The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win
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- Create Date：2021-04-26 10:56:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Billingham
- ISBN：1471186733
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Summary
Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked。 Leaving school at eleven years of age， the threat of borstal hanging over his head， running with gangs in Birmingham， and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen years of age。 It would be the making of him。
Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983， where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper。 In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge – taking the SAS course – the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions。 He excelled in this life， rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment， and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions。 He would ultimately serve seventeen years with the SAS， serving in countless war zones， winning a commendation for bravery and being awarded the MBE。 After leaving the army he would embrace the life of a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie， Brad Pitt， Sir Michael Caine， Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe， before being recruited as one of the lead instructors on SAS - Who Dares Wins for television。
Billy is a highly-decorated veteran; with a reputation for excellence， honesty and integrity not only supporting his comrades Ant Middleton， Jason Fox and Ollie Ollerton， but equally intimidating and inspiring the contestants who take on the gruelling challenges each week。 The Hard Way details Billy’s story thus far， but will also educate and enthral those wishing to seek a challenge and conquer it – the SAS way。
Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983， where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper。 In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge – taking the SAS course – the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions。 He excelled in this life， rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment， and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions。 He would ultimately serve seventeen years with the SAS， serving in countless war zones， winning a commendation for bravery and being awarded the MBE。 After leaving the army he would embrace the life of a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie， Brad Pitt， Sir Michael Caine， Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe， before being recruited as one of the lead instructors on SAS - Who Dares Wins for television。
Billy is a highly-decorated veteran; with a reputation for excellence， honesty and integrity not only supporting his comrades Ant Middleton， Jason Fox and Ollie Ollerton， but equally intimidating and inspiring the contestants who take on the gruelling challenges each week。 The Hard Way details Billy’s story thus far， but will also educate and enthral those wishing to seek a challenge and conquer it – the SAS way。
Reviews
Jason
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Wow this guy has led some life。 Really enjoyed this， he seems to have done it all and from average nobody to all round good。 Much respect and i'm not easily impressed。 Wow this guy has led some life。 Really enjoyed this， he seems to have done it all and from average nobody to all round good。 Much respect and i'm not easily impressed。 。。。more
Phil Andrews
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Amazing storyWhat an incredible journey from the back streets of a midlands town to a senior position in SAS。 I’ve not seen the TV programme but will tune in now！
Robert-Lea Mountford
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Good Easy ReadGood insight into the life of 'Billy'。 Some really interesting stories that will surprise you regarding his work outside of the military。 His description of life events during his upbringing in Walsall are comical， and his mind set during military career is inspiring。 Good Easy ReadGood insight into the life of 'Billy'。 Some really interesting stories that will surprise you regarding his work outside of the military。 His description of life events during his upbringing in Walsall are comical， and his mind set during military career is inspiring。 。。。more
Gerry Lynch
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4。5
Gary H
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A great read of determination of guts。。 Glad I met Mark on his tour。 ALF
Darren Jowsey
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Another hero， he deserves everything he has， and nothing he has lost。
Kingkong
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If you are seeking SAS action or event in this book， you will be disappointed， there are other better books out there。 Billy served his country well， it about his life n careers。
Ebony Asia
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I highly recommend this book and I was especially impressed with how Mark didn't talk about any operations he took part in in the SAS， I see too many ex SAS soldiers spilling the beans and it infuriates me ， Mark respects his regiment and that is a wonderful thing 。 A fantastic soldier and a fantastic man ， but this book ， up in won't regret it 。 I highly recommend this book and I was especially impressed with how Mark didn't talk about any operations he took part in in the SAS， I see too many ex SAS soldiers spilling the beans and it infuriates me ， Mark respects his regiment and that is a wonderful thing 。 A fantastic soldier and a fantastic man ， but this book ， up in won't regret it 。 。。。more
Leigh Williams
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Brilliant bookOnce I picked up this book， I couldn’t put it down， just because it was nice to hear how a little toe rag from Walsall turned his life around to make him into the man he s today
Richard
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Great insight to a man who's lived a varied life， didn't realise how much he's done。 Great insight to a man who's lived a varied life， didn't realise how much he's done。 。。。more
Kyle Motte
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A great insight to Billy！It’s amazing how much this guy has done in his life， not on for himself， but passing on his knowledge and support to others。 A good read which was much better than I was expecting！ Definitely worth a read。
Richard Miles
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Probably my favourite of the SAS guys， a really good insight into his life with good motivational tips for getting through lifes difficult situations
Daniel Field
