gez would die for. As they fight furiously, are pushed to their limits, hemmed in by IEDs and hampered by the chain of command, Gez starts to wonder what is the point of it all. The bombs they uncover on patrol, on their stomachs brushing the sand away, are replaced the next day. Firefights are a momentary victory in a war they can see is unwinnable. Gez is a warrior – he wants more than this. But then death and injury start to take their toll on The Firm, leaving Gez with PTSD and a new battle just beginning.'Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour.' – Major Adam Jowett, bestselling author of No Way Out'A gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant.' – Tom Marcus, author of Soldier Spy
CONTRIBUTORS: Geraint JonesEAN: 9781529000412COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 500 gHEIGHT: 233 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Pan MacmillanDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Afghan War (2001-2021), HISTORY / Modern / 21st CenturyWIDTH: 153 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Autobiography: historical, political and military, Memoirs, True war and combat stories, Military veterans, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts
Geraint Jones deployed as an infantry soldier on three tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan. For his actions in Basra, Geraint was awarded the General Officer Commanding's Commendation. Upon leaving the military, Geraint worked to protect commercial shipping against Somali- and Nigerian-based piracy. He is the author of historical fiction novels Blood Forest and Siege, and writes with James Patterson under the name Rees Jones. He also wrote Major Adam Jowett's account of a siege in Musa Qala, No Way Out, which was a top-ten bestseller. He now writes full time and also has a podcast, Veteran State of Mind.
Mevrou Smit het Aronspoort toe gekom om vir haarself ’n nuwe lewe en identiteit te bewerk, nie om gewild te wees nie. “Daar is geen wag voor daai mond nie. Al die gedagtes wat in haar kop uitbroei, marsjeer soos mank soldate oor haar tong.” (p.16). Maar dit is juis daardie gedagtes wat al menige moord opgelos het, dit terwyl sy vir haarself streng reëls gestel het vir “goeie” gedrag en verbete daaraan werk om daarby te hou. Reëls soos om te oorleef en te luister na jou instinkte. “My derde reël is om nie my tyd te mors met retrospeksie nie” (p.78), verduidelik sy aan Dario wat in hierdie aflewering weer ’n hoopvolle draai kom maak. Die uitstekende skryfstyl van Elizabeth Wasserman verseker dat mevrou Smit konsekwent, sonder aansien des persoons, hou by haar reëls.
Ek moet bieg dat hierdie derde sage van mevrou Smit vir my ietwat stadig afgeskop het. Daar was nie juis dringendheid rondom die ontdekking van ’n dekade-oue menslike oorskot in die rivierbank nie. Maar wanneer daar ’n vars moord vermoed word, tel mevrou Smit se bloedhond instinkte spoed op. En die krisis na die einde toe is so spannend as wat ’n sogenaamde sagte krimi kan toelaat.
Ek sukkel deesdae toenemend met reekse. Ek vergeet die fynere detail van vorige boeke (ouderdom of té veel storielyne?) en dan sukkel my kop deurentyd om te onthou. Dus sou ek beslis beter gevaar het om die drie boeke agtereenvolgens te lees. Nuwe Mevrou Smit lesers wat nie noodwendig alles wil weet van haar vorige lewe en die voorafgaande avonture op Aronspoort nie, behoort suksesvol te kan volstaan met die intrige soos hier aangebied.