Soldiers Without Borders

By: Ian McPhedran

Narrated by: Peter Byrne

What happens to the elite, close-knit soldiers of Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment after they leave the Who Dares Wins world of special forces? For some, there are highly paid jobs in the world's war zones and trouble spots protecting global corporations from terrorism, sabotage and violence. Others become powerful government advisers, many join foreign armies to train their special forces and expand the global brotherhood. Most risky of all, is the shadowy world of deniable 'black ops'.

Guarding a deadly secret military cargo - a new missile system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer - is all in a day's work. These are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and Asia, award-winning defence writer Ian McPhedran uncovers a virtually unknown network and tells how Australia's top soldiers are forever linked in a seemingly borderless world.

©2008 Ian McPhedran and Verona Burgess. Ian McPhedran and Verona Burgess assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of this Work. First published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited in. This audio version produced by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited. (P)2010 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Ian McPhedran documents the recent history of the Australian special forces—the S.A.S.—in missions to Dubai, Iraq, Timor, and Rwanda. His focus favors the personnel rather than the clandestine training and operations. The mini-biographies last little more than a few sentences, making it difficult to perceive any depth to the men spotlighted. Narrator Peter Byrne's bombastic approach seems like overkill for the bland facts, but it generates excitement where the author has provided little. Byrne's greatest moment comes when he screams in agony for one of the macho characters. He’s at ease with the down-under accent and national vocabulary—in which the ubiquitous adjective "bloody" modifies almost every noun, bloke, and mate." (AudioFile Magazine)

The Lives of the Highly Trained.

SAS are some of the most effective (read you do not want to mess with any of them), military in the world. Other reviewers have mentioned that much of this book is about the people who survived the hard and harsh SAS training and how it informed their lives both in and out of the service. I found all aspects fascinating. The part about these Australian warriors trying to train others to fight and survive is actually funny. I am glad to know that these people are smart as well as hard and make great lives both in and out of a really vital service to their country.

Dissapointed

I guess the title and lines in the description such as "Guarding a deadly secret military cargo - a new missile system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer - is all in a day's work. These are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit." lead me to believe this book was more about "deniable missions and black ops." It turned out to be a boring listen for me. I didn't make it through the entire first half. Aside from a gory genocidal paragraph or two about what some of his mates saw and did at the beginning of the book, it was mostly just long storys about some old mate or other he knew of served with who retired from the SAS and then went to work for company x or company y and how he made good in the corporate world, etc. If there were any actual war stories or black op type stories you have to sit through way too many "When he finally quit SAS his old buddies called him for a good job opportunity here or there.
You can sum up the half I listened to with just a few sentences: "You can use your service buddies to network and find good jobs after you get out of the SAS. The end."
Save your book credit, unless you need motivation to quit the SAS and start earning big bucks in some foreign land. I'm sorry to be so hard on this book but I have been with audible for years and honestly this is the first one I couldn't finish. Let me state again that I did not listen to the entire book so take this review for what it is worth.