"Paddy" Mayne was one of the most outstanding special forces leaders of World War II. Hamish Ross’s authoritative study follows Mayne from solicitor and a rugby international to troop commander in the Commandos and then the SAS, whose leader he later became and whose annals he graced, winning the DSO and three bars, the Croix de Guerre, and Legion d’Honneur. Mayne’s achievements attracted attention, and after his early death legends emerged, based largely on anecdote and assertion. Hamish Ross’s closely researched biography challenges much of the received version, using contemporary sources, the official war diaries, the chronicle of 1 SAS Mayne’s papers and diaries, and a number of extended interviews with key contemporaries. It has the support of the Mayne family and the SAS Regimental Association. In Ross’s analysis Mayne is a dynamic, yet principled and thoughtful man, committed to the unit’s original concepts; not flawless, but whose leadership qualities and tactical brilliance in the field secured the reputation of the SAS.

Hamish Ross became interested in the wartime SAS as a teenager through a link with one the "L" Detachment originals. What started as an idea for a journal article soon turned into a far more substantial work when he saw the extent and quality of the archive material available.