SBS - THE INSIDE STORY OF THE SPECIAL BOAT SERVICE.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,4th imp.[Complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4.So 1st edn,4th imp.]FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (£16.99) to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,monochrome illustrated background with unit badge+motto centrally placed to upper panel of dw/dj; rear panel illustrated with a colour photograph,gilt,red+ white lettering; with some minimal shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - a couple of small closed tears to head of spine/ backstrip's top edge and a small closed tear/nick to rear lower corner of dw/dj too.Top edges lightly dust-soiled but still generally bright and clean,clean fore-edges; contents bright,tight and clean - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,therefore appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean, publisher's original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers. UK, 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,4th imp,vii-viiipp+1-311pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements,Pts 1-3 comprising 20 chapters and an epilogue,32pp contemporary b/w photographs in 4 blocks of 8pp apiece, between pp56/7,pp120/21,pp184/5 and pp248/9 respectively, appendices (I+II),a bibliography and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages.
At the start of the Gulf War they flew by helicopter to within 35 miles of Baghdad and hacked through Saddam Hussein's most vital communication cables.They took the surrender of Argentine troops on South Georgia and were first ashore in the Falklands,penetrating deep into enemy positions to gather vital gateway intelligence that led to the invasion and recapture of the islands by the British Task Force.
For more than half a century they have been involved in scores of secret,usually politically sensitive and often highly dangerous missions around the world.
Yet public knowledge of most of their operations and activities is so scant that many are unaware of the existence of this small,highly trained force which today forms the special Boat Service,operating from a top-security base near Poole in Dorset.The men of the SBS are the maritime equivalent of their counterparts in the SAS,with whom they often train and occasionally combine for a particular mission.
One of the most proficient and respected units in the Royal Marines and the elite of the British Special Forces,they are also the most secretive.Although SAS activity has been extensively documented in recent years,the SBS has remained in the state it prefers - a shadowy silhouette,with identities protected and missions kept from public view in line with their badge motto: 'Not By Strength,By Guile'. With the help of officers and men of the Special Boat Service and its associated Second World War units interviewed exclusively for this book,author John Parker has compiled a comprehensive history from its foundation in 1941,with many of its major operations recorded and recalled,often by those who were there. In addition,he has searched many thousands of pages of military archives.The result is the most complete,authoritative and up-to-date (then 1997) documentary of the SBS ever published . . . a truly gripping account,brimming with facts and authentic detail.
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