Cover image of "A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men," a book about World War II special forces

The subtitle of Shannon Monaghan’s book, A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men: The Forgotten British Special Operations Soldiers of World War II, gave fair warning. Unfortunately, I missed the point. In no way could the men of Britain’s SOE, SAS, Commando, and other World War II special forces units be considered “forgotten.” Countless millions of words have been published in books alone—hundreds of them, no doubt. Admittedly, the story she tells, which focuses on four upper-class British officers, delves into areas less generously covered in other books. Albania, Abyssinia (later Ethiopia), Yugoslavia, Thailand, and China, in World War II. And several other countries where Britain struggled to disentangle itself from its imperial history in the decades following the war. But forgotten? Not a chance.

Four decidedly untypical soldiers

Monaghan builds her story around the military careers of David Smiley, Billy McLean, Julian Amery, and Peter Kemp. They “fought together behind enemy lines throughout the Second World War in North Africa, Europe, and Asia and then together continued to serve, officially and unofficially, for decades after.”

Kemp was a veteran of the Spanish Civil War—on the Nationalist side, unlike nearly all of the 4,000 other Brits who fought for the Republicans against Francisco Franco’s fascist forces. And the other three men, privileged to a fault, all come across as decidedly conservative. She characterizes Smiley as a demolitions expert, McLean as a “born guerrilla leader,” and Amery as a “political natural.” Amery’s father was in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet, and more than once bailed out his son and his colleagues when they fought with their superiors. In other words, these four men were anything but typical of the soldiers who fought in special operations in the war.

A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men: The Forgotten British Special Operations Soldiers of World War II by Shannon Monaghan (2024) 399 pages ★★★☆☆

Photo of British World War II special forces officers with Albanian Partisans
British special forces officers with partisans in World War II Albania, a focus of this book about the SOE. Image: Warfare History Network

A confusing story others have told much better

Although all four of Monaghan’s heroes were active in Britain’s armed forces beginning soon after Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, their joint exploits in the SOE didn’t begin until four years later in 1943. Although we follow their careers in several countries, Monaghan’s focus is squarely on their efforts in Albania, Yugoslavia, and Thailand. Unfortunately, her account is chronological. The result is that her story fails to come across as coherent. It’s filled with digressions as some of the men transfer in and out of operations. Both Damien Lewis and Ben Macintyre have done a far better job conveying the story of Britain’s special forces in the war. Each has written several books on the topic. I’ve listed examples below.

About the author

Photo of Shannon Monaghan, author of this book about World War II special forces
Shannon Monaghan. Image: Penguin Random House

As she notes on her website, “Shannon Monaghan is a historian of modern war.  She started her career interning in international arms transfers at the State Department. Since then, she has worked in strategy consulting and data analytics . . . and taught writing at Harvard for the better part of a decade.” Monaghan possesses degrees in history from Yale University (BA) and Boston College (MA and PhD).

I’ve reviewed a number of other nonfiction books about Britain’s special forces, including the following: by Damien Lewis:

I’ve also reviewed several books on the same theme by other authors:

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