{"title":"Ben Mckelvey","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"life-and-love-in-england-cd-5060366783080","title":"Life and love in England","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49697976713489,"sku":"DVDB01BGK1R5OVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B01BGK1R5O.jpg?v=1750735570"},{"product_id":"commando-book-ben-mckelvey-9780733640803","title":"The Commando","description":"On 22 June 2013, Corporal Cameron Baird was a 2nd Commando Regiment Special Forces soldier when he led his platoon into a known Taliban stronghold to back-up another Australian unit under heavy fire.  In the prolonged firefight, Cameron was mortally wounded.   In 2014, Cameron's bravery and courage under fire saw him posthumously awarded the 100th Victoria Cross, our highest award possible for bravery in the presence of the enemy.  Cameron Baird died how he lived - at the front, giving it his all, without any indecision.  He will forever be remembered by his mates and the soldiers he served with in the 2nd Commando Regiment.   THE COMMANDO reveals Cameron's life, from young boy and aspiring AFL player, who only missed out on being drafted because of injury, to exemplary soldier and leader. Cameron's story and that of 4RAR and 2nd Commando personifies the courage and character of the men and women who go to war and will show us the good man we have lost.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50332078768401,"sku":"GOR010407428","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51885778993425,"sku":"CIN073364080XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52504356061457,"sku":"GOR010930132","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/073364080X.jpg?v=1771495074"},{"product_id":"mosul-book-ben-mckelvey-9780733645419","title":"Mosul","description":"From the best-selling author of The Commando and Born to Fight comes a fascinating investigation of modern warfare that combines methodical research and the fast-paced action of battle with the personal stories of the combatants on both sides of the line.    Taking us from the suburbs of western Sydney and Australia's military army bases, to the battlefields of Afghanistan and  Iraq, this is a remarkable book that reveals the as-yet untold story of the battle for Mosul and the secret involvement of Australians on both sides of the war - both our Commandos and Australian ISIS fighters.   Mosul details the rise of ISIS influence in Australia, the Iran and Australia allegiance to fight Daesh and shows what led up to the battle and the ramifications that are still being felt at home - by our soldiers and the victims of that war.   Ben Mckelvey has extraordinary access to SOOCOMD\/2COMMANDO units - the most decorated modern Australian fighting unit; ISOF - Iraq's premier fighters; Yazidis women who had been slaves of ISIS; returned Commandos and their devastated families, and explains how petty criminals in Western Sydney became some of our worst jihadists who took their families to Iraq to fight for ISIS.  Focusing on the stories of key figures like 2 Commando's Ian Turner and one of Australia's most infamous Jihadist, Khaled Sharrouf, Mckelvey takes us the heart of this brutal battle and brings history to life in an honest, thoughtful and  compelling examination of modern warfare.  A must-read for anyone interested in modern military history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50470207389969,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50470208864529,"sku":"GOR011612930","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0733645410.jpg?v=1750977740"},{"product_id":"find-fix-finish-book-ben-mckelvey-9781460760765","title":"Find Fix Finish","description":"The new book from the bestselling author of The Commando and Mosul.    It was Australia's longest war, and also our most secretive.  In the craggy mountains, green belts and digital battlefields of Afghanistan, concepts of heroism and decency started to warp and Australian special forces operators moved apart on the question of how the war should be conducted - with tragic consequences.   For more than a decade, Australia's special forces (SASR) were pushed to the limit as brutal engagements killed 20 Australians and an estimated 11,000 Afghans. Also pushed were the limits of Australian and international law, as Australia's operators fought against - and with - brutal tribal warlords and narco-barons.   Increasingly enmeshed in a US-led targeting program that attempted to kill its way out of the war, the Australian SASR became one of the most feared and lethal force elements in the country. But with a corrupt Afghan government, ancient enmity washing into each Afghan valley, and Canberra and Washington uninterested or bereft of strategy, kill\/capture missions became their own end, not a means.   In the aftermath of the war, rifts, rumours and media reporting triggered an independent Inquiry into alleged war crimes, the subsequent Brereton Report and a sensational defamation trial - challenging the hard-won reputation of our elite forces, including Australia's most visible and decorated soldier.   Find Fix Finish is a timely investigation into Australia's special forces war in Afghanistan, featuring interviews from civilian strategic decision-makers, as well as Afghan, US and Dutch foreign nationals and former ADF commanders, troopers and privates.  Praise for Find Fix Finish:  'They knew Afghanistan to be an unwinnable war, but with customary obeisance to the Pentagon successive Australian governments hazarded the lives of their soldiers. This important book tells the sorry story of how Australian special forces came to specialise in targeted assassination. Never again should Australians be ordered into battle in a war without a just cause.' Geoffrey Robertson KC","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50886177227025,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50886177325329,"sku":"GOR014104825","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51920011723025,"sku":"CIN146076076XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/146076076X.jpg?v=1771064734"},{"product_id":"commando-book-ben-mckelvey-9780733636493","title":"The Commando","description":"On 22 June 2013, Corporal Cameron Baird was a 2nd Commando Regiment Special Forces soldier when he led his platoon into a known Taliban stronghold to back-up another Australian unit under heavy fire.  In the prolonged firefight, Cameron was mortally wounded.   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Cameron's story and that of 4RAR and 2nd Commando personifies the courage and character of the men and women who go to war and will show us the good man we have lost.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50898114019601,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50898114085137,"sku":"GOR011636208","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0733636497.jpg?v=1751042350"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-ben-mckelvey.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}