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Dusty Warriors: Modern Soldiers at War
by: Richard Holmes

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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780007212859
ISBN: 0007212852
Label: HarperPerennial
Manufacturer: HarperPerennial
Number Of Pages: 316
Publication Date: February 05, 2007
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Studio: HarperPerennial
Sales Rank: 44019

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- More regimental history than reality
23 reviews all in praise of the master; lets be different, shall we?

If you want something approaching an official regimental history of the Prince of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR)in this conflict in this partof Iraq than 'Dusty Soldiers' is probably perfect.

If you want un-MoD vetted reality, then look elsewhere (I would recommend 'Condor Blues'; same region of Iraq, Maysan Province, Holmes Regiment the PWRR was actually deployed alongside the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Camp Condor in Maysan, so interesting contrast).

Richard Holmes is a respected and respectable military historian; he does this well. He is also an officer of the battalion so he is loyal, biased and partisan. Good on him.
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Rating:

- Can't see the desert for the sand at times
Richard Holmes hits the nail on the head in his preface when he discusses the challenge in striking the right balance between journalism and history. I think he failed in that respect, erring too far and too often into sensationalist copy, but the book as a whole isn't a failure. It's very readable and exciting and succeeds in introducing the reader to a fighting battle group. Holmes keeps to his tried-and-tested formula of including generous quotes from many individuals so the account isn't too skewed to any one soldier's experiences.

In this way this book will differ from the many memoirs currently flooding the market. Also, this is one respect in which it feels more like a history book than a piece of journalism. However, I've ... Read More:

Rating:

- Enthralling book from soldiers' first hand accounts
As both an eminent historian and the Colonel of PWRR, Richard Holmes had unique access to the first hand accounts of the soldiers across the battalion featured in this story and the skills to turn them into a readable and insightful study of the modern British Army at war. This account of an Iraq deployment during 2004, as the rise of tension and specifically the activities of the mahdi army turned what should have been a transition to peace into the fiercest British Army conflict since Korea, is a very honest and at times raw description of operational life - told by the soldiers themselves. Despite the modern media perception of the army flipping between the extremes of down to earth heroes or out of control louts, the soldiers come across as ... Read More:

Rating:

- Cap Badge at its best
Richard Holmes was the Colonel of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, a new regiment assembled out of the historical regiments of South East England. This book is his account (via the personal accounts of the men and women of 1PWRR) of their tour in Iraq. The book starts out with a handy dandy summary of what an Army battalion is like, how it functions, and of the Ministry of Defence reorganisations that produced some of its present manifestations. The book covers everyone in the unit from admin clerk to Warrior driver and its grist is accounts of the "contacts" in which various factions ambush the Army going about its daily business. One of these contacts gave rise to the award of a VC, a good indication of the intensity of combat.

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Rating:

- Good but slightly bias.
A cracking book if you want to understand the mentality and courage of the average soldier responding to a difficult situation. However Richard Holmes, as Regt Col of PWRR, does write this from a bias point of view and message throughout the book is almost one of the rear echelon troops provided no value bar getting in the way and the PWRR saved the day.

Don't get me wrong - this book records the deeds of some very brave soldiers but it lacked that wider picture for my liking and I expected more.

Books : Dusty Warriors: Modern Soldiers at War