Falklands War

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Soldiers, sailors and airmen risked, and in some cases gave, their lives for the freedom of 1,820 islanders. Though perhaps the high point was quoting someone talking about the state of aircraft in-flight refueling by saying 'it was like shoving wet spaghetti up a wildcat's bum. With only 69 Marines and 10 Royal Naval Hydrographers at his disposal, Norman had to plan a defence in the face of overwhelming odds. Major Mike Norman joined the Royal Marines in 1962 and served for thirty years, spending much of his time in commando units or training establishments.

In possession of unseen Argentinian photographs, he is in a unique position to offer an important new perspective on the conflict. In the case of the UK that image was maybe prolonged – it was given an afterlife, a kind of zombie-life. Incorporating vivid first-hand accounts and illustrated with photographs, the book also portrays the daily life of an escort under wartime conditions and describes only too clearly the tension, fear, storm, cold, disaster and sorrow which were so close at hand. I was a serving RN Officer in April 1982 and was always surprised that the actions of the very brave Royal Marine detachment NP8901 did not have their story better told at the time. Mike Curtis, a former coal miner and likely Welsh rugby international, served with 2 Para in the Falklands before going on to join the SAS.An account of the Falklands conflict from a senior fighting participant, drawing on both British and Argentinean sources. The humility and dedication that John shows throughout the book is indicative of the many men and women serving in the armed forces today. Or, a helicopter couldn't fire its weapons because it was too early in the morning the the weapon wasn't able to aim in such conditions. Apart from being totally unexpected for almost all the participants; we were fighting a nation that we had previously regarded as friendly. D Company was the Cinderella of 2 PARA, at the back for everything: on training, always in reserve; in barracks, the parking lot for those who proved too troublesome for A and B.

See Sandy Woodward with Patrick Robinson, One Hundred Days: The Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander, HarperCollins Publishers, 1992) It should be stated that painting 'Invincible' in the foaming brine, the cold, the yawning swells, with General Winter whipping up 20-foot waves would have been extremely difficult.But still the Middlebrook touch is undeniable and if you only want to read one book on the conflict, you are well served by this volume. Despite taking heavy casualties, Port Stanley was in British hands by the middle of June and Argentina surrendered.

For Argentina, said Gamerro, the Malvinas/Falklands have "come to represent nationalism, anti-imperialism anti-colonialism: they represent all the aspirations we couldn't fulfil; they have become a kind of icon of Argentinian lost dreams or pipe dreams". The book is very readable and well-illustrated with thirty two black and white photographs and some excellent maps.In this accomplished and engaging book, Mercau provides a penetrating analysis of the association between the Falkland Islands and empire. Diplomatic Memories: Remembering the Falklands/Malvinas War Through the Diplomatic Practices of Argentina and the Falkland Islands.