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Shoot. Dive. Fly.

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Learn all about an exceptional way of life SHOOT, DIVE, FLY aims to introduce teenagers to the armed forces and tell them about the perils—the rigours and the challenges—and perks—the thrill and the adventure—of a career in uniform. Ballroom dancing, flying fighter planes, detonating bombs, skinning and eating snakes in times of dire need, and everything else in between—there’s nothing our officers can’t do!
Read twenty-one nail-biting stories of daring. Hear from some amazing men and women about what the forces have taught them—and decide if the olivegreen uniform is what you want to wear too.

208 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2017

73 people are currently reading
531 people want to read

About the author

Rachna Bisht Rawat

9 books60 followers

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5 stars
255 (60%)
4 stars
117 (27%)
3 stars
41 (9%)
2 stars
9 (2%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Douglas Misquita.
Author 18 books53 followers
February 14, 2018
I heard about this book on the radio, and believing in coincidences - I'm planning a novel with an Indian PARA (Special Forces) hero - I picked it up.
What's immediately apparent is that the book is an attempt to market the Indian armed forces - and that's good. I think too little is said of our heroes. It's time to create auras about them, time to tell stories about them, both fact and fiction. There are stories that will bring a lump to your throat, bring you tears of joy at the indomitable spirit of our brave soldiers.
While I got all of that, I felt that author's recounts could have been more descriptive, more intense.
On a closing note, here are inspirational highlights from Shoot. Dive. Fly.:

‘The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.’

And on a (not to sound callous) hilarious note: ‘Sometimes I would take thirty minutes to get down a ramp (in a wheelchair, it has to done backwards since you arrive before your wheelchair if you do it the other way) and just when I was ready to celebrate my descent, someone would push me up again, thinking I was trying to go up.’
Profile Image for Nidhi Srivastava.
Author 4 books13 followers
April 19, 2018
Defence was getting too much in my head lately, so this purchase indeed. I kept reading this book, chapter by chapter, as every chapter has a charisma of its own. I believe defence forces have a lot to teach and offer to every one of us, irrespective of the ranks and services. This book is an ultimate guide for people who wish to make it to the defence forces. You wish to be a paratrooper or a shooter or maybe a cyber-security expert, this book is going to guide you through the process. In life, there are things you regret… you regret taking a subject and ended failing in that. However, for some of us this book would be a regret… why didn’t I get to learn about the options the Indian Defence Forces has for us. Why on earth, it took me a while to be defence crazy. Movies make us believe that defence is sexy, well this book would make you defence is a class apart. For the matter of fact, yes, defence is class apart.
‘What manner of men are these who wear the maroon beret?’ – The Parachute Regiment
Every story described in the book is a lesson. Yes, lesson of bravery, pride and confidence that the men guiding our borders portrayed. They lost limbs for us, they took bullets for us, they lost friends to the borders and still they continued guarding us. There couldn’t have been a better description of the Indian Army.
What’s a day in the Indian Army likes?
You could fly a chopper to work, keep a gun handy, row across a freezing lake to attack a terrorist camp or climb down a gaping hole to rescue a child- and its all in a day’s work. You never get bored.
The word from the elite class of the country would definitely move each one of you reading it. There is a lot more pride in reading the act of bravery and chivalry, the officers have shown in the past decade and are still continue to serve the country. General Cardozo- who is the only person to cut off his own leg, belongs to the olive-green squad. You cannot be more proud of him for doing this and yet emerging as one of the confident personalities. Then, you have Major D.P. Singh who fought against himself…defeated his own stamina and emerged as a India’s only blade runner.
“From fighting as a soldier during the Kargil war, to battling death and becoming India’s first amputee marathon runner, he also works to inspire many other” – Huffington Post
Captain Sandesh Kadam (now, Major Sandesh Kadam) is one of the paratrooper in the Army. His parachute didn’t open at the height of 5,000 feet. He didn’t give up after this malfunctioned fall. He is quoted in the talk with the author, where he describes about the 3 remaining free falls he has to make… which will make him a combat free-faller. It gave me goose bumps when he said “I want to wear that insignia on my chest”.
“Some men are meant to spread their wings and fly!”
Indian Defence Forces are short of soldiers but there aren’t short of bravery and enthusiasm. I believe this book should be read by everyone opting or not opting for the forces. This read will boost your confidence and guide you through the pain. You feel being heart-broken is most painful on this earth, try fighting with bullets pierced in your body. You feel losing your expensive phone is the only sorrow, you never know what the pain of losing a limb is.
“We wore our injuries like war medal”, that’s what the Indian Army is all about.

