Product Description

Our foremost military historian offers us a compelling and at times terrifying account of what it means to be a contemporary soldier. In this remarkable book, Richard Holmes draws on the testimonies of the 700 soldiers of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment to capture in vivid detail the average soldier's day-to-day experience of war. Embroiled in a conflict often too dangerous for reporters to cover, these soldiers -- most of them young, many without any previous experience of warfare -- have kept ongoing records of the drudgery, anxiety and horror involved in fighting a violent and increasingly unpopular war against a ruthless and resourceful enemy. All have risked their lives, and many have died. Others have been recognised and awarded for their courage, resourcefulness and gallantry -- Private Johnson Beharry recently became the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in twenty-three years. With these intimate and revealing glimpses of life in the modern army, Richard Holmes paints a sweeping portrait of a new generation of soldiers -- grunts, gallants and heroes -- and the sacrifices their decision to fight for their country entails.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25407 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 316 pages

Review
'Richard Holmes's "Dusty Warriors" is an important study!the book is an invaluable insight into the workings of a modern infantry regiment and a diary of the remarkable events that the men of the 1st PWRR battle group experienced on tour!it also provides a compelling and fast-moving narrative of the courage, restraint and fortitude shown by British soldiers in impossible circumstances!the action is superbly described!gripping!an important milestone for future generations wanting to understand the British Army and the post invasion turbulence of Iraq!essential reading.' Sunday Times 'Vivid, gripping and, at times, highly emotional reading!If you have any interest in what life is like for the modern British soldier, "Dusty Warriors" is essential reading. Richard Holmes is a first-rate writer and with this exciting, affectionate account of his regiment at war he has set a standard for other military authors to aspire to.' Daily Mail 'You will not be able to put it down!thought-provoking and profoundly perceptive!it is a piece of contemporary military history written with the author's trademark fluency, pace and wit!This book will open eyes to the stirring realities of life at the tip of the bayonet!Any prime minister in waiting would fail in his duty if he were not to read this book.' Spectator Praise for REDCOAT: 'Redcoat is not just a work of history but of enthusiasm and unparalleled knowledge. This is a wonderful book, doing justice to men who have long deserved a chronicler of Richard Holmes's skill.' Bernard Cornwell 'It would be hard to exaggerate the excellence of this book. Vivid, comprehensive, well-written, pacy, colourful.' Simon Heffer 'A wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it.' Bernard Cornwell, Daily Mail 'Beautifully written, Redcoat is a vivid account of squalor and suffering almost beyond belief, for the men, their wives and followers, and their horses. One of the best chapters is a description of barrack-room life that will turn a few stomachs in this more fastitidious age.' John Canon, TLS 'Redcoat is the story of the British soldier from the Seven Year War through to the Mutiny and Crimea. It is consistently entertaining, full of brilliantly chosen anecdotes and rattles along at a good light infantry pace.' David Crane, Spectator 'All the best-known soldier writers are discussed here, and their anecdotes are told with enthusiasm and aplomb! This is an army from another world, and Redcoat is a splendidly entertaining, moving and informative description of its strengths and foibles.' Hew Strachan, Daily Telegraph

The Daily Mail
'vivid, gripping...highly emotional reading...Dusty Warriors is essential reading. Richard Holmes is a first-rate writer.'

Sunday Times
'...provides a compelling and fast-moving narrative of the courage, restraint and fortitude shown by British soldiers in impossible circumstances...'

Customer Reviews

This is the real thing
Richard Holmes is a distinguished military historian, best known for his TV series for the BBC, including "War Walks" and "Wellington: the Iron Duke", as well as for more than a dozen books on various aspects of the history of the British Army. Unusually for an academic, he's also a soldier, of 36 years standing, and is Colonel of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. In summer 2004 the PWRR were sent to southern Iraq. Richard Holmes visited them there, during a period which saw a lot of fierce fighting and one of the regiment's soldiers win the Victoria Cross. He gathered diaries and e-mails from officers and men to compile a first-hand record of their time in Iraq. This book, "on that windswept headland somewhere between journalism and history" as he puts it, is the result.

One of Holmes's great strengths as a military historian is his understanding of, and sympathy for, the private soldier, the ordinary infantryman (and these days also woman) on whom the grand plans of generals and politicians ultimately depend. This comes over in a big way in "Dusty Warriors". In many ways the book is like the soldiers themselves: not macho, not gung-ho, not at all what civilians would expect really, but instead professional, cynical, humorous, searingly honest and grimly realistic. To a demilitarised society like ours where most people have no contact with the military, and no experience of danger, much of the detail will be shocking. But it's how it is. This is a world away from Hollywood and fictional accounts of special forces. This is a real army, our Army, people like us, doing a difficult and dangerous job.

It's also a job that most of the country doesn't even know is being done. Holmes says he wrote this book because the media's coverage of the Army's work in Iraq is so poor. His is not a book about the rights and wrongs of invading Iraq, or of continuing a British presence there now. This is something that the soldiers don't discuss, so for the most part neither does he. He quotes an officer as saying they are "apolitical - but not amoral". He is of course an enthusiastic supporter of the Army as an institution. But he's much too fair, and too good a historian, to pretend that the Army is perfect. He's simply describing what British soldiers are doing, how they're living (and sometimes dying) and what is being done in Iraq in our name, now.

I'm a journalist, the ultimate civilian, and I've never wanted to be a soldier. But I have had the opportunity over the years to see the British Army at close quarters in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and elsewhere. And I visited another regiment in the same area of Iraq in 2003. Richard Holmes's book rings totally true. This is as accurate an account of what it's like to serve in the modern British Army as you will find anywhere. And the people who emerge from it are very, very impressive. I can't recommend "Dusty Warriors" highly enough.

A Vivid Blast of Memories form Iraq
Another winner from Prof Richard Holmes, telling the tale of the PWRR Battle Group's work in Iraq in 2004. Told largely in the soldiers own words, this book gives a real insight into the life of a modern soldier on an operational tour. The down-to-earth language of soldiers of the British Army conveys the atmosphere of the fighting and the tension of the peace without glorification or trying to bullshit the reader. As someone who was there I can testify to the truth of the accounts, and assure you that the memories came flooding back.
Thoroghly recommended.

The best description of the tribulations of modern soldiers
Dusty Warriors is a watershed in the description of the difficulties and tribulations confronting modern soldiers. In the complicated international environment an average 18 year old from Hampshire can find himself an intermediary between political and religious conflicts around the world over the course of a brief 4 year miltary career. Professor Holmes expertly descibes the challenges facing this new breed of 21st Century warriors who are facing the same geographic, physical and moral challanges as their well lauded WW2 contemporaries. The quiet times of a 6 month tour are described alongside the hectic and fearful moments in contact with a ruthless and determined enemy force as well as the hearfelt impact of the loss of their brothers to enemy fire and accidents. A true classic of 21st Century history this is a must read for the general public and historians alike. As one of Profesor Holmes Dusty Warriors myself I cannot recommend this book enough, a classic of our times he has done the soldiers of 2004 a true and worthy service. A grateful Tiger of the Sands...