Customer Reviews
Boring and repetitive - By: Darrell Monteith, 14 Apr 2008 
This book appears to be written by someone who workedin Northern Ireland but there are a number of anomolies which indicate they were not as involved as they claim.
Beware the first three quarters of the book is taken up with extremely dull detail about special forces training which will be nothing new to you if you have any of the SAS books previously.
And you think the SAS have it tough? - By: Mark T, 13 Feb 2008 
This book was a real eye opener. I recently discovered a copy of this book & having read many of the SAS real life stories, did not really know what to expect.
What comes across is an in-depth look at an elite unit that most people know very little about. A unit so secret that they use false names & know very little about the other people they serve with. The book coversin detail the training, selection & the gruelling punishment this poses to those involved. This really is a "make one mistake & you are out" mentality.
That a unit as covert as the 14 Company, who actually take on & train members of the SAS, can have received very little published notoriety says a lotin itself. The members of these units have a job to do. A job that is genuinely dangerous & life threatening on a day to day basis. All the more difficult when you have to not only memorise an A-Zin depth, but know how to communicate to multiple moving Operatives at the same timein an urban or country environment, using a covert language - & be ready to enter a lethal fire fight on a regular occurrence.
Expertsin weapons, surveillance, photography, survival, driving & amongst the most physically fittest peoplein the forces, these people deserve all our respect for the job they do & get no recognition for.
I can see why this book was a Sunday Times Bestseller. Buy it.
Highly Recommended!! - By: Sam, 04 Dec 2006 Great read for any walk of life... It kept me gripped until the end,in fact I read it within a couple of days!
My advice would be to buy it, & enjoy!
Twelve Months In The Life Of.... - By: Sam Jones, 10 Jun 2006 Yeah, well ... Might be a part of the problem. The book REALLY startsin its last third, most of the pages before # 200 being devoted to an excrutiatingly precise, day-by-day, selection course.
It seems to me that Rennie has spent very little time with the Det, & has tried to jump on the bandwagon of Special Forces, terrorism -related book circuit, by exploiting as much as possible his year with 14 Intelligence Company.
And it showsin "The Operators" that Rennie has definitely very little of substance to write. The technical details, the detailing of almost every push-up session allows him to wrap up the 300 pages. Evenin the last third of the book, which specifically relates to his months as an actual operator, he fillsin the blanks by telling many stories that happened during the Troubles, stories he was not directly involved in.
Analysis, whether social or political, is little to none. Well, that might have been high expectations anyway, but at least, I would have liked to read something beyond the tech review & the procedurals of military intel.
Very disappointing from my point of view, except for the inconditional militaria reader.
This man did the business! - By: T. Mccormack, 31 Jan 2006 As a serviceman myself & having known a couple of people who have actually served with Special Forces units of one kind or another, it was with a fair amount of reserve that I started reading this book. Would it be Gung Ho, very 'Rupertish', or totally laughable & ludicrous like the book entitled "The Sixteen" written by an armchair warrior who didn't have a clue? (please see my review on Amazon.com). I thought I would give the man a chance & I was very pleased to be able to report that it is one of the best accounts of selection, training & follow up operationsin the Northern Ireland Province that I have ever read. A lot of the weapons, logistics & equipment details I knew to be true from my own experiencesin the Armed Forces but I didin fact cross-check the training & slightly 'shadier' aspects within the content of the book with an ex-Royal Marine pal of mine who actually served with the 'Detachment'. Whilst my pal was still very guarded & utterly professional about it all, he confirmed that everything that I'd asked him regarding this unit & what he thought of the writer's knowledge & experiences seemed very bona fide & although James Rennie was most definitely of the 'Rupert'(Officer) variety he was without doubt made of very stern stuff, totally committed, went through the mill & did the business when it mattered. A real eye opener for the general public, military historians & potential SF applicants! An absolutely excellent read. Buy it!
