Gurkha Audiobook By Captain Kailash Limbu cover art

Gurkha

Better to Die than Live a Coward: My Life in the Gurkhas

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Gurkha

By: Captain Kailash Limbu
Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.52

Buy for $14.52

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In the summer of 2006, Colour-Sargeant Kailash Limbu's platoon was sent to relieve and occupy a police compound in the town of Now Zad in Helmand. He was told to prepare for a 48-hour operation.

In the end he and his men were under siege for 31 days - one of the longest such sieges in the whole of the Afghan campaign. Kailash Limbu recalls the terrifying and exciting details of those 31 days - in which they killed an estimated 100 Taliban fighters - and intersperses them with the story of his own life as a villager from the Himalayas. He grew up in a place without roads or electricity and didn't see a car until he was 15.

Kailash's descriptions of Gurkha training and rituals - including how to use the lethal Kukri knife - are eye-opening and fascinating. They combine with the story of his time in Helmand to create a unique account of one man's life as a Gurkha.

©2016 Kailash Limbu (P)2016 Hachette Audio UK
Afghan & Iraq Wars Afghan War Politicians Military War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"I was completely bowled over by Kailash's book and read it with a beating heart and dry mouth. I felt as though I was at his side, hearing the shells and bullets, enjoying the jokes and listening in the scary dead of night. The skill with which he has included his childhood and training is immense, always discovered with ease in the narrative: it actually felt as though I was watching, was IN a film with him. It brought me nearer than I have ever been not only to the mind of the universal soldier but to a hill boy of Nepal and a hugely impressive Gurkha. I raced through it and couldn't put it down: it reads like a thriller. If you want to know anything about the Gurkhas, read this book, and be prepared for a thrilling and dangerous trip." (Joanna Lumley)

What listeners say about Gurkha

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

outstanding

this was a great book with a great performance by the narrator. get it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Britsh Mercenary Soldiers From Nepal

This was a very interesting and well-written book. I have always been curious about them and their training. This story is about how a person from Nepal who applies to get into the British Gurka selection leading up to becoming a Gurka. Kailash Limbu chronicles his combat against the enemy in Afghanistan.
I was hoping to find something about the Gurka fighting the Japanese during WW II, but this book is strictly a modern work. I found it interesting that as Kailash Limbu was being accepted into the Gurkas that he had received a number of marriage proposals. I assume this has something to do with the money should they die while in the Gurkas or received a retirement. I had once read that when a Gurka dies in the service of the British Crown, their family would receive $100,000.00. So there must be some motivation. And probably today it must be a larger sum.
My impression has been that they were shock troops, people who fight their way in like Army Rangers or US Marines. I could see they are a highly disciplined, highly trained, and highly reliable fighting force.
When the British send them in, the British mean business.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

RECOMMEND

Interesting for people who have heard about the Gurkhas and want to learn more about these amazing soldiers. It was nice to hear the author describe Tibet and parts of his childhood. The narrator mr. Homer Topiwala was the right person for this book. Thank you Audible for making this book available to us, JK

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read for a non US military perspective in the Afghan war.

This book really brings you into the Gurkha culture, history and current roll in modern war. Totally worth your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!