Sign-In
Cart
A Mother's Worry: Young Bagzar
Paperback
Historical FiguresMilitary Biographies
Publisher Price: $30.59
ISBN13: 9781764639606
Publisher: Ian Stiles Oam
Published: May 1 2026
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.07
Height: 0.64 Width: 6.69 Depth: 9.61
Language: English
To say that Ian Bagzar Stiles OAM has led an interesting life would be a considerable understatement. The book is now fully updated with his early years, including his time with the Rhodesian SAS.
At just 14 years of age, Stiles began work in a gun shop, where he developed a strong knowledge of firearms and hunting. At 17, he joined the Australian Army, and by 18 had passed both SAS selection and parachute training, entering the elite Special Air Service.
Sent to New Guinea for training ahead of clandestine operations against Indonesian forces in Borneo. Deemed too young at 18 for active service, he was transferred. By 19, however, he was deployed on active service in Vietnam with 3 SAS Squadron.
Returning to Australia, Stiles left the Army and spent ten months working a variety of jobs - from abalone diving in Tasmania to underground mining on Bougainville Island - before re-enlisting in the SAS for a second operational tour of Vietnam. His rapid rise through the ranks, from Private to Sergeant in under 12 months, caused friction with some older, less aggressive SAS NCOs.
On returning to Australia once more, the young warrior struggled to adapt to peacetime soldiering and the rigid protocols enforced by a parade-ground-focused Regimental Sergeant Major. Following a court-martial stemming from a fistfight in the Sergeants' Mess, he left the Australian Army and joined the Rhodesian SAS, fighting terrorists in Zambia and Mozambique.
Sent to Bloemfontein in South Africa, Stiles trained as a freefall parachutist and pathfinder with South Africa's Recces. Returning to the Rhodesian SAS, he parachuted into Mozambique on combat operations before deploying into Zambia as a demolition team leader during Operation Big Bang.
The memoir is laced with raw, unfiltered humour and vivid stories of SAS men who played hard and fought even harder.
Drawing on Australian War Memorial records and first-hand experience, this memoir provides a rare insider's view of pre-deployment training and combat methods used by elite units operating in Vietnam and southern Africa.
Also in
Military Biographies
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Hardcover
Band on the Run: Xenophon and the First Great Mercenary Army's Epic Escape from Persia
O'Connell, Robert L.
Hardcover
Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
Orr, Laura
Kleiss, N. Jack Dusty
Orr, Timothy
Paperback
Retribution: A Us Marine's Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine's Front Lines
Reed, Trevor
DeFelice, Jim
Hardcover
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II
Baime, A. J.
Hardcover
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Blehm, Eric
Paperback
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Sanders, Katie
Reynolds, Nicholas
Hardcover
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sullivan, Spencer
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Paperback
The Lazy SEAL: How a slacker made it through the toughest military training on earth and how you can too!
Khol, Nathan
Paperback
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace - A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII
Makos, Adam
Hardcover
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission
Ward, Jonathan H.
Collins, Eileen M., USAF (Retired)
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 1/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
The War They Won: The Story of World War II, as told by Those Who Were There
K. Kistler, Lt Hobart
Hardcover
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Donohue, John Chick
Molloy, J. T.
Paperback
Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II
Edsel, Robert M.
Hardcover
Raising Athena: A Mother and Daughter Attend West Point Thirty Years Apart
Shattan, Mylinh Brewster
Hardcover
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
Katz, Jonathan M.
Paperback
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War
Lambert, Ray
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Paperback
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
As the Pentagon Burned: Leadership and Human Excellence in the Face of the 9/11 Attack
Klimow, Ambassador (Ret) Matthew S.
Paperback
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Hardcover
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Paperback
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Keown, Tim
Waugh, Billy
Paperback
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 2/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Redman, Jason
Bruning, John
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Layden, Joe
Chesney, Will
Paperback
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
To End All Wars: A True Story about the Will to Survive and the Courage to Forgive
Gordon, Ernest
Paperback
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Schilling, Dan
Longfritz, Lori
Paperback
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) (Large Print Edition)
McRaven, William H.
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
Reynolds, Nicholas
Paperback
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Own Your Resilience: An Army Leader and War Widow Shares Tools to Live with Courage and Joy
Sileo, Tom
Ballou, Jennifer
Hardcover
The Invisible Veteran: Rediscovering Purpose, Identity, and Connection After Service
Kidder, Kevin
Paperback
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Willner, Nina
Paperback
World War II Generation Speaks: The Things Our Fathers Saw Series, Vols. 1-3
Rozell, Matthew
Hardcover
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America's Victory in the Pacific
Blackley, Andrew K.
Hardcover
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Large Print Edition)
Hillenbrand, Laura
Paperback
A Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion
Cummings, Edna W.
Hardcover
Pentagon 9-11: Scars You Can't See A Chief Master Sergeant's Reckoning with Truth, Trust, and Coming Home
Woody, Roger A.
Paperback
African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan
Lockley, Thomas
Girard, Geoffrey
Paperback
The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear Into Your Superpower
Curran, Michelle Mace
Hardcover
The Swimmer of Auschwitz: The Incredible True Story of the Olympic Hero Who Swam for His Life
Leblond, Renaud
Paperback
The Fate of the Generals: Macarthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Horn, Jonathan
Paperback
The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--The Forgotten War of the South Pacific
Campbell, James
Paperback