“All our battles are fought in the mind, between the two people who reside inside us”
“Winning against yourself is the most difficult thing in life and those who have won this fight have the power to change things”
“I don’t think anyone is fearless- except the Gorkhas” – General Cardozo
“The best way to empower a person is to take everything away from him. When you have nothing to lose, there is no fear” – Captain Navin Gulia
“The warriors of the future might never carry a gun”

This book is more than a book, it’s a feeling!
Profile Image for Anshita.
8 reviews3 followers
April 3, 2020
My favourite book! :)
Such an inspiring and heart warming book.
Profile Image for Aakanksha.
3 reviews1 follower
July 7, 2020
“All our battles are fought in the mind, between the two people who reside inside us”
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What’s a day in the Indian Army likes?
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“You could fly a chopper to work, keep a gun handy, row across a freezing lake to attack a terrorist camp or climb down a gaping hole to rescue a child- and its all in a day’s work. You never get bored.”
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There is something about the way Rachna (@rachna_bishtrawat) writes the about the Indian Army. She has a knack to share their stories pretty much in a very vivid manner. She takes us from the icy Vally of Siachen to the minefields of East Pakistan effortlessly.
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A story each day and thats how I finished this book in 21days after it sat on my shelf for a whole year. This book gives a perfect peek into a career in the armed forces. Its one of the few books which also covers the stories of women in olive-green uniform.
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There is a lot more pride in reading the act of bravery and chivalry, the officers have shown in the past decade and are still continue to serve the country. Indian Defence Forces are short of soldiers but there aren’t short of bravery and enthusiasm. From General Cardazo to Major D.P Singh and a lot more unheard names Rachna has done a great job at covering the stories with such ease.
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I truly believe this book should be read by everyone opting or not opting for the forces. This read will boost your confidence and guide you through the pain. You feel being heart-broken is most painful on this earth, try fighting with bullets pierced in your body. You feel losing your expensive phone is the only sorrow, you never know what the pain of losing a limb is.
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“We wore our injuries like war medal”, that’s what the Indian Army is all about.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Reading Difficulty: ⭐️⭐️/5
Profile Image for Gurjot Singh.
1 review
February 14, 2020
A highly recommended book to read. Telling us about the different personalities in the Indian Army starting from some arduous stories of the missions of the Indian Army then to the stories of the personnel's who made their own way after facing physical disabilities and we today know them as motivational personalities and then telling us about the stories of academy and also proving some myth wrong of what people think about the army.
In total this is the book which tells us stories of heroism, courage, grit, willpower, adventure and also making the youngsters more enthusiastic to join the Indian Armed Forces.
178 reviews1 follower
January 14, 2022
This is the next book in my collection from the author. I must say, her writing skills, combined with her being an 'insider' and the Army giving her access to real life heroes and their stories have made this a heady mix. For me, what stood apart from the other stories are those of the grit and determination showed by the men and women who faced seemingly insurmountable odds and achived what they dreamt about while still making a career out of their aspirations. More than anything else, this is an inspiring book for those who easily give in and water down their dreams. A must read!!
Profile Image for Rakshit Thumar.
25 reviews
November 12, 2017
shoot dive and fly....title itself express the adventures, risk and pride. here i talk about the duty of indian army and other para department.
you can know the how hard training of indian army person face during training sessions.
how they can take risk for save the people and face the mission to the terrorist or enemy.
how strong army officer are that is to know.
here we can informed how fulfill our dream with army .
must read for pride of our army and soldiers.
Profile Image for Srivatsan V.
81 reviews4 followers
March 18, 2018
Best book to read if you are passionate about armed forces

The best non fiction book of 2017 along with "India's Most fearless" by Shiv Aroor & Rahul Singh. Must read if you are interested in joining armed forces or if you are passionate about Indian Armed Forces. Also, this book bursts many myths about Indian Armed Forces i.e. armed forces not meant for women, age is a barrier, an army needs only a gun to operate and many.. Very insightful book by Rachna Bisht Rawat
Profile Image for Shri.
135 reviews
August 30, 2022
I generally love reading stories about our brave men and women in arms and this one was no different. Being the only book in which the soldiers are allowed to be interviewed in person, it brought more life to the experiences than it would have had it just been narrated. This takes you through a wondrous amount of emotions, from nearly crying to laughing out loud. Lovely story by an amazing author!!
Profile Image for Abhishek  Lodhi.
64 reviews
July 25, 2018
Inspiring, Thrilling, Real Life Action Packed Read...!!!

