First Man In: Leading from the Front
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- Create Date：2021-04-26 10:55:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ant Middleton
- ISBN：0008245738
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Summary
No one is born a leader。 But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges， Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership。 In First Man In， he shares the core lessons he’s learned over the course of his fascinating， exhilarating life。
Special forces training is no walk in the park。 The rules are strict and they make sure you learn the hard way， pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible。 There is no mercy。 Even when you are bleeding and broken， to admit defeat is failure。
To survive the gruelling selection process to become a member of the elite you need toughness， aggression， meticulous attention to detail and unrelenting self-discipline， all traits that make for the best leaders。
After 13 years service in the military， with 4 years as a Special Boat Service （SBS） sniper， Ant Middleton is the epitome of what it takes to excel。 He served in the SBS， the naval wing of the special forces， the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal， achieving what is known as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of the UK’s Elite Forces。 As a point man in the SBS， Ant was always the first man through the door， the first man into the dark， and the first man in harm’s way。
In this fascinating， exhilarating and revealing book， Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life – from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military – and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives。
Special forces training is no walk in the park。 The rules are strict and they make sure you learn the hard way， pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible。 There is no mercy。 Even when you are bleeding and broken， to admit defeat is failure。
To survive the gruelling selection process to become a member of the elite you need toughness， aggression， meticulous attention to detail and unrelenting self-discipline， all traits that make for the best leaders。
After 13 years service in the military， with 4 years as a Special Boat Service （SBS） sniper， Ant Middleton is the epitome of what it takes to excel。 He served in the SBS， the naval wing of the special forces， the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal， achieving what is known as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of the UK’s Elite Forces。 As a point man in the SBS， Ant was always the first man through the door， the first man into the dark， and the first man in harm’s way。
In this fascinating， exhilarating and revealing book， Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life – from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military – and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives。
Reviews
Gary marchbank
，
Very truthful book take my hat off to himExcellent read doesn't hold back the punches I got one would walk to the ends of the earth just to see how he would do it （I also think that he would do it ） Very truthful book take my hat off to himExcellent read doesn't hold back the punches I got one would walk to the ends of the earth just to see how he would do it （I also think that he would do it ） 。。。more
Adam Bukhari
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Intriguing and animate。 It is refreshing to read about Anthony’s unique perspective on the obstacles that many people face and how to overcome them。 One improvement I would make would be a minor adjustment to the structure of the book。 The events that are described in the book are not in chronological order and at times I found myself confused as to what happened when。 Perhaps dating each life event could help readers avoid confusion。 All in all an enjoyable read。
Tommi Tampio
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This is to me and in my opinion the best book I've encountered this year so far。 It has it all。 Psychology， diplomacy， life， death， survival， real life drama， learning， teaching， slavery （imprisonment）， freedom， discipline， being lead and being a leader。 Great advice on how to become a better person by for example taking responsibility of one's own life even if being treated wrong in the past or present in life。 It is thus in a way a self help book as the story of Anthony Middletown's life exper This is to me and in my opinion the best book I've encountered this year so far。 It has it all。 Psychology， diplomacy， life， death， survival， real life drama， learning， teaching， slavery （imprisonment）， freedom， discipline， being lead and being a leader。 Great advice on how to become a better person by for example taking responsibility of one's own life even if being treated wrong in the past or present in life。 It is thus in a way a self help book as the story of Anthony Middletown's life experiences jotted down in a chronological order。 A story on how to learn to use one's demons to one's advantage in life。 A word of warning: If you start reading this book， you will probably not be able to stop until you are finished with it。 The book is based on mere facts and you see the true Anthony Middletown behind the adventure/reality-shows。 Most of the readers will probably love this book and benefit from it。 I am trying to write a review that this book deserves， but I guess you have to read it to appreciate it。 A highly recommended read。 。。。more
