Advertisement
Books

Andy McNab didn’t know how to read at 16, now he’s a bestselling author

The ex-SAS patrol leader has the Ministry of Defence to thank for teaching him how to read and write properly

Andy McNab revealed how the Ministry of Defence underlined the importance of literacy to him back when he was a “thick as shit” junior soldier.

The celebrated military author spoke of how the MoD taught him how to read and write properly at the age of 16 in his Letter to my Younger Self in this week’s Big Issue magazine.

That paved the way for McNab to immerse himself in books and rise to the top of the British Army’s elite special forces unit the SAS before penning bestsellers.

And he reckons that his experience is a firm example of why books matter.

“The educator came in and he said, those guys over the fence, they look at you, junior soldiers, and they think you’re all thick as shit,” he said. “But you’re just uneducated. And that’s going to change, starting today. And I began to think, this is amazing.

“I starting reading adventure books about the military, then I got into non-fiction, then I got into the classics. Dickens. I’d heard people in the media talk about these famous characters, so I decided to find out who they were. And I realised, take out the coal fire and put some central heating in and he could be writing now.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertisement

Read more from McNab in this week’s Big Issue magazine. Available now from vendors and The Big Issue Shop.

Get Me Out of Here! By Andy McNab and Phil Earle (illustrated by Robin Boyden) is out now (Scholastic £6.99)

Image: Shutterstock

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

It's our call to Keir Starmer to pass a law to end poverty.
big issue vendor holding up a 'we need a poverty zero law' sign

Recommended for you

Read All
Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch review – weird happenings in the Granite City
Books

Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch review – weird happenings in the Granite City

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney review – an emotionally gripping psychological thriller
Books

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney review – an emotionally gripping psychological thriller

The best books to read in summer 2025
Summer books

The best books to read in summer 2025

Women were a huge part of the Gold Rush. Why do we never hear about them?
Women

Women were a huge part of the Gold Rush. Why do we never hear about them?

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue