LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
There is no nice way to kill an enemy soldier who is trying to kill you. Soldiers are our guardians, we expect them to go to the places we don’t want to go and do things we are untrained and afraid to do. We expect them to keep the bad guys at bay, away from our safe and peaceful lives. And we expect them to do all this with dignity, restraint and within the constraints of law.
In May, 2004, together with a small group of lightly armed fellow soldiers from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, Brian Wood left the comparative safety of a Warrior personnel carrier to engage in a close-quarters fire-fight with enemy soldiers. The bravery he showed in the subsequent engagement resulted in his being awarded the Military Cross.
In 2009, enemy combatants who surrendered during the battle attempted – through an established firm of UK lawyers – to sue the British Government by claiming they were innocent farmers going about their normal day when they had been attacked by British soldiers, beaten, tortured, unlawfully imprisoned and then some of their number had been murdered while in detention.
Double Crossed tells the story of Brian Wood’s fight to clear his name, of the duplicity and highly questionable motives of certain members of the legal profession, and of the effect of discovering your every move, your every thought and your every decision - made during a tense and life-threatening battle - can be the subject of ill-informed and ill-qualified analysis by others in the safe environment of a court where, should those that have never been there and will never truly understand, decide you have acted outside the law, the price you may pay for surviving is imprisonment.
This is an excellent read, and not just for those who empathise with Brian Wood. Frightening at times, infuriating at others, Double Crossed never fails to engage the reader. Anyone who is interested in modern society’s struggle to differentiate between right and wrong, between good and evil, and between justice and injustice should read it.
Matt Johnson
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Double Crossed A Code of Honour, A Complete Betrayal Synopsis
The Sunday Times Bestseller At the age of 23, Brian Wood was thrust into the front line in Iraq, in the infamous Battle of Danny Boy. Ambushed, he led a charge across open ground with insurgents firing at just five soldiers. On his return, he was awarded the Military Cross. But Brian's story had only just begun. Struggling to re-integrate into family life, he suffered from PTSD. Then, five years later, a letter arrived: it summoned him to give evidence at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into allegations of war crimes by British soldiers during the Iraq invasion of 2003. After years of public shame, Brian took the stand and delivered a powerful testimony, and following the tense inquiry room scenes, justice was finally served. Phil Shiner, the lawyer who made the false accusations, was struck off and stripped of an honorary doctorate. In this compelling memoir, Brian speaks powerfully and movingly about the three battles in his life, from being ambushed with no cover, to the mental battle to adjust at home, to being falsely accused of hideous war crimes. It's a remarkable and dark curve which ends with his honour restored but, as he says, it was too little, too late.
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Press Reviews
Brian Wood Press Reviews
This book is creating a lot of waves before it has even been published - Piers Morgan
Gripping, visceral and emotional ... brutally honest, relentlessly inspiring and I can't recommend it enough! - Ben Shephard
[A] vivid, honest account... chilling reading - Mail on Sunday
An enthralling and revealing story ... truly riveting and draws the reader into the heart of the battle; you can almost taste the sweat and feel the grit of the sand as you turn the pages. - John Nichol, author of TORNADO DOWN and SPITFIRE
An enthralling and revealing story ... truly riveting and draws the reader into the heart of the battle; you can almost taste the sweat and feel the grit of the sand as you turn the pages. - John Nichol, author of TORNADO DOWN and SPITFIRE
Author
About Brian Wood
Brian Wood MC, former Colour Sergeant, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross, one of Britain's highest awards for gallantry in combat, by the Queen, following his courageous leadership under enemy fire in Iraq. During a 16-year military career, Brian led British troops across the spectrum of battle: from training to fighting; from operations in the Balkans to high-intensity combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brian is a frequent broadcaster, and is also a highly inspirational public speaker, delivering compelling sessions on leadership and grit. This is his first book. Brian lives in Hampshire, with his wife and their two children.
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