Dave Fletcher
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Overall a very good book really enjoyed reading about the ups and downs in his life， I personally did not like the little self help paragraphs。
Alex McGuinness
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I mean， it's ant Middleton， what more is there to say？ This book is brilliant and definitely made me consider the way I view situations and how to deal with them。 Mindset is key。 I mean， it's ant Middleton， what more is there to say？ This book is brilliant and definitely made me consider the way I view situations and how to deal with them。 Mindset is key。 。。。more
Paul
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Excellent。 Down to earth。 No BS。
Mekerei
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I've watched the latest SAS Australia。 When I saw "First Man In: Leading from the Front" by Ant Middleton I wanted to read it。 I find "Ant" an interesting person。 I thought that his book would give an insight into a different life。I found his stories compelling， especially the last one。 I also liked that at the end of each chapter "Ant" summarised what he had learnt in that part of his life。This is not about his journey in the SBS and full of action / survival stories。 Its about his life's lesso I've watched the latest SAS Australia。 When I saw "First Man In: Leading from the Front" by Ant Middleton I wanted to read it。 I find "Ant" an interesting person。 I thought that his book would give an insight into a different life。I found his stories compelling， especially the last one。 I also liked that at the end of each chapter "Ant" summarised what he had learnt in that part of his life。This is not about his journey in the SBS and full of action / survival stories。 Its about his life's lessons。Three stars 。。。more
Jo G
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Honest insight in to military life and a few examples of how to overcome hard times。
mark feenan
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Really good read。 Ant comes across as a bit of an arrogant sod。 He isn't though，he just has a massive amount of confidence in himself and his ability to lead。 Great to see anyone overcome personal issues like he had after leaving the military。 Really good read。 Ant comes across as a bit of an arrogant sod。 He isn't though，he just has a massive amount of confidence in himself and his ability to lead。 Great to see anyone overcome personal issues like he had after leaving the military。 。。。more
James Campbell
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Really good book。 Gives alot of insights on how he operates some situations
James Nugent
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An interesting read， however structure was sporadic。 Enjoyable nevertheless。
Artsy Philip
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Enjoyed this more because it is written better than some stories even though it's the real deal。 The dude is obviosly some kind of machine。 An out of the ordinary weapon。 Enjoyed this more because it is written better than some stories even though it's the real deal。 The dude is obviosly some kind of machine。 An out of the ordinary weapon。 。。。more
William Shearer
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3rd time reading this book。 Always a good read。
Julia Haslam
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 An excellent read with just the right mix of personal insight and leadership guidance。 I particularly liked the end of chapter summaries which are succinct and useful。 I also enjoyed the behind the scenes glimpses into tv programmes I had enjoyed - especially Mr Middletown’s relationship with the crew on Bligh’s journey。
Lara Graham
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Solid entertainment。
Niesha Steube
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I was pleasantly surprised by this book。 It was recommended to me by a friend after I thoroughly enjoyed to TV series SAS: Who Dares Wins and Mutiny。 I was expecting it to be a over the top arrogant justification for parts of Ant Middleton’s life he is less proud of。 But， that was my mistake！It was a very honest depiction of why we behave the way we do and how that propels us to succeed or leaves us paddling backwards。 Easy to read and I found the Leadership lessons to be highly applicable， for I was pleasantly surprised by this book。 It was recommended to me by a friend after I thoroughly enjoyed to TV series SAS: Who Dares Wins and Mutiny。 I was expecting it to be a over the top arrogant justification for parts of Ant Middleton’s life he is less proud of。 But， that was my mistake！It was a very honest depiction of why we behave the way we do and how that propels us to succeed or leaves us paddling backwards。 Easy to read and I found the Leadership lessons to be highly applicable， for example people will have far more respect for you and be far more willing to help if you are honest with them from the start that you may struggle with the task they have assigned you。 。。。more
Jack Ellis
