The Raiders: The Elite Strike Forces that Altered the Course of War and History

By
Richard Garrett
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company
New York
1980

224 p.: 87 black and white in-text illustrations; 25 cm. (10 inches). Black cloth with gilt-stamped spine title. Color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Bibliography and Index.
First Edition

"During World War II the British Commandos and the United States Rangers brought the art of combined operations and of the sudden, lightning strike upon the enemy to a level of organisation never reached in any previous war. But the Commandos and the Rangers were the inheritors of a long tradition; the history of strike forces made up of highly trained, highly professional crack troops is as old as that of war itself.
In The Raiders Richard Garrett tells the stories of some of the most exciting of the raids carried out by these more-or-less irregular strike forces - raids which have often had an effect upon the course of war out of all proportion to the numbers of men involved - and provides linking commentaries that put each raid in perspective and add up to a concise history of this little-studied branch of warfare. The stories range in time from the Peninsular War, and the remarkable exploits of a frigate's crew that held up the advance of an entire French army, to the 1970s and a special operation that used the most modern techniques and weaponry - the Israeli raid on Entebbe airport. In between we march with British troops who burned the White House in 1814, follow Canadian and British Commandos into the hell of Dieppe, take part in the D-day landings with the Rangers, and, in Vietnam, drop into a prisoner-of-war camp to rescue prisoners who were no longer there.
This is a book that reveals the drama, horror and excitement of war at its most personal as it traces the development of the military strategy that Winston Churchill memorably called `the butcher and bolt policy'" [from the dust jacket].

ISBN: 0442258739

Book is in Fine/As New Condition: pages clean, tight, and unmarked.
Dust Jacket is in Very Good Condition: back section rubbed.

Copyright 2017
All text in this auction description is the sole property of
Classic Books and Ephemera and
may not be copied without permission from Classic Books and Ephemera.

We email all winning bidders within 24 hours of the end of auction. Occasionally a server will block emails with unfamiliar addresses, which has prevented us from notifying a few winning bidders. If you do not hear from us, please email us for payment details.

SHIPPING and HANDLING: The winning bidder receives free media mail in the U.S. We ship all books in boxes, well protected, within 24 hours of the order (Monday - Saturday), always with tracking. We ship pamphlets, documents, broadsides, and booklets in rigid mailers, bagged and boarded, with added stiffener for protection, always with tracking. We have been selling books and ephemera for about 17 years to satisfied customers on various venues, so buy with confidence. For international shipping costs see Ebay's Shipping and Handling section below (click on the country and then click Update for cost to a specific country).

For expedited domestic or international shipping prices, please contact us.

WINNERS AND BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS RECEIVE FREE SHIPPING IN THE U.S., FIRST CLASS UP TO 16 OUNCES, MEDIA MAIL OVER 16 OUNCES.

Payment Methods: Ebay has recently decreed that sellers on the site can only accept electronic payments through Paypal; no other form of payment is permitted except upon request. Before paying for multiple items, please wait for our email notification of your winning bids, so we can provide a combined shipping total.

Pa. residents: you must add 6% sales tax to the total (including shipping and handling), unless you have a resale number. This is Pa. state law.

Guarantee: We guarantee that the book is as described or we will return the buyer's money, if we are notified by email within 24 hours of receipt of the book.

ALSO SEE ON EBAY OUR FINE SELECTION OF BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND EPHEMERA IN OUR STORE, CLASSIC BOOKS AND EPHEMERA; CLICK ON THIS LINK: My Stores Logo

We use the condition terms established by AB Bookman's Weekly and now slightly refined by IOBA: As New/Fine, Near Fine(minor defects), Very Good (small signs of wear), Good (average used book), Fair (complete text, but may lack endpapers, half-title), Poor (complete text but soiled, loose hinges, etc.)
For an explanation of terms commonly used in book descriptions, contact us.