Book Review: First Man In by Ant Middleton

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.

My Review:
I've always enjoyed the kind of reality TV that involves tough jobs of any kind from crab fishing to gold mining, oil rigs to logging. I also like shows that show the young people heading into basic training for the military, showing their highs and lows, and also watching military people trying out for the elite services like the SAS or command positions in other parts of the military. There was a show on years ago that I loved where ordinary people are put through a version of SAS training. I think it was called SAS Are You Tough Enough? A few years ago a similar show called SAS Who Dares Wins came out and I just had to watch it. By the end of the first season I was hooked on it and I just loved the guys who were running the training, including Ant Middleton, who can go from normal to scary in the blink of an eye. I've been devouring the books written by the guys who run the training on the show.

This book looks at various events in Ant's life, both personal and military, and what he tries to do is look at what happened with each event and the lessons he learned from it. He points out where he went wrong and why, what he could have done differently and tries to turn it into a life lesson that anyone can use in their working or personal lives. I knew that this was the format of the book and I wasn't sure if it would work but I think it does. Anyone watching SAS WDW would be interested to know a bit more about Ant's personal and military life and he is not shy in talking about these things here. He doesn't sugercoat how badly behaved he was in his early military career and the things he did wrong, he doesn't try to hide his mistakes. Frankly he wasn't a very nice guy but the point is, he learned from his mistakes and tried to make himself a better person and for that I applaud him.

Ant talks about how his father was killed when he was a young boy, his mother erasing her former husband from their lives and within weeks moving a new man into their home. It is clear that his relationships with both are difficult and it triggers a desire to join the military  and stand on his own feet. I can fully understand the culture shock from a boy brought up for a time in France, used to being polite and well mannered, to suddenly being dropped in the bear pit with a lot of rough and ready young men. His struggle to fit in with them leads to his dreadful behaviour out in the town and now I can see exactly why the military had such a poor reputation amongst the civilian population. It was interesting to see how Ant began a journey to try and find himself again.

It was interesting to see the kind of training these guys were put through for selection to the Paras and then the Royal Marines. I've always been fascinated by the physical tests they have to endure and how they weed out those that can't keep up. This is why I watch these documentaries about young recruits doing their training. It is just a whole new world to watch and wonder if you were capable of ever doing it! I notice that Ant has a new book coming out so I hope to see a bit more about the training in that. It was also interesting to see a few of his experiences in prison and the temptation to stay in a world of crime for a better payday for his family. The book also talks about him going into the tracking down of children kidnapped and taken abroad by their fathers. He also mentions events from SAS WDW and his Mutiny on the Bounty adventure.

I've seen a lot of reviews that are scathing about Ant being a bit of a jerk and not very likeable. The thing is, Ant never tries to hide what he was like and how hard he had to work to become a better person. A lot of celebrity memoirs are so heavily edited to take out all the bad behaviour that they aren't worth reading. Ant never tries to hide how bad he used to be and I like that he has tried to be a better person as time went by. Lets also remember that the military training was intended to turn you into an aggressive alpha male and killing machine and you can't just switch off your training so easily when you leave the military. This is why I believe that the people returning to civilian life need a lot more help instead of being let loose to find their own way, many turning to drugs, alcohol, crime or living on the streets.   

I admire anyone with the guts to go out and serve their country as I would be scared to do something like that. I have a great deal of respect for the special forces and what kind of missions they do. I can cut them a bit of slack and at least understand the issues they have when they no longer have that outlet for the aggression. It is something that Ant tries to explain here and I get where he is coming from. I found the book enjoyable to read and I look forward to reading his next book.

Read November 2019
4 stars.