Born in Belfast and commissioned into the army in 1981, after several tours of duty in Northern Ireland and the Falklands, Tim Collins volunteered for the SAS, where he was appointed operations officer. Assuming command of the 1st Irish Rangers in 2001, it was during and after the second Gulf War that he came to the public's attention. Firstly when his speech to his men in Iraq was made public and this soldier-thinker became an inspiration to world leaders and squaddies alike, and secondly when, just two months after his return, he was pilloried by two newspapers and accused of war crimes - specifically personally burning alive a Ba'ahist captive, and permitting the massacre of other prisoners by his men. After an unpleasant battle to clear his name he was exonerated, and subsequently promoted to Colonel. However, these events are but part of this powerful memoir.