This is my first book from the author and could't drop it without finishing. The author has beautifully presented the story of Real Life Superheroes which live among us yet very different. Very inspiring, reignited the urge to join Armed Forces...a childhood dream..!!

A must read for every age...!!
Profile Image for Sheetal Sahay.
33 reviews1 follower
February 20, 2019
Enjoyed reading the stories and adventure of men in uniform and from different walks of army. How they have fought the situation and made the best of life. It is only in the ARMY, that a man looses everything and crashes and still doesn’t loose one biggest thing called as hope and makes the best of life.
Profile Image for Sourav.
15 reviews3 followers
September 22, 2019
The book is all about the bravery and courage .Full of short stories this book is going to give you many goosebumps. This is d excellent collection of Rachna mam.More importantly these stories are all real and they are our brother in armed forces.i am sure Your motivation will go high after reading this ..🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
3 reviews
January 5, 2020
Eye opener

This book was a serious eye opener. It reveals that there are multiple opportunities in the army for the ones who really wants to be a part of it. I would recommend this book to everyone who aspires to see themselves in the uniform. It's not too late even if you have crossed 30. Please read the book, it may change one's life.
Profile Image for Nayan Laskar.
1 review
June 29, 2020
If you are a defense enthusiast or want to know about the honor and adventures of the Indian Army, then this book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! This book has stories that throw some light on the adventures in the Indian Army, the courage shown by our soldiers & officers, training in the academy & has also busted some myths about the Indian Army. Trust me, this book will not disappoint you.
Profile Image for Gaurav Bhatt.
4 reviews
February 19, 2019
I really loved this book because it was the first time i got a glimpse of Army Life. It will motivate you to the Core especially Mr D. P Singh (Blade Runner of India )

** Will Write Detailed Review Later. **
4 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2020
I am preparing for joining Indian Army, and this book filled my egarness to know about what life will be like in reality if I become an Indian Army officer.
This book is filled with real and unheard hero's life journey.
Highly recommend to those who get attracted towards Armed forces of India😄✌️
Profile Image for Bud Chapman.
64 reviews
April 25, 2021
Intended as a book to encourage young people to find the Indian Army an exciting and fulfilling career. And I agree that it is, however as a non-Indian adult I found it a bit patronising and jingoistic.
20 reviews
July 12, 2021
21 Military stories cleverly crafted to inspire young minds and evoke the spirit of patriotism. I enjoyed reading each story. After I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading, and when it was over, I wanted to read more stories like them.
163 reviews10 followers
September 3, 2022
An excellent collection of inspiring real world experiences of men and women in uniform, this book serves as an excellent career guide for anyone contemplating a career in armed services.

Highly recommended !!!
1 review
September 24, 2022
Awwwwsome!!!

Great book, was so indulged in reading,the anecdotes were on point,while reading i felt as if i was on the place of these bravehearts...really well written it gave me chills.
Ko
1 review
June 20, 2023
A great book with amazing stories.

If you are thinking of joining army and want to know about various service option available please read it. It also gives you a glimpse in day to day lives of Army Officers.

Would recommend parents/relatives to gift it to their children at early teens so that they can explore various opportunities available in army and think about their career options.
6 reviews
September 13, 2018
Amazing Stories about Army! MUST READ for all the ones aspiring to get into Defence and also if you are curious to know about their life and Sacrifices.
This is the book for you :)

Enjoy.
Profile Image for Naman Agarwal.
10 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2018
A book which inspires you through short stories of the grand adventures of different armed personal, it motivates you to join the armed forces and bust few myths regarding the job.
Profile Image for Basant Karki.
13 reviews
February 21, 2019
I loved this book as it shows the real adventure an Army life can gives you. Inspirational stories that can lit a fire in any ones heart. Feel proud
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Shivang.
6 reviews5 followers
May 9, 2019
Goosebumps.... Goosebumps.... Goosebumps
Damn!! Best book read till now.
Profile Image for Vivek Kumar.
16 reviews
December 7, 2019
A good book to get an insight of the life of an Indian army officer. It surpass all the myths regarding life in Indian army and present you with the truth.
3 reviews
Read
February 21, 2020
Rachna bisht is a great authore to potray what the life at defence forces is
Profile Image for Arjit Yadav.
19 reviews
July 8, 2020
Got to know so many things about the Indian Army. There is so much inspiration in this book. I would like to thank the author to have written a book like this. 🙌🏼❤️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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