What Are You Currently Reading? 2014

[BushrangerCZ]

PAMWE CHETE, LtCol R.F. Reid-Daly (Pub. 1999)

Link:http://books.google.co.uk/books/abou...d=h_MvAQAAIAAJ

[davidbfpo]

On a recent holiday I settled won to read five books, three e-books and one hardback - the later is David Kilcullen's 'Out of the Mountains', which is reviewed elsewhere:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...=12934&page=19

In 2011 'Dead Men Risen:The Welsh Guards and the Defining Story of Britain's War in Afghanistan' by Toby Harnden was published, winning plaudits and prizes. The author is an accomplished journalist and writer. His book 'Bandit Country': The IRA and South Armagh (Hodder, 1999), was excellent and so I sat down expecting a similar read.

'Dead Men Risen' was far better, harsh at times in portraying the campaigning, including the loss to an IED of the Welsh Guards CO. It combines interviews of a large number who served, with a good, balanced measure of criticism tactically and beyond.

Link:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Men-Ris...1712629&sr=1-3

In 2012 Margaret Evison, the mother of Lt. Mark Evison, of the Welsh Guards, wrote 'Death of a Soldier: A Mother's Story', after his death, in 2009 in Afghanistan, in what became for many evidence that something was very badly wrong - in Helmand Province and at home, with the coroner's inquest. It is I think unique as a mother's account and in places is very hard to read. Well worth reading and hopefully officialdom will have learnt some lessons by now.

Link:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Soldie...argaret+evison

The third e-book was 'The Last Great Cavalryman: The Life of General Sir Richard McCreery' by Richard Mead, had been well reviewed in The Spectator, but frankly was a disappointment. Yes this general is virtually unknown and played a key part in the Italian campaign. The chapters on his inter-war service was simply a too jolly account of riding, it gave little insight into his education, rather that he was lucky to be spotted by sponsors.

Link:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Great-C...eat+Cavalryman

The fifth book deserves a longer review as it is rather different and has an Indian author.