Against All Odds: Escape from Sierra Leone

The book all comes together as this Marine has to use all his skills and bravery to escape a nightmarish turn of events in Sierra Leonne. A must read!!


A MUST READ!!   August 27, 2003
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

"Against All Odds" is really two books in one. The first half of the book focuses on John Ashby's personal adventures and training as a Royal Marine Commando. The second half of the book takes place in Sierra Leonne, where John's UN peace-keeping mission takes a horrible turn for the worse.

Since I (and presumably most readers) know nothing about Royal Marine Commando training or the civil war in Sierra Leonne, you will find this fighting Brit and his experiences very interesting and suspenseful. You really get to know "John Ashby" well...in spirit as well as skill. John does a good job of "setting the stage" for the reader, by describing the different warring factions and the horrible atrocities performed in Sierra Leonne.

This is a true story by the way.

John's writing style isn't as eloquent as let's say... Stephen King, but his limitations in writing give the book a more personal and realistic feel.


Violence and escape from the RUF in Sierra Leone.   May 24, 2005
Kevin M Quigg (Carol Stream, Illinois United States)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I disagree with the previous two reviewers on this book. At best, this is only an average read. The author and main character in this book, Major Phil Ashby was one of the youngest majors in the British Army when he assigned to the UN Peace Force in the African nation of Sierra Leone. I expected to read a long book about the conflict in Sierra Leone, but clearly half of this book was about the author's experience in his physical conditioning in the Royal Marines. After a hundred pages, one gets the idea this guy is tough. Then he details his experiences in Sierra Leone and his escape from the brutal RUF rebel faction who controlled the diamond mining area. This part was the most interesting.
I felt the author could have devoted a chapter to an explanation of the different factions in Sierra Leone and why they are fighting. A little history of this nation would also have been nice to throw in. A little more of this info, and a little less of his physical exploits would have made this book a more interesting read.


A gem of a Special Forces biography...   January 17, 2009
Brian Hawkinson (San Jose, CA)
I stumbled upon this one used, seeing as how it is no longer in print, and knew absolutely nothing about it. In fact I hadn't ever heard of the conflict in Sierra Leone. But wow, this one turned out to be an absolute gem of a find and on so many different levels.

The first and most important level was the writing itself because you could have the best story but if you don't know how to tell/write it than you'll be hard pressed to find people who will enjoy reading it. Ashby is an intelligent man and this comes across throughout his book. The writing is fluid and succinct, yet still descriptive enough to bring the story to life. Add to that an extra dose of the history behind Sierra Leone and the book is an all around read.

The second level is the depth that he goes into about the selection and training process behind becoming a Royal Marine Commando, which is about the equivalent of becoming a Navy SEAL (just as SAS is equivalent to Delta Force). This to me is one of the most important aspects of bios and memoirs written by Special Forces soldiers. We want to see what they went through in selection, what they had to endure, and then again what they did for training that has made them such lethal and effective soldiers. Ashby goes in to great depth with these two steps of the process and we have a clear picture of both aspects. I must say that it is interesting to see that British special forces undergo a form of torture as they simulate being captured (minus the actual physical violence, but after what they are put through it is very close to the real thing, according to other experts in the field).

The final level was the peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone itself. I generally like to read more about the missions that they go on, and in this case Ashby only describes this one mission throughout the book, but he describes it with enough history and detail that I quickly forgot and didn't really care that he was only on the one mission (that being said, he could have been on some that are still classified). He tells us in detail about the atrocities committed by the RUF, what the citizens had to endure and go through. I was appalled to read such a first hand account of the effects of a war torn third world country.

I can't say enough about Ashby's biography. Not only the above mentioned but we are treated to a truly fun read about his extracurricular activities before, during and after his E&E in Sierra Leone. In some cases it can be boring to read about their lives before joining the army or marines, but Ashby's account is enjoyable and interesting. This rates up there as one of my top military history/special forces biographies, and I would most certainly recommend.

5 stars.