The Hurt Locker - real life stories

Congratulations to The Hurt Locker for winning the Oscar for Best Picture. The film is a fictionalised account of what it's like to be on a bomb disposal team for the U.S. military in Iraq. As with all fictionalised accounts apparently some liberties have been taken with the portrayal of day-to-day life for the squad.

Try this book for a real-life account from a British soldier.

Eight lives down : the story of a counter-terrorist bomb-disposal operator's tour in Iraq by Chris Hunter.
Chris Hunter has the most dangerous job in the world in the most dangerous place in the world - he's responsible for bomb disposal in the British sector of Iraq, pitted against some of the most ruthless and technically advanced terrorists in the world. It is a 24/7 job - his team defuse over forty-five bombs in the first two months alone. And the people they're up against don't play by the Geneva Convention. For them, there are no rules, only results. Bombs, rockets, grenades, ambushes, booby traps - death by any means necessary.
Book trailer on YouTube


The movie also won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and, Best Sound Editing.