Born of the Desert: With the SAS in North Africa

by Malcolm James

An SAS medical officer’s gripping memoir of his WWII service in North Africa.Born of the Desert is a classic account of the early years of the SAS. The Special Air Service was formed in 1941 and quickly earned a reputation for stealth, daring, and audacity in the Western Desert Campaign. This elite force utilized the endless expanse of the desert to carry out surprise attacks and hit and run raids behind the Afrika Korps’ lines, sowing confusion, fear, and consternation.Malcolm James served as Medical Officer with the SAS throughout 1942 and 1943, and Born of the Desert is his atmospheric account of his life in the North African desert, the bitter fighting against Italian and German targets, and the forging of a remarkable elite unit. James captures the excitement of this dramatic mode of warfare and brings to life the deadly beauty of the desert, the harsh environment, and the strong bonds of comradeship and interdependence that grew out of this experience.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2015

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent combination of special forces history and memoir written by a medical officer who was with the Special Air Services in North Africa for about 15 months. It was interesting to read about the evolution of the SAS, desert travel, the raids on Axis airfields and railways and the day to day camp life in the conflict zone. Mostly written from the author's daily journal and personal notes with beautiful descriptions of the desert environment, anecdotes describing the personalities and quirks of members of the SAS team and the day to day impressions and concerns of the author. When writing Rogue Heroes, author Ben Macintyre borrowed heavily from this book.

[Alex David · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Born of the Desert, (1991 edition) Dr. Malcolm James Pleydell draws a masterful yet poignant portrait of early British SAS fighters.

Written rather hastily while Pleydell was battling abdominal pain in Malta, Born of the Desert is a must-read because of its originality and lyrical prose that fluctuates between the droll and the horrific. It is the earliest account published of the SAS during WWII in the Western Desert, overflowing with details of desert life and SAS raids behind enemy lines.

Pleydell never overstates his heroes’ bravery and although he does not trivialize the men’s dogged perseverance, he simply accepts that he and his comrades did their bit for their country.

I often wonder, how did they survive at all? I know the desert well, so I am awed by what Pleydell, Stirling, and their comrades achieved and more so by the compelling narrative of Dr. Pleydell.

Born of the Desert gets the highest marks for superb writing and for being undeniably one of the best and unparalleled windows to the early days of the newly formed Special Air Services, L-detachment under David Stirling’s command.

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I followed up on reading Ben Macintyre's book Rogue Heroes on the SAS with this one, a personal history written by the doctor who worked with that unit for a year. His descriptions of the desert are lovely and so are his descriptions of the men. I'm not one for war books, but reading about the SAS and the men who fought in it has captured my interest. It's just a fabulous cast of characters and they are all real. Some survived the war; some didn't. I laughed and I cried -- for me, the sign of a good book.

[Jove · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this hoping for a strongly medical slant to the SAS after reading Rogue Heroes. However, the book retells many of the same stories told in Rogue Heroes, but with less of a storytellers flare for inciting the imagination. There are also few medical insights, which for me could have transformed this story about the North African front.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite war memoir. Especially interesting to hear the perspective of a doctor. Each man emerges as a fully fleshed out human that you come to care about. Pleydell shares the humor that the men used to cope with the war and its destruction.

Along with evocative descriptions of the desert landscape of North Africa and its wildlife, there is a very touching passage about a wounded tern that Pleydell and the rest of the men try to nurse back to health.

[Paul Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good account of life in the desert with the SAS

[Jonathan Yom-Tov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this 6 stars if I could.

The author, Malcolm Pleydell, was the SAS' first doctor. From what I read, at the time the British education system was not an enjoyable place to be, but it did produce some excellent writers and Pleydell is a prime example.

The book describes the first year of the SAS, the year that made the SAS come to life in the creche of the desert. The environment is grim and hard but Pleydell quickly finds its beauty, in sunsets over the lifeless earth, in the curves of sand dunes in the Sand Sea, in the stars lighting cold nights.

Pleydell writes so well about training, the personalities, the operations, the camaraderie and the desert environment that he managed to invoke in me the atmosphere of events and environments I hadn't experienced myself. Lying hidden in the desert after an operation and observing plants, animals and rocks, slowly falling asleep while waiting for the enemy to call off his search. A night talking, singing and laughing with comrades in the deep desert. Treating wounded while being hunted by enemy aircraft and then the horror of evacuating them in trucks over rough ground, knowing that every bump brings them new pain. And worst of all, the sadness over a comrade's death, sometimes preventable if only they'd been closer to a proper hospital.

I have no doubt I'll be rereading this someday soon.

[Connor FitzGerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating first-hand account by the medical officer who spent some time with David Stirling and Paddy Mayne in the North African desert in 1941 and 1942. It was the formative years of the SAS and the whole approach of Stirling and Mayne was unique and daring. I read this book after becoming captivated by this whole era from the book SAS Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre. The personalities of the men involved are inspiring and uplifting, and the stories and feats they achieved are more amazing than fiction! The other special aspect of James' novel was that because it was written very soon after the actual events occured, it gives a very insightful reflection on the psychology of men and women in the early stages of WWII.

[Alan Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor’s view of the SAS-

Exciting and artistically described but marred by atrocious editing failures on every page, like reading through a minefield of errors to glean the fine imagery and context. Brave men and occasionally a woman or 2, living on the edge of civilization in North Africa WW II. It’s a nice complement to the other SAS memoirs.

[Suzanne McNear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing tale

War and all that goes with time in the desert. Cannot recommend it more highly. Days and nights for months

[Kevin Griger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting first person account of a Doctor stationed with the SAS in Africa during World War II

[Brian Seare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desert

A book that is very good at describing the conditions that the men of the .SAS and LRDG had to deal with.

[Spence Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A front line view of the war in N Africa.

Great personal view of the daily life and behind the scene battles of an SAS Physician in North Africa! Great read!