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  • Immediate Action

  • By: Andy McNab
  • Narrated by: Paul Thornley
  • Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,118 ratings)
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Immediate Action cover art

Immediate Action

By: Andy McNab
Narrated by: Paul Thornley
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Summary

Immediate Action is a no-holds-barred account of an extraordinary life, from the day Andy McNab was found in a carrier bag on the steps of Guy's Hospital to the day he went to fight in the Gulf War.

As a delinquent youth he kicked against society. As a young soldier he waged war against the IRA in the streets and fields of South Armagh. As a member of 22 SAS Regiment he was at the centre of covert operations for nine years - on five continents.

Recounting with grim humour and in riveting, often horrifying, detail his activities in the world's most highly trained and efficient Special Forces unit, McNab sweeps us into a world of surveillance and intelligence-gathering, counter-terrorism and hostage rescue.

There are casualties: the best men are so often the first to be killed, because they are in front.

By turns chilling, astonishing, violent, funny and moving, this blistering first-hand account of life at the forward edge of battle confirms Andy McNab's standing in the front rank of writers on modern war.

©1995 Andy McNab (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about Immediate Action

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  • Overall
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superb

so good, excellent writing, witty and just overall brilliant. The SAS is something Britain can be proud of.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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gripping

loved it and well written and read. I listen to audio books at work and really helps get through a shift.

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Excellent

If you could sum up Immediate Action in three words, what would they be?

This is what Andy McNab does best: writing about his time in the SAS and how he got through selection. Great set of tales, which show the level f preparation for even the simplest sounding operation that they would have practised numerous times before. I thought that some of the ground covered by this book would be similar to Bravo 2 Zulu, however, that was not the case, only a couple of short anecdotes are in both books - Rupert failing selection by being unfit causing a more capable candidate to be RTU - so no worries. Highly recommended.

What other book might you compare Immediate Action to, and why?

comparable to Bravo 2 Zulu and Chris Ryan stories when he is on form.

What does Paul Thornley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Excellent narrator and well suited for these styles of books.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, humorous and action

Good story, and contrary to other reviews I liked the narrator, I thought he did a great job, well read, good pace and his different accents for the various characters are sound

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

Well worth the listen ; more detail than seven troop - a wonderful bio narrated well. Highly recommended.

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Recommended

I read the original years ago on its release and I’ve also enjoyed this version.
A true SAS soldier and a genuine SAS soldiers book.
Not one of those books with the the SAS in the description for marketing purposes.
If you like this type of book, you’ll love this.
Mark from Barnsley

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A little bit long but good

I enjoyed it as my first andy mcnab book. A little long I feel but still glad I listened to it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great account from McNab.

If you liked this, then Seven Troop is a must!

The paperbacks from McNab are done amazingly well but I'm sorry to say that they could of picked a better narrator for the audio.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but lacking some action.

I felt this book wasn't as gripping as Bravo Two Zero, and quite a lot of it was filler content - but good to listen to and would recommend if you like the author/McNab.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Technical in some places but that's expected

Other reviewers complained about the number of times Andy talks about the types of weapons and their technical specs etc. but he doesn't do this to be a weapons geek, it's information they need to know to do their job and it ties in well with the story being retold. I was a bit disappointed there isn't more action; he describes most of the job being boring and waiting for things to happen and that's what this book felt like in places. Overall though, the action described was quite intense and made for good, edge of the seat, listening. One more thing - the narrator started off a bit annoying, his voice is a bit Chaz 'n' Dave but after a while you get used to it and his attempt at accents are funny.

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