In The Combat Zone Special Forces Since 1945

London England: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. In a world plagued by terrorism and small wars, interest in special forces has never been higher. Almost every country has a special force unit in their army. But what do they do, who do they recruit, and how do they train. The author tells for the first time the story of Special Forces since 1945, where possible in the words of the soldiers themselves. He describes the phases of expansion and contraction (near-extinction, at times) of special forces, their operational successes and failures, their changing role at the end of the twentieth century and the developments in military technology. He descibes the exploits not just of the legendary units like the SAS or the US 'Green Berets' but also special forces in a wider sense - the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marine Commandos in Britain, the Navy SEALS, Force Recon, the Rangers and the LRRPs in the USA, as well as Israeli, Italian, German, French, Australian and other special force and anti-terrorist units.Iluustrated colour D/J. Illustrated B/W photographs inside book. . Fine. Cloth. First Edition. 1997.