Ed Macy, Apache

Very informative and felt like you were right there with him. I dont normally read alot but fancied this book, I started reading it and could not put it down its amazing

Relentless action, have you on the edge of your seat, laughing 7 in tears, a truely brilliant read. The best book i've read for yrs, if you like Andy mcnab, your love Ed Macy

I know the lads who were there at the Fort and I've been in Stan myself.

I was expecting to see a few exaggerations but it is totally truthful.

Ed describes the Apache in brilliant detail and it's easy to think you're in the machine with him (I even think I could fire all of the weapons too after reading it). The book was really good and made me feel like I was in his Sqn but then things changed about a third of the way through. All of a sudden it just took off and from that point onwards I became a saddo that couldn't and wouldn't put it down. It got faster and faster and more exhilarating with every page. I found myself worried and getting edgy before my wife burst my bubble and brought back to reality. Only then did I realise my heart rate was up and I was sweating. Dinner shovelled away I took the car out for a drive and came back at five in the morning. I only drove out of the street and parked up to get some peace to end the chapter but ended up finishing the book. What more can I say. Oh yeah, get some Kleenex too cause it will pull at your heart. This is without doubt the best account of air warfare I have ever read and that includes Rob Mason's Chickenhawk.

It draws the you in making difficult to put down. It tells it from his point of view and gives a detailed account of every action he makes making you feel like you are there with him. It sometimes gets confusing with military slang and terms but everything is in the glossary. Exellent book, highly recommended to any one interested in the armed forces. Definitely worth reading.

I think Ed Macy's Apache is very much a big ego trip, and is designed to make you feel that no way could anyone apart from the ones mentioned have the abilitly to fly the aircraft, let alone sit in it. A very brave mission was carried out in the attempt to save Matt Fords life, and the following success in retreiving his body. No doubt the author has courage but expressing it in written form isn't a great asset. On the whole not a Chris Ryan in the making and as a one off it's readable.

I have been waiting for Ed Macy's Apache with anticipation ever since I first heard about the Jugroom Fort rescue. The courage, determination and sheer eccentric 'Britishness' of the mission could not have been conceived by the most talented of fictional writers. Here was a tale of war that could lift the country. Not a tale of gung-ho bloodshed and reactive heroics but of camaraderie, hope and a not inconsiderable dose of valour. When I first saw on the Internet that one of the pilots was writing a book of the events I was not surprised. I fully expected to see a firsthand blow by blow account of the mission taking us from the opening salvos right through to its dramatic conclusion. What I found was so much more.

Despite the fact that the Apache pilots are so obviously of such a high calibre, fully deserving of their elite status, there is no feeling of elitism or arrogance in the book. Ed Macy provides an honest warts and all appraisal of himself and his comrades, not afraid to recognise weaknesses or errors, and not afraid to be honest regarding their capabilities, objectives and feelings. With an easy and comfortable style the author makes you feel like a part of the team. McNab, in his comment on the book's cover said Apache 'puts you right in the cockpit... ' I beg to differ. I felt I was tucked up in his flight suit with him! The technical aspects and visualisations of the Apache are explained in such ways that the admiration and passion the author obviously feels for the machine are infectious to say the least, and when the book moves into the action scenes his writing style has your heart beating loud in your chest as you ride the couch into battle!

The book is at times humorous, at others desperately tense. It moves from stand up and cheer moments to touching sadness. His tributes to Mathew Ford are poignant and so obviously heartfelt..

This is truly an outstanding debut from a man who can now comfortably and justifiably add 'author' to his list of considerable talents. I would encourage everyone to read this book, breathe, then read it again.