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Robin Neillands, In the Combat Zone: Special Forces Since 1945. New York: New York University Press, 1998. Pp. 350. $25.95, hardcover.
Robin Neillands' In the Combat Zone provides an overview of Special Forces (SF) beginning in the seventeenth century and continuing through the modern era. SF history prior to 1945 is covered lightly for background, and the true substance of the book examines events after the Second World War. There is a heavy emphasis on British campaigns and the British units that participated in them. There is also a noticeable slant in favor of the West and against indigenous forces, occasionally straying to justify British actions in colonial areas and to condemn Communists.
Neillands distinguishes between traditional SF such as the American "Green Berets" and the British Special Air Service (SAS), and the more generic Special Operations Forces (SOF), such as airborne units and Marine formations. He devotes equal attention to both groups and accords them the same treatment. This results in the inclusion of several units that are often overlooked in works about "special forces." Examples include the U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Program (CAP) in Vietnam and several provisional units formed in the...