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Unscathed - Major Phil Ashby
By Anthony | February 27, 2009
Unscathed tells the story of Major Phil Ashby and 3 other UN peacekeepers as they escape from the notorious RUF (Revolutionary United Front) soldiers in Sierra Leone.
Because I wasnt really sure of the political situation in Sierra Leone, I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book but thought I would give it a go anyway, in the hope that it would suprise me. It didnt!
Because the book is obviously written from the first person perspective by Major Phil Ashby, (which I usually do enjoy in a book) I think it spends too much time explaining his history, upbringing and background in the book and not enough time on the actual escape.
Around half the book is taken up by stories of rock climbing expeditions, previous trips and building characters that really have nothing to do with the actual escape. Athough the book is well written I feel alot of the “going into detail” is misplaced and would of been better directed toward parts of the book that simply dont go into detail enough.
The story of the escape is an excellent story and must of been a huge ordeal for the four men involved, I didnt really feel it when reading this book. The story of the escape seemed rushed and incomplete at the best of times and I never really got a sense of the fear the four men must have been feeling being in hostile territory “unarmed, outnumbered, surrounded and under attack” which the book claims on the cover.
There are parts of this book which explain the terrible atrocities the RUF commited on the people of Sierra Leone which I found quite disturbing. Im guessing this was an attempt by the author to try to explain what the four peacekeepers were up against and in many ways it succeeds in doing so, It also brings home the brutality of the RUF and the failure of the world to act quickly enough to save thousands of lives.
The political situation in Sierra Leone was very complicated at the time of the escape, Not only were there many factions of the RUF and other rebel groups, but because of the involvement of the UN, there were many different military peacekeeping forces there also. This resulted in too many acronyms being inserted into the text which I found very confusing and highly frustrating at times and often found myself wondering who or which force the author was refering to resulting in alot of rereading and trips to the rear of the book to look up the acronyms meaning.
In conclusion, I am happy that I read this book because it enabled me to learn more about what the political and humanitarian situation was like in Sierra Leone at the time. The story of the escape is a story that is justified in being told and Im glad I read it but I feel the author could of made it harder for me to put the book down by spending more time on the escape and less about his past life.
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