-
Imprint: Allen Lane
-
Published: 06/09/2018
-
ISBN: 9780241288948
-
Length: 416 Pages
-
Dimensions: 240mm x 36mm x 162mm
-
Weight: 629g
-
RRP: £20.00
WINNER OF THE LONGMAN-HISTORY TODAY BOOK PRIZE 2019
WINNER OF THE TEMPLER MEDAL BOOK PRIZE 2019
WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2019
LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2019
'Brilliant. The best discussion of soldiers in combat, their motivation, behaviours and fears, that I have come across' Robert Fox, Evening Standard
Our Boys brings to life the human experiences of the paratroopers who fought in the Falklands War, and examines the long aftermath of that conflict. It is a first in many ways - a history of the Parachute Regiment, a group with an elite and aggressive reputation; a study of close-quarters combat on the Falkland Islands; and an exploration of the many legacies of this short and symbolic war.
Told unflinchingly through the experiences of people who lived through it, Our Boys shows how the Falklands conflict began to change Britain's relationship with its soldiers, and our attitudes to trauma and war itself. It is also the story of one particular soldier: the author's uncle, who was killed during the conflict, and whose fate has haunted both the author and his fellow paratroopers ever since.
'This is an extraordinary book. It is partly about the Falklands War itself and the terrible things that the Paras endured, and the terrible things that some of them did, but it is also about the white working class of the 1970s and why some men born into this class ended up marching across an island that most of them had never heard of. Thoughtful and sometimes heart-breaking' Richard Vinen, author of National Service
-
Imprint: Allen Lane
-
Published: 06/09/2018
-
ISBN: 9780241288948
-
Length: 416 Pages
-
Dimensions: 240mm x 36mm x 162mm
-
Weight: 629g
-
RRP: £20.00
Reviews
-
You can only capture the zeitgeist of The Parachute Regiment if you write candidly and astonishingly well: Helen Parr triumphantly does both
Major General Chip Chapman (Platoon Commander, 2 PARA, Falklands)
-
This is an extraordinary book. It is partly about the Falklands War itself and the terrible things that the Paras endured, and the terrible things that some of them did, but it is also about the white working class of the 1970s and why some men born into this class ended up marching across an island that most of them had never heard of. Thoughtful and sometimes heart-breaking, if I had to recommend one book about the British Army since the Second World War, and perhaps, for that matter, one book about British society in the 1980s, this would be it.
Richard Vinen, author of National Service
-
Achieves a rare combination of intimacy and range... I couldn't recommend Our Boys more highly
Rachel Seiffert
-
This beautifully written, intensely poignant book in which the life and death of Helen Parr's nineteen year old uncle Dave, killed on Wireless Ridge above Port Stanley on the very last day of the Falklands War, is set carefully in the context of Britain's twentieth century military, political and social history. It will leave a real mark on the minds of those who read it. She has done her uncle Dave more than proud.
Peter Hennessy
-
Powerful and moving, Our Boys is a fascinating insight into the nature of combat and represents an important contribution to our understanding of the Falklands War, The Parachute Regiment and post-war Britain.
Dan Jarvis MP
-
A classic. Truly superb... something unique and original. It does great justice to the Paras, and is the most honest and honourable homage possible to the author's uncle Dave.
Major Nigel Price, 7th Gurkha Rifles
