by Sandra Lee
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandra Lee is an Australian author and journalist with 26 years of experience in the newspaper and magazine industries in Australia and the United States. She is the author of four works of non-fiction including the best-selling 18 Hours, The True Story of an SAS War Hero. A former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove (RET) launched 18 Hours and called it a ‘thrilling, fast-paced account of Australian soldiers in a real war against a real terrorist enemy’.
In 2002 she wrote the best-selling true crime book, Beyond Bad; The Life And Crimes Of Katherine Knight, Australia’s Hannibal, followed by The Promise, An Iraqi Mother’s Desperate Flight to Freedom in 2003. Last year, she wrote the best-selling Saving Private Sarbi, The True Story of Australia’s Canine War Hero.
Her books have been published in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Sandra lived in New York City for almost four years where she worked as a foreign correspondent for News Limited’s Australian newspapers. She is a former assistant editor and opinion columnist of The Daily Telegraph, editor-at-large at Australia’s best-selling women’s magazine, marie claire, and was the last back-page columnist of The Sunday Telegraph. She has worked in radio where she is now a regular guest commentator, and writes regularly for Madison and Vogue fashion magazines and Sunday magazine.
Sandra lives in Sydney with her husband and their hound, Seisia, a three-year-old black butt of unknown provenance rescued from Cape York.
For more information or to contact the author, visit www.sandralee.com.au
PRAISE FOR
18 HOURS
‘Lee recreates the battle in a taut account alive with detail … The story gives great insight into the mentality and strength of the soldiers trained in the Australian special forces, which has a reputation as one of the best and bravest in the world’
— The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney
‘Wallace was a vital part of Operation Anaconda. Its aim was the elimination of al-Qaida terrorists in the Afghan mountains and the extraordinary events of the first day’s fighting are captured vividly in 18 Hours’
— The West Australian
‘Lee … perfectly captured the fear and confusion of men in battle, and the bravery of soldiers involved in Operation Anaconda. She got the language right too. Read aloud, the book would turn the air blue’
— General Peter Cosgrove (Retired)
‘What an enthralling story. Written in a fast pace, with uncomplicated prose and a tell-you-straight style, Sydney journalist Sandra Lee has done one of our finest soldiers proud by telling his story in this gripping narrative from the frontiers of the War on Terror’
— 2GB breakfast presenter Alan Jones
‘This book relates to an “up close and personal” perspective of the details surrounding an intense and difficult situation … Written in a journalistic style, complete with Australian slang, the work’s conversational tone makes this easy to read’
— The Canberra Times
‘The action-packed writing, combined with the excellent colour photography, really does paint an accurate picture of the life of an SAS soldier’
— The Weekly Times, Victoria
‘The true story of a Special Air Services (SAS) soldier’s fight for survival in Afghanistan is an enthralling read … It will give a lot of readers an insight into how modern day warfare, particularly guerrilla actions such as Operation Anaconda, are won or lost’
— Sunday Territorian
‘Lee has captured the feel and true life account of Jock Wallace’s part in Operation Anaconda, which has now become part of Australian military history’
— Australian Peacekeeper magazine
‘A very gripping and readable account of a historically very important battle’
— Australian & NZ Defender magazine
‘It is a riveting read … the type of book you should be prepared to read in long sessions as you will want to know what’s next’
— Aviation News
‘An indepth and surprisingly candid account of [Wallace’s] fateful involvement in a modern day battle that will forever live in the annals of SAS lore’
— Ian Bostock, CONTACT Air, Land and Sea magazine
‘Sandra’s well written story of Jock Wallace’s experience in Hell’s Half Pipe is awesome and about as accurate of an account of that battle as you could get. I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in a day. I witnessed Jock’s bravery several times that day; I have nothing but admiration for him and all the men of the Australian SAS. America has awesome friends and these guys are the tip of the spear. The leaders in 1-87 Infantry were the best I have ever served with and the soldiers were as good as they get. All you have to do as a leader is be willing to take the first step toward the sound of gun fire; Jock did that!’
— Peterson, Master Sergeant (Retired),
1-87 Infantry Mortarz
COPYRIGHT
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2006
This edition published in 2012
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Sandra Lee 2006
The right of Sandra Lee to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Lee, Sandra (Sandra E.).
18 hours: the true story of an SAS war hero.
ISBN 13: 978 0 7322 8246 2 (pbk).
ISBN: 978 0 7304 4956 0 (epub)
1. Wallace, Jock (Martin). 2. Australia. Army. Special Air Service Regiment – History. 3. Operation Anaconda, 2002 – Participation, Australian. 4. Afghan War, 2001– – Campaigns. I. Title.
958.1047
Cover design by Matt Stanton, HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover pic of Jock Wallace by SAS Warrant Officer Class 2 Clint
Maps by Laurie Whiddon, Map Illustrations