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Kim Hughes

Painting the Sand Paperback – 1 June 2018

by Kim Hughes (Author)

485 ratings

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The Sunday Times Bestseller.

'Breathtaking. Kim Hughes is the man who stands between us and oblivion.' Andy McNab (author of Bravo Two Zero)

'An uplifting and enlightening account of the personal courage and dedication required to do a very lonely job in the most extreme of conditions'. John Nichol (The Mail On Sunday)

This is a book about science, bombs, and what happens to the human psyche when every day you go to work might be your last.

Kim Hughes is the most highly decorated bomb disposal operator serving in the British Army. He was awarded the George Cross in 2009 following a grueling six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan during which he defused 119 improvised explosive devices, survived numerous Taliban ambushes and endured a close encounter with the Secretary of State for Defence. The back drop to Painting the Sand is the Afghan War, the conflict where the cold courage of the bomb disposal operator rose to national prominence. No other field of warfare offers the chance of a single individual to come so close to his enemy and fight out a battle of wits where losing can mean death. This is one of the best memoirs that will come out of a ten-year struggle to defeat a hidden, and enduring, enemy.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster UK
Publication date

1 June 2018
Dimensions

13 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

1471156729
ISBN-13

978-1471156724
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Product description

About the Author

Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes GC, is a warrant officer in the British Army, an acclaimed public speaker, and a trustee of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK (1 June 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471156729
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471156724
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 28,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 174 in Military Affairs
- 2,954 in Memoirs (Books)
- 4,066 in Social Sciences (Books)

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485 ratings

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2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Stuart Minetti

Honest and revealing account of an exceptionally dangerous job.

Reviewed in Australia on 15 August 2017

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An army life story focussing on a six month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Written in a simple dialogue that, in the main, manages to keep the reader engaged. Provides a straight talking insight to the horrors and futility of age-old war zones like Afghanistan. Inasmuch as luck has it's place in war, it is patently obvious that a well trained soldier who follows procedure will increase their luck. Reading the George Cross citation at the end shows how selfless the author was. A compelling read.

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raeme184

Stunning read on the reality of EOD ops

Reviewed in Australia on 9 October 2017

Verified Purchase

From the get go, this book was open, honest and inspiring rise of your soldier into a battle hardened veteran. I can directly relate to his emotions and experiences as I have been in a very similar situation myself on operations. Thoroughly recommended to military personnel, veterans and industry leaders and managers on the personal benefits veterans can bring to organisation as a result of their training and experience.

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Afghan - Blood in the Sand

Reviewed in Australia on 2 February 2018

Verified Purchase

Kim Hughes bears his soul, glitches and all in this captivating autobiography..
Unbelievable story of exemplary courage, humour and loyalty..this book should be mandatory reading, as it bares it all from a warriors viewpoint the meaning of committing a nation to war and the deadly personal cost.

Reviewed in Australia on 11 August 2017

Verified Purchase

Provides a seemingly truthful view of what it was like without being to graphic for sensitive readers.
I liked the explanations of the EOD process and training and the pics at the end were a nice addition.
Definitely recommended

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W WIlliams

Cracking account of the work Kim undertook

Reviewed in Australia on 27 June 2019

This exemplifies courage without seeking any fame or fortune. The account of Kim's six month deployment to Afghanistan portrays a professionally and personally challenging environment with multiple active elements all to coordinated in an extremely high threat theatre of war.

Thank you for your service

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Mr J Grantham

Haunting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2019

Verified Purchase

I am not a fan of military autobiography. All too often they are 'look at me, look at me' self indulgence. Thus picking this up was unusual and was largely curiosity at the work of EOD. Kim Hughes comes across very humanly. He's your next door neighbour, the bloke in the street, except he does an extraordinary job. His descriptions of his work are matter of fact and quite understated but he never the less paints a very vivid picture of life as an IEDD specialist in Afghanistan. At times, I could feel the heat and smell the country. The book is harrowing at times but absorbing reading and a fine tribute to the professionalism of the British army.

21 people found this helpful

CeeJay

Dangerous work carried out by skilled personnel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 August 2019

Verified Purchase

The main feature of this book is it’s honesty. Written from the heart you could almost feel as though you were by the author’s side as he wrote the book. Whilst I got lost at times with the abbreviations, this did not detract from what I was reading. A truly memorable book about the horror of fighting guerilla warfare. But also heartening that someone like Kim Hughes found his feet and made the world a little safer through his actions.

5 people found this helpful

D M Harrison

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2019

Verified Purchase

A view of the war from a soldier on the ground (literally as he and his men crawled along the ground to defuse bombs) My personal view is that good men (and women) were sent to fight in a pointless battle by career politicians. The soldiers are given little support while there or afterwards when they leave.
Soldiers also risk pursued for ‘crimes’ against a set of people whose sole aim in life is to destroy them in the worst possible way (although this is not something mentioned in the book)
Thank you for being such a brave man.

10 people found this helpful

ANTHONY

Damned good read, gritty, honest and current.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 2019

Verified Purchase

I found this book very readable, I became immersed in the story of a young man in training thirsty for the success of mastering his art overcoming his unpromising homelife. His difficulties in managing his relationship with his wife and son whilst being committed to his work and his colleagues are echoed in the real lives of so many service personnel. I related to some of his issues, others are his alone.
This is one of our men doing his utmost in an unpopular conflict against an unidentifiable enemy.

6 people found this helpful

msrx

A brutally honest reflection of life as a soldier and as a High Threat EOD specialist

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 September 2020

Verified Purchase

To coin a phrase from the book, if you ask a soldier to write a book, this is what you get. It has 3 components. Firstly an insight into the responsibilities and risks faced in the world of High Threat work to deal with the most nasty weapon systems. We have been doing this for years in Northern Ireland and Afghan was a continuation of a threat that will never leave us, yet we insist on investing in so poorly. Secondly an insight into being a soldier on operations, with interactions, activities, boredom, fast-ball tasks to really spoil your day and the inevitable low ebb of being reliant on the RAF strategic/troop transport debacle (chinook pilots are exempt from this jibe). Finally it is about the individual and the trials and tribulations of his individual journey.

This really is a fantastic read, a reflection of personal experience and a record of true 'life in war' in Afghanistan.

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