Keep Calm - We Are Coming
The NZSAS in action in Afghanistan 2009-2021
$35.99
- Paperback
260 pages
- Release Date
2 April 2026
Summary
Keep Calm - We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan - then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who were there, the fast-paced text recounts how the NZSAS resolved three terrorist attacks in Kabul between 2009 and 2012, and evacuated New Zealanders from Kabul Airport in 2021. This fast-paced, illustrated book reveals how a highly trained group of Kiwis saved hundreds of lives in immensely dangerous conditions.
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781990042997 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1990042996 |
| Author: | Ron Crosby |
| Publisher: | Oratia Media |
| Imprint: | Oratia Books |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 260 |
| Release Date: | 2 April 2026 |
| Weight: | 450g |
| Dimensions: | 16mm x 160mm x 240mm |
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Critics Review
These are stories told in the words of those directly involved, including in some cases those civilians and officials being rescued. Major lessons and analysis are told by those on the spot or those in overall command, giving each action gripping immediacy. It’s heightened by the photo selection, most taken on the spot at the time it happened, all with faces blurred, except for the dead. This combination of words and images puts you on the ground and lets you assess the dangers and difficulties faced by this small group of elite soldiers despite each downplaying their actions with quiet humour and humility in always emphasising the team effort. Crosby, the skilled editor, joins the dots connecting these narratives with a deliberately subdued style; their stories are vivid enough and need no further boosting.
– Christopher Pugsley, Newsroom
Acclaimed author of New Zealand history Ron Crosby captures the highly skilled, fast-paced and courageous work of the NZ Special Air Service (NZSAS) in Keep Calm - We are Coming: The NZSAS in action in Afghanistan, 2009-2021.
– The New Zealand Herald
The book focuses on four missions in Kabul spread over 12 years, drawing on detailed interviews with those involved, and capturing the best of what the elite force had to offer at that time.
It also serves as a tribute to those who were lost — Douglas Grant and Leon Smith. They were two of 10 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel killed during the Afghanistan war, and the only two who were in the Special Air Service.
– David Fisher, The New Zealand Herald
These stories are, in the end, a tribute not only to those referred to, but to all those who serve — men and women who work in the shadows, often unseen, so that others may live and sleep in safety.
– Graye Shattky, Otago Daily Times
Ron Crosby
Ron Crosby is a well-known author of New Zealand history, including The Musket Wars and Te Kooti’s Last Foray with Oratia Books and NZSAS: The First Fifty Years. He enjoyed a long career as a barrister and was a member of the Waitangi Tribunal for 13 years. Resident in Blenheim, Ron has spent six years writing the current book.
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