Ground Truth

Afghanistan, 2008. After their eighteen-month epic tour of Helmand Province, the troops of 3 Para are back. This time, the weight of experience weighs heavily on their shoulders.

In April 2006 the elite 3 Para Battle Group was despatched to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on a tour that has become a legend. All that summer the Paras were subjected to relentless Taliban attacks in one of the most gruelling campaigns fought by British troops in modern times.

Two years later the Paras are back in the pounding heat of the Afghanistan front lines. The conflict has changed. The enemy has been forced to adopt new weaponry and tactics. But how much progress are we really making in the war against the insurgents? And is there an end in sight?

In this searing account of 3 Para’s return, bestselling author Patrick Bishop combines gripping, first-person accounts of front line action with an unflinching look at the hard realities of our involvement in Afghanistan. Writing from a position of exclusive access alongside the Paras, he reveals the ‘ground truth’ of the mission our soldiers have been given. It’s a sombre picture. But shining out from it are stories of courage, comradeship and humour, as well as a gripping account of an epic humanitarian operation through Taliban-infested country to deliver a vitally needed turbine to the Kajaki Dam.

Frank, action-packed and absorbing, “Ground Truth” is a timely and important book that will set the agenda for discussion of the Afghan conflict for years to come.

Reviews

‘Are we winning or losing the war in Afghanistan? …Bishop offers no easy answers. The portrait he paints is one of selfless young men and women performing magnificently under near-intolerable conditions … “Ground Truth” is one of the best accounts you will ever read about contemporary warfare: shrewdly observed, action-packed and written with great sensitivity.’ James Delingpole, Mail on Sunday

‘A beguiling and often bewildering account of how this strange war seems to the fighting man and woman…Bishop gets to the core of their thoughts and fears. As a view from the ground, often with the author present at key points, Bishop’s books are invaluable’ Evening Standard

‘Well paced and well told. It is also very well informed… It is his sense of personal involvement in the testing physical and moral hardships of contemporary soldiering that gives the narrative such a sharp and poignant edge…inspiring’ Country Life

About the author

Patrick Bishop has been a foreign correspondent for over twenty years, reporting from conflicts all over the world. He is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling ‘Fighter Boys’, ‘Bomber Boys’ and ‘3 Para’.