Z Special Unit

Gavin Mortimer is the author of Stirling's Men (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004), a ground-breaking history of the early operations of the SAS, The SAS in World War II: An Illustrated History (Osprey, 2011) and The SBS in World War II: An Illustrated History (Osprey, 2013). He has also recently published The Men Who Made the SAS (Constable, 2015). An award-winning writer whose books have been published on both sides of the Atlantic, Gavin has previously written for The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer and Esquire magazine. He continues to contribute to a wide range of newspapers and magazines from BBC History to the American Military History Quarterly. In addition he has lectured on the SAS in World War II at the National Army Museum. He was also the historical consultant on the 2017 BBC documentary about the wartime SAS and has conducted World War II battlefield tours with serving members of the Regiment.

• Introduction: Stirling effortChapter 1: Lyon heartedChapter 2: Operation JaywickChapter 3: An Old KraitChapter 4: ‘Good luck and God’s Speed’Chapter 5: Singapore StruckChapter 6: The Wizards of OzChapter 7: Another CrackChapter 8: Sleeping BeautiesChapter 9: Pirates and PorpoiseChapter 10: Tiger HuntingChapter 11: 'A blow to us all'Chapter 12: Jungle ChallengeChapter 13: Allies and Headhunters Chapter 14: Guerrilla ArmyChapter 15: Victory in BorneoChapter 16: Savage RevengeChapter 17: The Elusive TruthEpilogue: 'War’s pretty grim'Index

With superb production standards and lots of interesting photos, this is an intriguing look at the chaotic world of spec ops down under.