The History Book Club discussion

This is a buddy read set up by request.

BY Ed Macy

Start Date will be April 11, 2011 (or some time during that week) and ending on May 8, 2011. We always start on Mondays so this will work out well. If anyone needs more time; the threads will be open to accomodate.

Remember this is a spoiler thread and anything can be discussed in any order unless you determine how you will read this book and your timeline for discussion of different chapters. We allow each buddy read leader to set things up at their own pace.

Remember, if you cite any other book except for the discussion book for which this thread is named you must do full citations of both the book and the authors.

Good luck and have fun.

Bentley

by Ed Macy

Whoot! I love this book! Can't wait to re-read it!

Will you be able to fit it in though, Kristi? I am excited about this read. Everyone raves about it!!

I will have this book and will be able to start this book by the 11th of April.

How about everyone else?

Great news on this one. Since we have a definitive start date because you will have this book...this should work out well in terms of being able to give some advance notice for scheduling.

I'm in.

About the book;

Apache is the incredible true story of Ed Macy, a decorated Apache helicopter pilot, that takes you inside the cockpit of the world’s most dangerous war machine. A firsthand account of the exhilaration and ferocity of war, Apache chronicles a rescue mission involving a stranded soldier in Afghanistan in 2007.
Ed Macy had always dreamed of a career in the army, so when the British Army Air Corps launched its attack helicopter program, Ed bent every rule in the book to make sure he was the first to sign up to fly the Apache—the deadliest, most technically advanced helicopter in the world and the toughest to fly.
In 2007, Ed’s Apache squadron was dispatched to Afghanistan’s notorious Helmand Province with the mission to fight alongside and protect the men on the ground by any means necessary. When a marine goes missing in action, Ed and his team know they are the Army’s only hope of bringing him back alive. Apache is Macy’s story—an adrenalin-fueled account of one of the most daring actions of modern wartime, and a tale of courage, danger, and comradeship you won’t be able to put down.

About the author;

His website for more info on Apache and the author

NB* this is THE coolest author website I have ever seen.
Elite pilot, 23 years' service, 3930 flying hours, awarded military cross ... decorated war hero.

Ed Macy was born and raised in the north east of England. He has four brothers and served as an apprentice in engineering before joining the British Army.

Ed enlisted in 1984 and trained as a paratrooper before joining the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment in Aldershot. He served with 2 Para in, Belgium, Belize, Kenya, Germany, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Oman. During this time he served as rifleman, signaller, medic and weapons instructor. Ed climbed the ranks from Private to Sergeant before transferring to the Army Air Corps (AAC).

Ed Macy was awarded the trophy for best student on his pilots’ course before being posted to 9 Regiment AAC in 1992 as a reconnaissance pilot. He served with 3 Regt AAC, 4 Regt AAC, 5 Regt AAC, 9 Regt AAC and 25 Flight AAC on Gazelle and Apache helicopters amassing a total of 3,930 flying hours. He has flown in: Afghanistan, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Oman and the USA. During this time he served as a helicopter pilot, captain and flight commander specialising as the following: Air Combat Tactics Instructor, Electronic Warfare Instructor, Helicopter Range Conducting Officer, Helicopter Simulator Instructor, Helicopter Weapons Instructor, Helicopter Weapons Officer, finishing up as a Warrant Officer First Class and an Attack Aviation Specialist.

Ed Macy’s last tour of duty was in Afghanistan as an Attack Pilot on the Apache Helicopter. On his last day in uniform he was awarded and presented the Military Cross for bravery by Queen Elizabeth II – one of two issued that day and the first the AAC had ever received.

He has three children and lives in the north east with Emily.

Ed is now a best selling author with his first book ‘APACHE’ and is currently writing his second book.

SPOILERS

Always Chapter/page mark and spoiler alert your posts if you are discussing parts of the book.

To do these spoilers, follows these easy steps;

Step 1. enclose the word spoiler in forward and back arrows; < >

Step 2. write your spoiler comments in

Step 3. enclose the word /spoiler in arrows as above, BUT NOTE the forward slash in front of the word. You must put that forward slash in.

Your spoiler should appear like this;
(view spoiler)[the butler did it (hide spoiler)]

And please mark your spoiler clearly like this;

State a Chapter and page if you can.
EG: Chapter 24, page 154

Or say Up to Chapter *___ (*insert chapter number) if your comment is more broad and not from a single chapter.

Examples of spoiler;
Chapter 24 pg 36
(view spoiler)[the butler did it (hide spoiler)]

Terri wrote: "Will you be able to fit it in though, Kristi? I am excited about this read. Everyone raves about it!!

I will have this book and will be able to start this book by the 11th of April.

How about ev..."

Somehow I'll fit it in...this is a book not to be missed!

So my hubby tells me. I wonder how he's going to feel about giving this book up before he's finished it so that I can buddy read it before it has to go back to the library. :-) I smell trouble-a-brewin' lol.

You did give him fair warning though! So he shouldn't be surprised :)

I did indeed. His shoulders sagged last night when I reminded him. Poor sad hubby. :-(

On the up side...when he was reading this last night in bed he was yet again laughing out loud. I love a military book that also includes some humour. :-)

OK, its the 11th in Australia so I might have a head start on a few people but already I'm enjoying "Apache" so far, how hard is it to fly! I don't have anything like the coordination required by the pilots to get the machine off the ground and couldn't even fly one of the computer simulators that were all the rage years ago. Here is one funny section from the book I enjoyed which is a bit of toilet humour, yeah I know, its a man thing :) Page 19:

(view spoiler)[On the left was the ablutions block for the network's fifty of so inhabitants. It contained sex showers, six sinks and six toilets - all stainless steel. You were guaranteed the most uncomfortable crap in the world there, and not just because they didn't have any seats. In the winter, the rims were ice cold, and in the summer they were so hot they scalded your arse. Hovering the Apache was a doddle compared to hovering over the tin rim. (hide spoiler)]

Don't forget that this thread is open to anyone who is currently reading "Apache", has already read "Apache", or who is tempted to read "Apache" :)

by Ed Macy

Thank you very much Aussie Rick for the above post. Folks, that goes for all of the buddy read threads. They are set up for all of you.

