Skip to Main Content

About The Book

The Sunday Times Bestseller.

'Breathtaking. Kim Hughes is the man who stands between us and oblivion.' Andy McNab (author of Bravo Two Zero)

'An uplifting and enlightening account of the personal courage and dedication required to do a very lonely job in the most extreme of conditions'. John Nichol (The Mail On Sunday)

This is a book about science, bombs, and what happens to the human psyche when every day you go to work might be your last.

Kim Hughes is the most highly decorated bomb disposal operator serving in the British Army. He was awarded the George Cross in 2009 following a grueling six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan during which he defused 119 improvised explosive devices, survived numerous Taliban ambushes and endured a close encounter with the Secretary of State for Defence. The back drop to Painting the Sand is the Afghan War, the conflict where the cold courage of the bomb disposal operator rose to national prominence. No other field of warfare offers the chance of a single individual to come so close to his enemy and fight out a battle of wits where losing can mean death. This is one of the best memoirs that will come out of a ten-year struggle to defeat a hidden, and enduring, enemy.

About The Author

(c) Johnny Ring

Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes GC, is a warrant officer in the British Army, an acclaimed public speaker, and a trustee of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (May 17, 2018)
  • Length: 336 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471156724

Browse Related Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Kim Hughes