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The Hunt: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Catch a Taliban Warlord
From master storyteller Andy McNab, this is the opening book in an adventure-filled and action-packed new series telling, for the first time ever, the true stories of Special Forces missions.
'McNab's first major non-autobiographical work of non-fiction ... The operation is told like a novel [...] and it is as refreshingly informal and compellingly immediate as his other books' Daily Express
'Part history lesson, part military manual, part fixed-bayonets thriller. A must for Special Forces fans' The Sun
It is the early 2000s and 9/11 is fresh in the world's memory. The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, and armed militants and explosive devices are terrorising the people. And now a new threat is emerging in the suicide bombings, ordered by military commander of the Taliban, Mullah Dadullah.
Special Forces are sent in to stop him.
The Hunt is the thrilling story of the secret mission to catch Dadullah, one of the most dangerous men alive. Using classified sources and his unique insight into the way the SAS works, Andy McNab gives a page-turning account of what it took the Special Forces to find their target and what they would have to do to take him down.
An explosive story of hostage negotiations, undercovers missions and a final, epic assault on Dadullah's compound that could leave only one side alive, The Hunt is a powerful retelling of a real-life Special Forces mission.
'McNab's first major non-autobiographical work of non-fiction ... The operation is told like a novel [...] and it is as refreshingly informal and compellingly immediate as his other books' Daily Express
'Part history lesson, part military manual, part fixed-bayonets thriller. A must for Special Forces fans' The Sun
It is the early 2000s and 9/11 is fresh in the world's memory. The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, and armed militants and explosive devices are terrorising the people. And now a new threat is emerging in the suicide bombings, ordered by military commander of the Taliban, Mullah Dadullah.
Special Forces are sent in to stop him.
The Hunt is the thrilling story of the secret mission to catch Dadullah, one of the most dangerous men alive. Using classified sources and his unique insight into the way the SAS works, Andy McNab gives a page-turning account of what it took the Special Forces to find their target and what they would have to do to take him down.
An explosive story of hostage negotiations, undercovers missions and a final, epic assault on Dadullah's compound that could leave only one side alive, The Hunt is a powerful retelling of a real-life Special Forces mission.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2022
98 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Andy McNab
205 books1,171 followersAndy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was badged as a member of 22 SAS Regiment. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide, including anti-terrorist and anti-drug operations in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 6, 2023
A decent read, well described and impactful action with emotion and power. Downside to this book is the amount of description of the operation and a lot of the describing/writing could be whittled down and replaced with action. The writing, however, is very well detailed and does offer the reader a full picture of exactly what’s going on. You can certainly tell author Andy McNab is ex-special forces.
November 28, 2022
A clear and concise delivery of details...frequently pointless ones, along with a realistic dialogue that does little story building.
As a film it would be great. As a book it droned on. An example is the repeated recitation of map coordinates. In a movie map coordinates add realism. In a book it's a pointless string of numbers. Likewise the dialogue is realistic in a film, monotonous in a book.
The general Boo-Yah arc of the story misses the overall story of Afghanistan, which was a complete and utterly pointless cock-up. Great men doing great things in a pointless venture. It reminded me of Robin Cooks "The Green Berets", Boo-Yah all the way off the edge of the cliff.
With a different presentation, it would have been much more enjoyable.
As a film it would be great. As a book it droned on. An example is the repeated recitation of map coordinates. In a movie map coordinates add realism. In a book it's a pointless string of numbers. Likewise the dialogue is realistic in a film, monotonous in a book.
The general Boo-Yah arc of the story misses the overall story of Afghanistan, which was a complete and utterly pointless cock-up. Great men doing great things in a pointless venture. It reminded me of Robin Cooks "The Green Berets", Boo-Yah all the way off the edge of the cliff.
With a different presentation, it would have been much more enjoyable.
October 14, 2022
This is the story of a real life-and-death military operation told through soldier 'Jay' of the Special Boat Service, the Royal Navy's SAS.
Set in the brutal terrain of Afghanistan 2007, Jay reveals the complex planning necessary for a successful op against a major terrorist.
The target is Taliban military commander 'Black Mullah' Dadullah, notorious for cutting off heads and even feared by his own side.
Packed with jargon - ISTAR, JTAC, HVT - this is part history lesson, part military manual, part fixed-bayonets thriller.
