Bullet Magnet: Britain's Most Highly Decorated Frontline Soldier

Incredibly well written book by the bloke who really has "seen it all". Not just present at, but - by virtue of the Blues and Royals - at the front of every major military operation of the past 40 years , this is an excellent, humbling, sometimes funny but sometimes deadly serious account of the best and worst of life in the British Army. Penned by almost anyone else, you'd call BS on half the stuff in here. But Flynn is widely known as probably the most experienced soldier in the army and most likely one of the most experienced soldiers in the history of the army. There's no reason for him to make it up, he's seen enough to fill 3 books without needing to fictionalise it. Worth a read by military and civilians alike. Current/former soldiers will get a lot of laughs in places civvies won't, and recognise some of the tales and places in the book. Civilians will get an excellent account of the attraction to the army felt by many, and a sharp realisation that the people defending our lands are not special, superhuman creatures, but regular people from normal backgrounds who do make mistakes and do feel pain. It's an extraordinary tale of a, deep down, rather ordinary bloke.

I don't normally buy these sort of books but I found myself drawn to this person and ordering the book anyway. I'm glad I did because I couldn't keep the book down most of the time! The writing style is easy to follow and although he can't avoid slipping into soldier talk from time to time it isn't too uncomplicated for us civvies to follow. You really get a sense of how manic this man's life has been and, for me, how little i've done in comparison! One minor gripe is that as a serving soldier in the army he's not really in a position to comment on the other issues affecting our soldiers - such as lack of equipment and resources that they have to put up with. Flynn doesn't ignore the subject but you get the impression he'd like to say a lot more on the subject. Away from all the news hype, it would be interesting to see a bit more depth about what how real soldiers deal with it all. Overall, definitely worth a punt either by buying or borrowing the book.

From the breakneck pace of an opening where he is in action in Helmand province, under fire from the Taliban, Mick Flynn pulls no punches. It's obvious that he is a trained killer. But how did it reach this point? The journey starts with his childhood, a working class lad, learning to fight and finding himself repeatedly on the wrong side of the law. Even after joining the Army he is found at fault and jailed, an experience that finally shocks him into behaving himself. From there, it is off to Northern Ireland and straight into hotspots where Mick's courage and determination are all that keep him alive. There's love too: his estranged wife, Denise, is being brought back into the picture, just as Mick tries to start a new life with his girlfriend Rachel. Can he manage to separate his ferocious soldiering persona from the real Mick? As things remain complicated, Mike flings himself into further tours of duty, in Bosnia, Iraq, the Falklands. Action-packed, shoots-from-the-hip narration from an engaging hero, this is gritty realism at its most shocking, a real true war story, with a real down to earth ordinary person doing his training and fighting for his life at the same time. Yes, let's not argue Mick Flynn was one of the lads, not frightened to back away from a fight, doing what he felt was right, trying to make a living for his wife and children. A personality that you want out there to fight for our country. This story is all about life under fire, fighting for your life, the reality of death and heartbreak, tragedies.

Good read

This book is well worth reading as an individual soldier's account of his career in the British Army from the late 70's until the '00's. He was combat hardened in Ireland, Falklands, 1st Gulf War and Kosovo and then had a successful commercial career outside of the Army. He was persuaded to re-join when in his 40's and ended up doing tours in Afghanistan. His sense of duty, courage and belonging to his unit set him apart. He is an extremely brave person (or crazy) and won many awards for his actions. I enjoyed the read and the descriptions and details of the actions he took part in were very insightful.

I found this to be an excellent read. OK, I'm ex JLR myself, and probably biased, but I found myself smiling and laughing out loud reading of Mick Flynn's escapades in the first half of the book. The action stuff in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan speaks for itself, I found myself cross referencing with Colonel Stuart Tootal's account of Flynn and his crews' bravery. Ok, I agree this could have been a bit better written, but he's spent his life fighting, not writing fictional stories, he tells it as it is. That's his style, and he shouldn't try and change it. This guy has a wealth of experience to draw on, and I couldn't put the book down. I'm shall be downloading Trigger Time tonight as nothing else on my Kindle can give me the buzz this book has given me.

A good military memoir from a British veteran.