Mad and the Brave

Colin Freeman is a former chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph, now a freelance foreign affairs journalist. He writes features, comment and book reviews for The Daily Telegraph, as well as for The Spectator, The Economist, and The National in Abu Dhabi. He contributes regularly to From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio Four and does media punditry on foreign affairs. He is also the author of three previous books: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: The mission to rescue the hostages the world forgot (Icon Books, 2021). Kidnapped: Life as a Somali pirate hostage (Monday Books, 2011) was about the author’s own experience of being abducted in Somalia in 2008. And The Curse of the Al-Dulaimi Hotel and other half-truths from Baghdad (Monday Books, 2008) is a book of reportage about post-Saddam Iraq.

'A fascinating, multi-layered portrait of the foreign fighters battling the might of Russia. Colin Freeman is one of the most intrepid and perceptive war correspondents of our time.' Toby Harnden, Orwell Prize Winning Author of Dead Men Risen‘A fascinating and gritty account of life on the frontline in Ukraine’ Sean Rayment, ex-Para and author of Bomb Hunter'A gripping new account of the conflict, told not from the perspective of generals or governments, but through the eyes of the outsiders who answered President Zelensky's call to arms.' Michael Portillo'Lays bare a few uncomfortable and untold realities… The Mad and the Brave is a solid piece of journalism and as much as a story of human nature as old as war itself.' Cliff Caswell, Soldier magazine'Freeman writes in an easy style, treating squaddie humour, military incompetence and the chaos of a Ukrainian army suddenly thrust into a hot war with a sense of detachment… An interesting and thought-provoking read.' Army Rumour Service website'Russia’s war against Ukraine is one of the most documented in human history. And yet, often the experience of soldiers on the frontline is the least mentioned aspect of its story, with most books focusing either on broad battle histories or the experience of civilians. Colin Freeman’s excellent new book remedies this imbalance from a unique angle: it’s a historical account of Russia’s invasion, told from the perspective of a rag-tag group of overseas volunteers… Freeman succeeds with a careful balance of sensitivity and honesty, as well as a dash of dark humour.' Ada Wordsworth, Daily Telegraph'Freeman is a veteran journalist and he knows how to tell a story bloody well. Fascinating stories, without too much of the sugarcoating one sometimes expects…It is very much a ground-level account, including stories of people who were prisoners of war, and frankly it is all the better for its ground-level perspective. It is a great read.' Mark Galeotti