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What a life this man has had！ Absolutely fascinating read and I never realised how much I didn't know about his past， this book is great not only for it's captivating story but the life lessons you never knew you needed。 I certainly didn't until picking this up。 What a life this man has had！ Absolutely fascinating read and I never realised how much I didn't know about his past， this book is great not only for it's captivating story but the life lessons you never knew you needed。 I certainly didn't until picking this up。 。。。more
Bramwell Blyth
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Truly awesome and inspiring book。 So many tips for good and positive leadership through true honesty。 I would recommend it to any upcoming leader。
Greenockian
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There are two main elements to this book: a guide to leadership and Ant Middleton's life story。 I've given the book 2 stars for the latter as it's a fairly well-written and easy to read account of （parts of） his childhood which points the reader towards some understanding of the man he became。 However， as a guide to leadership this book is simply awful。 If it had been called a guide to bullying and throwing your weight/credentials around that， at least， would be more honest。 The approach set out There are two main elements to this book: a guide to leadership and Ant Middleton's life story。 I've given the book 2 stars for the latter as it's a fairly well-written and easy to read account of （parts of） his childhood which points the reader towards some understanding of the man he became。 However， as a guide to leadership this book is simply awful。 If it had been called a guide to bullying and throwing your weight/credentials around that， at least， would be more honest。 The approach set out here may work in the forces （I wonder） but there is not a snowball's chance in hell of this working in your workplace， your community or your family life - unless you want to be kept at a distance and see all and everyone give you the biggest swerve possible。 The best example of the macho nonsense in the book， for me， is Middleton's pronouncement that those who died while on endurance training in the Brecon Beacons essentially got what they deserved as they were not fit for purpose in the first place。 Crass and utter nonsense。 I fervently hope he never gets in charge of normal people in any situation where they can't simply turn round and tell him to "F off" without the fear of being pulverised by him。 。。。more
Steven Maenhout
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Interesting bloke。 Listened to the audiobook。
Tom Turner
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Great book about Ants life and lessons to learn from it in leadership
James Willetts
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Very interesting book， i enjoyed the real life examples and got lot out of the book
Beckie Parrott
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Really interesting read and insightful！ Definitely going to read the next two books in the near future。
Daisy Kindersley Mckenzie
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Listened to the audio of this and it was outstanding。 Ant Middleton narrates it which makes it all the better。 A must listen/read for anyone and everyone。
Reece Watson
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Ant is very good at taking the lessons he learnt not only from all of his time in various services， but also in many events of his life， and presenting them in a way that the average person can apply it to their life。 I found myself at the end of each chapter/lesson thinking about my own life and how I could apply each lesson。
Susie N。 Seifert
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Ok men lite väl många lösa trådar i hans livshistoria， vill lite för mycket helt enkelt。
Jodie （whatjodiereads）
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After seeing Ant Middleton in SAS: Who Dares Wins， I knew I wanted to read his books。 I’ve decided to read them in order of publication， so this is the first one I’ve read。 And I can’t wait to read the others！ Ant Middleton has lived a very interesting life， during which he’s faced a lot of challenges and struggles。 The thing I liked most about this book is that Ant is very open and honest， and tells us the lessons he has learnt during these struggles - one of those lessons is how to be a good l After seeing Ant Middleton in SAS: Who Dares Wins， I knew I wanted to read his books。 I’ve decided to read them in order of publication， so this is the first one I’ve read。 And I can’t wait to read the others！ Ant Middleton has lived a very interesting life， during which he’s faced a lot of challenges and struggles。 The thing I liked most about this book is that Ant is very open and honest， and tells us the lessons he has learnt during these struggles - one of those lessons is how to be a good leader。 This book is brutally honest， and there’s a lot of lessons that can be learnt from it if people are willing to learn from Ant。 From what I’ve read in this book， Ant is a man with a lot of stories to tell and I can’t wait to read more from him in his next two books。 He is a highly inspirational man and this was a fantastic book。 。。。more
Sean Curtis
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3。5 Headshots out of 5 I picked up and put down a few time， thus the long read time。 I enjoyed most parts。
Andrea Kimberley
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I enjoyed this。 An easy page turner。
Isobel Lawrence
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