Apache
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4.8 • 8 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Ed Macy is an elite pilot, one of the few men qualified to fly Apache helicopters, the world’s deadliest fighting machines. This is his account of a fearless mission behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.
After a brutal accident forced him out of the Paras, Ed Macy refused to go down quietly. He bent every rule to sign up for the Army’s gruelling Apache helicopter programme and was one of the handful to pass the nightmare selection process. Dispatched to Afghanistan’s notorious Helmand Province in 2006, his squadron were on hand when a marine went MIA behind enemy lines – and they knew they were his only hope.
From the cockpit of the mighty Apache helicopter comes this incredible true story of a rescue mission so dangerous they said it couldn’t be done, and of the man who dared to disagree.
Reviews
‘Puts you right in the cockpit with your finger on the trigger. A truly awesome read; and a climax that Hollywood couldn’t invent.’ Andy McNab
‘Books like this remind you that soldiers truly are a breed apart.’ Guardian
'An honest account of exceptional bravery.’ Ross Kemp
'Macy is the real deal. Nobody could write that powerfully about combat, or emotionally about the men fighting with him, unless he has been at the gunship's controls. A fantastic, totally exhilarating rollercoaster read.' Sergeant Major Dan Mills, author of bestseller ‘Sniper One’
‘”Apache” is at its heart a ground-busting infantry tale told from an entirely new perspective. By the time these gutsy Uglies land in an occupied Taliban fort to join the ground fight, there is no doubt that attack helicopter pilots are flying grunts. What happens next is extraordinary.’ Owen West, author of ‘Sharkman Six’
About the author
Ed Macy left the British Army in January 2008, after twenty-three years’ service. He had amassed a total of 3,930 helicopter flying hours, 645 of them inside an Apache. Ed was awarded the military cross for his courage during the Jugroom Fort rescue – one of the first ever in Army Air Corps history. He is also the author of ‘Hellfire’.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Macy, retired after 23 years in the British army, does for the Apache helicopter's gunships what Dan Mills did for the infantry in Sniper One: he puts readers in the cockpit of an aircraft that requires great skill and attention to keep in the air. Macy takes readers to Afghanistan's Helmand Province: remote and mountainous, a center of the world opium traffic and chosen battleground of the Taliban. His squadron's eight Apaches faced both modern missiles and 19th-century rifles while supporting ground troops too few for a mission never clearly defined by the government. The book's climax comes when a British marine is listed as missing in action. In an unauthorized mission that reads like pulp fiction but whose details have been independently verified, Macy and another pilot fly into a Taliban fort to bring him out dead. When the four crewmen are awarded the Military Cross, Prince Philip asks, "Are you all mad?" But since the days of Alexander the Great, Afghanistan has taught invaders two cruel lessons: never leave a man behind, and never count the cost. 16 pages of photos; maps.