When the operation begins you're as well briefed as the troops. A must for Special Forces fans.
Set in the brutal terrain of Afghanistan 2007, Jay reveals the complex planning necessary for a successful op against a major terrorist.
The target is Taliban military commander 'Black Mullah' Dadullah, notorious for cutting off heads and even feared by his own side.
Packed with jargon - ISTAR, JTAC, HVT - this is part history lesson, part military manual, part fixed-bayonets thriller.
When the operation begins you're as well briefed as the troops. A must for Special Forces fans.
May 31, 2023
Was massively into Andy manav books growing up, but coming back to them after a period of my political beliefs sliding left is pretty remarkable. Maybe I’m being unfair and it’s just the context of what’s happened to Afghanistan since, but it’s just really icky as the book openly talks about how the guy they’re hunting was trained by the CIA. Just rly hard to get invested when the context is so distracting. The writing has never really been what held these books together, I also think coming back a bit more mature makes you realise how puerile a lot of the ‘banter’ is. Without that ‘one of the team’ feel and a sort of slight revulsion, found it very hard to enjoy
June 3, 2023
I really enjoyed this non fiction book from the author of Bravo Two Zero. While I knew about the SBS it was really good to get a view into the secret world less known than the SAS.
I wanted to give three stars as it was not as critical of the challenges faced in the modern warfare. Also there was a fair bit of repetition of why the lead knew he could count on his team etc. But in the end this is an account of a very skilled team told by one of the “brothers” and ultimately I couldn’t put it down.
Sad to reflect on the state of Afghanistan now.
I wanted to give three stars as it was not as critical of the challenges faced in the modern warfare. Also there was a fair bit of repetition of why the lead knew he could count on his team etc. But in the end this is an account of a very skilled team told by one of the “brothers” and ultimately I couldn’t put it down.
Sad to reflect on the state of Afghanistan now.
June 13, 2023
No doubt some fiction thrown in to the "true story", but a traditional Afghan book about the special forces. You could easily swap Delta or SEAL for SBS, but that's missing the point. These guys are genuine "heroes", but the sad reality is they were sent in to do a job that should have been left alone. What a waste of talent and skil .... and look at Afghanistan now. It's still a good read to listen to the Afghan conflict in the early days and you know what you will get when you read the book. You will not be disappointed.
October 30, 2022
Fantastic read. Extremely gripping and well chronologically conveyed story. Drawing in imagination of being in ‘Jays’ position.
For someone who enjoys a modern military book this is fantastic.
For someone who enjoys a modern military book this is fantastic.
January 11, 2023
Don't bother
His books used to be excellent n every way, extremely detailed and precise.
This book is more like one written by Chris Ryan.
His books used to be excellent n every way, extremely detailed and precise.
This book is more like one written by Chris Ryan.
July 10, 2023
Proud to be British
Interesting in site into how our highly trained forces operate in the most dangerous of situations, and triumph without any medals or praise.
Interesting in site into how our highly trained forces operate in the most dangerous of situations, and triumph without any medals or praise.
December 22, 2023
excellent description of battle
Such vivid descriptive language with emotion, so that you can smell the dust and feel the sweat. I loved this book.
Such vivid descriptive language with emotion, so that you can smell the dust and feel the sweat. I loved this book.
March 22, 2024
Enjoyable read
October 15, 2024
Mixed feelings. It's historically accurate and I guess would fit into a sort of historical fiction category, it just took a long time to get going and in places was unnecessarily detailed.
January 21, 2025
only managed 25% and had to finish. It was an interesting story but sorry the acronyms just killed me it was far too much.
April 10, 2025
Good reaf
April 29, 2025
Excellent
A really good earthy and technical read. Lots of action and expertly described. Nasty business is war. But in this world there are very bad people.
A really good earthy and technical read. Lots of action and expertly described. Nasty business is war. But in this world there are very bad people.
May 22, 2025
I loved this book! Got me instantly hooked and made me feel like I was there. The moment I finished reading I pre-ordered the next one a year before it came out which isn’t something I usually
August 18, 2025
slow to start but good if you stick with it.
November 15, 2024
Excellent account of the SBS and US forces in 2007 on the ground in Afghanistan 🇦🇫 on one of the most daring raids
Great account of the operation from start to finish
Great account of the operation from start to finish
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews