The Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings

Thus far, I still rate Sledge's personal accounts of his war time experiences as the best I've read to date on the sheer horror and misery of total war. One review, I think, compared this to the Eugene Sledge memoir 'With The Old breed' which I have to disagree with wholeheartedly. In future I will seek out those books written by those directly involved for something a bit more visceral and which puts you in the shoes of those that fought. From that perspective, this was not as satisfying a read as I'd hoped but again, that is more my fault than anything the author has done. That is not to say that this is not a well written and comprehensive book as it clearly is but it does not provide quite the raw flavour of combat that perhaps a memoir of those on the front lines would. To me, this work seemed to lack the gritty realism of prolonged first hand accounts which I had rather hoped for. In 'Nemesis', I got a deeper feeling of the combatants and civilians alike during the events depicted than I did from this book. I found that I got a lesser personal perspective on the trials and tribulations of the conflict by those directly involved than in the aforementioned book.

Hastings has a superb writing style that takes a holistic view of the conflict which is sprinkled with quotes, diary entries and observations from the various participants which are used and woven together to provide a great work of historical fact and analysis. My first read of a Max Hastings book was the excellent 'Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45' and so I thought I'd give his treatment of the Falklands war a read too. He has won many awards for his journalism, particularly his work in the south Atlantic in 1982. Max Hastings, author of over 20 books, has been editor of the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard. Republished as part of the Pan Military Classics series, The Battle for the Falklands is a vivid chronicle of a call to arms and a thoughtful and informed analysis of an astonishing chapter in the history of our times.

Max Hastings’ and Simon Jenkins’ account of the conflict is a modern classic of war reportage and the definitive book on the war. It has since been overshadowed by the two Gulf Wars, however, its political ramifications cannot be overestimated. But it left a chequered aftermath it was of no wider significance for British interests and taught no lessons. The Falklands War was one of the strangest in British history - 28,000 men sent to fight for a tiny relic of empire 8,000 miles from home.Īt the time, many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity, but the British victory confirmed the quality of British arms and boosted the political fortunes of the Conservative government.

The Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings