<p><strong>¿The best biography I¿ve read recently¿</strong> ¿ Colin Bateman, <em>Sunday Independent</em><strong>An excellent examination of Mayne¿ Ross corrects many of the myths about him that have flourished over the years</strong> - <em>History of War</em> magazine <strong>¿This welcome reassessment, officially backed and well-researched, sets the record straight¿</strong> ¿ <em>Soldier Magazine</em></p><p><strong>¿Paddy¿ Mayne was one of the most outstanding special forces leaders of the Second World War.</strong> Hamish Ross¿s authoritative study follows Mayne from solicitor and 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 the L¿on d¿Honneur.</p><p>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 rece