A Handful of Hard Men

The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

By: Hannes Wessels

Narrated by: Jack Chekijian

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

It is difficult to find another soldier's story to equal Captain Darrell Watt's in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry.

In the fight, he showed himself to be a military maestro. A bush-lore genius, blessed with uncanny instincts and an unbridled determination to close with the enemy, he had no peers as a combat-tracker (and there was plenty of competition). But the Rhodesian theater was a fluid and volatile one in which he performed in almost every imaginable fighting role.

After 12 years in the cauldron of war, his cause slipped from beneath him, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe. When the guns went quiet, Watt had won all his battles but lost the war. In this fascinating biography, we learn that in his twilight years, he is now concerned with saving wildlife on a continent where they are in continued danger and devoting himself to both the fauna and African people he cares so deeply about.

©2015 Hannes Wessels (P)2017 Tantor

Fantastic Story- Title says it all... Hard Men

What a story! The book is not for the lighthearted. Tells the story from the perspective of the Rhodesian SAS, which some may find objectionable philosophically, and in deed. However, it also reveals the other side of the events-- the complicity of neighbors, the role of South Africa, Cuba, the Soviet Union and the UK/US/UN. Like the sinking of the Titanic we know the ending, but with a continuing vengeful twist not envisioned by the world players.

As the book progressed I grew accustomed to the narrator's slow reading and lack of inflection.

Wow!! Heart wrenching story of Rhodesia

The story here is absolutely heart breaking, and breathtaking. So sad that the world turned their back on Rhodesia when she needed her the most.
Story is a bit hard to follow with all the names and locations and narrator is a little monotonous at times but overall it is superb!

Fascinating stuff!

Absolutely riveting, very insightful, albeit possibly a tad one sided, but a really good account of a war which only those involved generally know much about!

For anyone who has a problem with the narrator...

In the Audible app just increase the playback speed to 1.25x. When you do that, the pace is exactly what you'd hoped it would be. The narration is fantastic at that speed; it sounds entirely natural. The story is very captivating, too!

For anyone considering this audiobook but are skittish due to either listening to the sample or reading the reviews, take my word for it: increasing the playback speed is absolutely the answer.

Truly Great!

I saw before reading/listening, the complaints about the narrator and how slow he was. I simply changed the play speed to 1.1 and solved the issue. I enjoyed this book so much. The stories of these men of men going toe to toe like they did, stories from different members of the SAS, and how the (now) almost forgotten history of Rhodesia unfolded through the eyes of a Handful of Hard Men, was indeed a truly great read! As a US Army veteran, units like the Special Forces and SAS have always intrigued me and pushed me to complete any and every task or mission I was given. Tip of the hat to these legends: D. Watt, M. West, A. Sleepers, A.J. Balaam, the RLI, and of course the Rhodesian SAS

Detailed, Unbelievable Combat

Simple, detailed and immersive on the ground combat told about an against the odds battle. Terrible politics and a war that was impossible to win without dramatically different international, strategic, political and ethical realities, nevertheless, the bravery and skill of the Rhodesian military is amazing to learn about.

Thank you Hannes Wessels

This is a most remarkable tale of such casual heroism that very few people know about.

Its a tragic precursor of outcomes whenever the globalist agenda runs its course.

I wish I had read this book 30 years ago.

Untold story of the war in Rhodesia

This was a very compelling book about some hard fighting that crossed borders from Rhodesia to Zambia and Mozambique. A great overview of the fighting and it points out the fact the people who were fighting under Robert Mugabe were targeting civilian farmers and killing them. The book points out the fact that there is the evil you know, and the evil you don't know.

Fascinating and critical read for understanding the current South Africa White Genocide.

This is a great account of the SAS defense of Rhodesia and how the entire world conspired against them to prop up the communists attacking them. It recounts several atrocities that we can now see as precursors to the current attacks on white South African farmers. This happened both in Rhodesia and Mozambique and in both situations in resulted in a worse situation for both Whites and Blacks. Yet here we are again watching the Leftist international world trying to support the same thing for the third time in South Africa, which is already failing miserably.

A memoir of a war that was never reported in the U. S.

Rhodesia adds its name to the list of countries betrayed by western democracies. A tragedy in itself and another example of nation building gone wrong.