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Eight Lives Down

Author: Chris Hunter
Publisher: Bantam Press
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

20 reviews
Sales Rank: 57344

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.6

ISBN: 0593058607
EAN: 9780593058602
ASIN: 0593058607

Publication Date: October 9, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Unwanted gift

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - Eight Lives Down
•	Hardcover - Eight Lives Down: The Story of the World's Most Dangerous Job in the World's Most Dangerous Place

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Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

The married man with two kids who liked to play with bombs July 20, 2008
Mr. Hunter spent 17.5 years in the British army, 10 of which were in bomb disposal. Eight lives down focuses on 4 months of his tour in Iraq, with the first two as his last stint as an ATO (ammunition technical officer). He and his team were so successful in diffusing bombs that insurgents took a disliking to him with a price on his head. His next two months were spent as a weapons intelligence officer, a position he reluctantly accepted but grew to like.

Major Hunter was married with two kids when he deployed to Iraq, despite one more empty promise in a string of broken promises not to spend time away from his wife on dangerous missions. Iraq would become his longest mission away from home, during which he became borderline paranoid about his wife divorcing him. It's a wonder why a married man with two small kids would prefer the rush of adrenaline from diffusing bombs to spending time with his family. "I've never taken drugs," he said, "but I don't believe there's anything that will ever equal the exhilaration of that tour," referring to Iraq.

Chris Hunter wrote this book under an alias for security reasons. His intent was to share his experience of what it was like to be terrified, how his family coped with his time away and the ever present danger of losing him, and how soldiers like him react to the pressures of the day to day grinds in battle.

In this action packed book, Mr. Hunter compiled the most exciting events of his tour in Iraq sure to satisfy the appetite of even casual military and combat enthusiasts.

4 out of 5 stars

Gripping tale of a very brave man June 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

If I saw a bomb, I would run in the opposite direction. This book is about a man who takes `the long walk' in the other direction.
The author had one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, that of bomb disposal in Iraq. This is the story of his time there.
It doesn't matter if you were for or against the war because the troops didn't have a choice and this is their story. Our troops come out of this very well, trying to do a job where they are generally not wanted and against an enemy that prefers to strike from a distance.
But this is mainly a story of bomb and explosive removal and it is hard to imagine how brave you would have to be. Add to that heavy protective gear in the searing heat and knowing there is a price on your head.....
This is an intense and gripping tale and a real page turner. It feels very honest and it touches on depression and the real impact on family and relationships, but above all it is about that long walk being made by a very brave man indeed...

5 out of 5 stars

Tense and engrossing May 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is a non-fiction account of the tour of duty of a British bomb disposal expert in Iraq. The title is a reference to the fact that the bomb disposal squad in Northern Ireland were called "Felix" (meaning that they have nine lives, like a cat). It's an amazing story, so packed with action and danger that it would seem unbelievable if it were fiction. The first half in particular is so fast-paced that you find yourself longing for the occasional brief interludes of downtime just so that you can catch a breath! The book was very reminiscent for me of the American film "The Kingdom" - and it made me realise that the film was more realistic than I had previously thought.

Chris Hunter is a very likeable narrator who is also extremely brave and passionate about what he does. He doesn't just bring the action scenes alive, but also manages to convey what it is that soldiers love about what they do, even when it puts them in extreme danger. He also talks a lot about his family back in the UK and the strains that his army career put on his marriage. This fleshes his character out and makes it a far more interesting book than if it were just about the action on the ground.

I did feel that parts of this book got a little hard to follow due to the military jargon, but that probably more a reflection on the fact that this is an unusual choice of book for me rather than on the book itself. I was engrossed in Eight Lives Down and I highly recommend it.

2 out of 5 stars

Weird Mix of Hollywood Action and the "Official" Take on Iraq April 28, 2008
3 out of 9 found this review helpful

I have to say I was very disappointed by this book.

As a piece of gung-ho fiction "Eight Lives Down" will do the job, but in terms of a realistic account of operations, it's apparent to anyone with even superficial knowledge of military reality, that there is an awful lot of fabrication in this book. Especially some of the live combat accounts, are simply too implausible to be true, and the events described could never happen outside of a Hollywood movie.

If you want an insight to the actual reality of war, there are countless better books out there, who will not try to make real combat into a cheap action thrill, Bravo Two Zero style. The job Chris Hunter and his comrades do in Iraq and other combatzones doesn't even need that sort of sugarcoating to seem extraordinary, so I always wonder why authors like Chris Hunter, Andy McNab or Chris Ryan deem it neccesary to feed people these completely impossible accounts.

Aside from that, Chris Hunter is also a true believer in the top-down propaganda that generals tell the public in order to raise support, like many other former child soldiers, and while it's a personal preference, I just don't like having the conflicts I study fed to me from a perspective that simple and rigid. People like Dan Mills or Peter Ratcliffe tell their stories with a far more intelligent enterpretation of their individual conflicts, as they see it, rather than just promoting the greater theatrics they were handed by officials. Which in turn adds infinite value to their accounts.

"Eight Lives Down" does provide an interesting insight into the most unsceptical soldiers' minds and that, aside from the basic intensity of bomb disposal, remains the only true strength of this book.

4 out of 5 stars

Action Packed and Thrilling March 20, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

An excellent read it brings to life some of the true events that are not reported in the media, Chris Hunter gives an insight into the great comradeship that is formed in combat.