Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain’s Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War

Rogue Heroes tells the history of Britain's Special Air Service (SAS), a secret fighting force established during World War II by David Stirling, a young aristocrat who recognized that small teams of elite, well-trained soldiers could parachute behind enemy lines to sabotage Nazi aircraft and war material. Operating in North Africa against Rommel's forces and later on the Continent, Stirling partnered with Jock Lewes to build a unit whose tactics and approach would transform the nature of combat and influence special forces operations for decades to come. Stirling's unconventional methods faced resistance from those who viewed them as dishonorable, yet the SAS's exploits demonstrated their effectiveness. Drawing on unprecedented access to SAS archives, Ben Macintyre examines the unit's operations and the men who served in it, offering both a detailed account of wartime strategy and a portrait of soldiers called upon to undertake extraordinary missions.