Andy McNab

Andy McNab is not his name. He served in the SAS and led the Bravo Two Zero patrol into Iraq in 1991, which went wrong badly enough that three of the eight men died and four were captured and badly treated; his account sold in enormous numbers and other survivors have published versions that contradict it on several points. He went into care as a child, left school barely able to read, and has since worked for years as a literacy campaigner, writing short books aimed at adults who cannot. He is photographed only in silhouette.