GURKHA

"Gurkha: Better to Die than Live a Coward: My Life in the Gurkhas finds Colour Sergeant Kailash Limbu providing a fascinating insight into what life is like as a serving Gurkha. In the summer of 2006, Limbu's platoon was sent to relieve and occupy a police compound in the town of Now Zad in Helmand. They were expecting the operation to take 48 hours. It actually took 31 days and became one of the longest sieges during the Afghan campaign. In this memoir, Limbu recalls the month spent during this time - a period where he and his troop killed an estimated 100 Taliban fighters - and talks about his home life growing up in a village without roads or electricity. From his childhood to traditional Gurkha training and rituals - including learning how to use the lethal Kukri knife - this is an eye-opening and fascinating account of one man's life as a Gurkha."--Publisher's description.