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Yet another great read from the SAS: Who Dares Wins crew， this one by Mark "Billy" Billingham。 This was a very eye-opening read， with Billy opening up about his early days as a troublemaking teen， to his introduction to the Paras， before eventually a small insight into his SAS selection experience。 Some of his post SAS life was a major surprise to me， from his work in Hollywood， to his relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake。 This was a great read and I hope to see more books from him！ Yet another great read from the SAS: Who Dares Wins crew， this one by Mark "Billy" Billingham。 This was a very eye-opening read， with Billy opening up about his early days as a troublemaking teen， to his introduction to the Paras， before eventually a small insight into his SAS selection experience。 Some of his post SAS life was a major surprise to me， from his work in Hollywood， to his relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake。 This was a great read and I hope to see more books from him！ 。。。more
Rod Conway
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Great readVery impressed with all the human work he does which was probably unknown till the book came out well done a true warrior and Blade
Robert
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A Good book， interesting and an insight into life in the Special forces and life afterwards。
Adrian Holmes
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A cracking story of a man brought up in a difficult environment and accomplishing amazing things。
Gareth Jones
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Having now read all the books by the ds team of sas who dares wins I would have to say that I enjoyed this one the most。Mark billy billingham is the only actual sas man out of the ds team the others having served in the sbs。This book is fast paced from the very start and very difficult to put down a real page turner from a very difficult upbringing his story tells of positive influences that people have had on his life to enable him to turn from a self destructive path of crime and violence whic Having now read all the books by the ds team of sas who dares wins I would have to say that I enjoyed this one the most。Mark billy billingham is the only actual sas man out of the ds team the others having served in the sbs。This book is fast paced from the very start and very difficult to put down a real page turner from a very difficult upbringing his story tells of positive influences that people have had on his life to enable him to turn from a self destructive path of crime and violence which very nearly cost him his life to a more meaningful path to boxing and military career。He has gone on to use these experiences to help others through charity work and much much more。I like the way that he has respected the secrecy of the sas by not revealing to much about his service but also just enough to keep the reader engaged。Although he admits he can be a horrible b******d when he needs to be he also genuinely enjoys helping people and comes across as a lover of people even bearing very little grudge against those who have wronged him accepting all of it in a fact of life kind of way with no bitterness。This is probably the easiest 5 star rating I’ve given so far excellent book。 。。。more
brian phipps
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What a book，what a life。I could not put this book down， had to keep reading it as it's so riveting and interesting， informative also very， very inspiring， l had already read Ant Middleton s book， but I think this way better （sorry Ant） it proves you can do anything if you really want to no matter start in life！ Well done Billy。 What a book，what a life。I could not put this book down， had to keep reading it as it's so riveting and interesting， informative also very， very inspiring， l had already read Ant Middleton s book， but I think this way better （sorry Ant） it proves you can do anything if you really want to no matter start in life！ Well done Billy。 。。。more
Ardos
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This book is the Mutts NutsCould have started reading it from the beginning again it was so interesting and had you glued to the pages。Fantasy life。
Lorna Buchanan
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Excellent readWarts and all really enjoyed this book Billy tells the story brilliantly one of the nice guys big heart and a fair person
michelle
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Hard to put Down， Inspiring， no exaggerating， every emotion felt reading this， just like in the show， can be a hard ass when needs to be but has a selfless inspiring approach to the world， quite the comedian story teller， hope there is a second book in the pipe line， loved it！
Kim Threadgall
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Very interesting and varied life Mark has led。 Great book I would definitely recommend it。
Michael Estall
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AbsorbingVery easy book to read as it is both well written and documents an absorbing life journey。 The overriding thought I have after reading it and from watching the SAS: Who Dares Wins series is that every one has something to give， it is just how you find that and never judge by appearances。 Highly recommended。
Jill Davies
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Awesome read。 What an aspiring individual。 Loved the tales about Haiti。 He’s a special fella is Billy。
Darren Keighley
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Excellent read。This is a great read about the life of Mark “Billy” Billingham。 My only confusion was when he was talking about Poachers in Africa & it switched to him serving in Iraq。 I can understand the point he was making at the end of that story， but it really confused me at one point as I thought it was a misprint in the book & should have been wrote earlier in the story。 Still a great read。
Paul Barfoot
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Brilliant Absolute fantastic read。 Action from start to finish。 One of the best ever。 Really great insight in to a completely different world。
Deborah Hinds-Wood
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Wow - LegendThis is a book everyone should read。 It’s not about the nitty gritty of being in the army and ultimately the SAS but about power and strength of mind to really go for it and to be there to help others along the way the same as you were helped by kind caring people。 Inspirational
simon veitch
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What a story and inspiration to be gained， you the man Billy。
Chris Wathall
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Interesting read， had no idea the life ‘Billy’ had lead and refreshing to hear his no holds barred exploits form his youth。 Massively respectful towards his old career throughout which is brilliant， so if you want a book full of SAS stories then this isn’t for you。 Great read， great guy， well worth your time。
William Shearer
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