For those who are reading "Apache" I have found the author's style of humour very funny and very close to our own style of humour here in Australia. I had a chuckle over the meeting with Prime Minister Blair, page 132-133 in chapter 'A Matter of Time':

(view spoiler)['Hang on, did you hear what he said to us, like? "So you must work with the locals." What the fuck does that mean?'

It was obvious Blair had no real idea of who we were or what we did. Sadly, scaring the locals half to death was about the closest we ever got to working with them.... (hide spoiler)]

The book really picks up when the crews start flying support for the ground forces during Operation Glacier. The link below is a definite spoiler so do not look unless you have read the chapters covering the rescue mission of Royal Marine Commando Ford or if you really can’t help yourself :)

(view spoiler)[Sky News report featuring footage of the daring rescue mission by Royal Marines and Army Air Corps Apache Gunships. In an attempt to rescue a fallen comrade left behind following an intense battle, the Marines strapped themselves to the fuselages of 2 WAH-64D Apache Longbows. They were flown in, dismounted and retrieved their brother Marine, who had sadly passed away. Marines do not like to leave men behind, dead or alive, and this balls-out operation is a reminder of the Royal Marines Commandos fighting spirit and ingenuity.

(hide spoiler)]

Aussie Rick as soon as I can catch up with my reading I will jump in here even though I will be late to the party. Thanks for keeping hope alive here (smile).

No problem's Bentley :)

Here is another funny bit from the book concerning the picture of Rocco and some seriously heavy dudes from the SBS, page 169, chapter 'The Bobs and Steve-O'.

(view spoiler)['Can you confirm which close support card you're using, mate? Mine might be out of date....'
Billy knew he'd ask me that. It detailed the criteria he needed to give us, so we could bring weapons to bear. I flicked through my Black Brain to the close-in fire support card, and there he was .... From Rocco, With Love. x.

JTAC Bob saw Rocco immediately. 'What the fuck's that?'

'Er, its Rocco. A squadron joke ... you see ...' I tried to explaim Rocco.

'I don't know what he's talking about, Bob,' Charlotte said with an utterly straight face. She added haughtily: 'We've never seen that disgusting picture before in our lives.' The rest of my Apache colleagues took Charlotte's cue and all solemnly agreed. Silence from all three Bobs. Not even a flicker of a smile from any of them. But Billy grinned at me from ear to ear. He'd pulled off a corker. (hide spoiler)]

I just noticed you're reading this great book.
I won't attend since I'm reading other stuff right now, neither will I spoil anything (try to) just think of me when you get to the scene with the croissants. Why did God create Politicians?

Hi Andre, it's a damn good book :)

Did anyone else crack a smile when they read the made up citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross that Billy texted on page 227, chapter ‘A Good Night’s Work’:

(view spoiler)[4 GALLANTRY LEADERSHIP + AMZIN FLYING SKILL
HEROICS ON ACC 1ST DEEP RAID 4 KEEPING BOSS
CALM WHEN HE GOT TOO EXCITED THE DFC GOES TO
WARRANT OFFICER CLASS 1 WILLIAM SPENCER AAC (hide spoiler)]

OK, here is another one of my favourite sections from the book, pages 321-322, it covers the race back to Bastion low on fuel and not diverting around an Afghan village as per normal procedures:

(view spoiler)[Normally we'd keep out of their way. But that meant wasting more fuel we didn't have. A flash of light shot straight across the windscreen, missing us by no more than a few feet. Carl threw the aircraft into an evasive bank, climb and jink.

'What the fuck was that? Have we been engaged?'

I shot a glance out of my window, spotting for an RPG smoke trail. Instead I saw a solitary bright yellow kite flying above the village compound.

'It was a kite mate...'

It made me think of Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, which Emily had made me read on holiday in Egypt before the tour. The Taliban had banned kite flying. Among other things, we were here to defend the Afghan people's right to fly kites if they wanted to. But this one had scared the hell out of us. Maybe the Taliban had a point. (hide spoiler)]

Aussie Rick..you are doing a fab job and I will be here soon.

Hi Bentley, looking forward to it, its a great book, starts off slowly and builds up to an amazing end!

I enjoyed this account which is from when Ed and the other pilots and crew were told about their nomination for medals and they were hosted by the Commando’s and meet Prince Philip, pages 350-351:

(view spoiler)[’And these are the pilots who flew into the Jugroom Fort to rescue Lance Corporal Ford’, the 3 Commando Brigade commander told the Prince when our turn came. The old Duke surveyed the four of us with a furrowed brow and issued his trademark grunt.
‘Yes ….’ He said. ‘Are you all mad?’ (hide spoiler)]

So typically English eh!

I am still catching up elsewhere but I will descend upon this thread soon (lol)

Here is some more detailed combat footage of the rescue mission of Royal Marine Commando Ford :

Well I must confess I was pleasantly surprised by this book, a slow starter but really got me going towards the end where I could not put the book down, well worth the read. As a result I have ordered a copy of his other book; "Hellfire".

by Ed Macy

Very good Aussie Rick; I am still trying to finish Polk:

Walter R. Borneman

Then this book and HMS Surprise which is a quick one are slated next.