A thrilling history of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), the original British desert warriors who preceded the SAS, has been published in a new book by ex-SBS operator Titch Cormack. The book, titled 'SAS 101', sets the record straight on the men of the Zerzura Club, who traversed the Sahara and invented special forces techniques still used today.
Forgotten heroes of the desert
Long before the SAS were founded by David Stirling, Ralph Bagnold and his band of explorers and mavericks of the Zerzura Club – named after a legendary lost Libyan oasis – were navigating the most hostile depths of the Sahara. This pre-war group of adventurers wrote the rule book on desert navigation, survival and warfare, inventing the concept of special forces and teaching the nascent SAS everything they knew. Despite their contributions, they were subsequently overlooked in favour of the SAS, who were popularised as the 'Rogue Heroes'.
Cormack, who spent 10 years in special forces, provides a gripping account of British eccentricity and grit. Bagnold and his men confounded the Afrika Korps and developed techniques still in use today. The Nazis branded them 'highwaymen of the desert'. The book is described as 'history at its gripping, fascinating finest' and receives a 9/10 rating.
Other top summer reads
Alongside 'SAS 101', three other books are recommended for summer reading. 'The Last Place You Look' by Nikki Smith is a psychological thriller about tech bro Leo Kennedy, whose wife Addison disappears from their luxury holiday home in South Africa. Told in flashbacks and from different perspectives, it is compared favourably to 'Gone Girl' and rated 9/10.
'My Sister's Secret' by Jane Corry explores the dark family drama of two sisters, Rosy and Amy, bound by a secret from their past. When Amy's psychiatrist James begins to suspect neither sister is telling the truth, cracks appear. Rated 8/10, it is described as 'the perfect summer holiday read'.
'In Deep Water' by Elle Blair is a debut crime novel featuring off-duty detective Rachel Harlow on a cruise trip where a passenger she flirted with is found dead. With no investigation launched, Rachel investigates alone, facing a web of lies. The book is praised for its 'breathtaking pace' and 'more twists and turns than a packet of fusilli', earning a 9/10 rating and being called a 'strong contender for thriller of the summer'.
