About the Author

Mark Urban is a writer and columnist for the Sunday Times, specialising in defence and foreign affairs. Until 2024, he was the Diplomatic Editor of BBC's Newsnight programme. He formerly served in the British Army, both in the Royal Tank Regiment and in the Territorial Army. He is the author of several books, including Red Devils, Task Force Black (his deep-dive look at the SAS in the Iraq War, which was a Sunday Times number one bestseller) and The Skripal Files, a Sunday Times Best Politics Book of 2018.

Reviews

Gripping and authoritative. Family men, circus performers, solicitors, communists, and reactionaries all fought together and shed blood for their country-a true and moving story of war
*Andy McNab*

Riveting. Impeccably researched. Authoritative. Urban reveals the Red Devils in all their glory, as they forged the path for airborne forces to follow in WWII. Full of daring action, standout characters and cutting edge operations, this is unputdownable
*Damien Lewis*

A detailed, fast-paced history of these remarkable men that reads like a thriller. Brilliantly researched and brilliantly told
*Julia Boyd*

I couldn't put Red Devils down
*Amanda Foreman*

Excellent . . . Mark Urban has brought an old soldier's insights and a fine journalist's clarity to tell this story resoundingly well, mixing superb accounts of the battles with a deep understanding of personalities, service politics and the paratrooper ethos
*Telegraph*

If you want to get under the skin of the pioneers of airborne soldiering, this is it . . . fast paced, well written and attention-grabbing from start to finish
*Daily Mail Plus*

Masterful . . . Mark Urban paints a colourful picture of the officers and men who volunteered for what in 1940 was a leap into the unknown
*Spectator*

Does not disappoint . . . A story of courage and adversity, Red Devils is a must-read
*Who Do You Think You Are Magazine*