Great insight hamstrung.

The thoughts and feelings outlined in this book were fascinating. Narrator, what were you thinking?

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3 people found this helpful

Good Listen

Very factually and enjoyable. Only issue was use of abbreviations. Should have used full word.

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Very well written history of SF in the Falklands

I enjoyed the book very much however i was irritated by the constant reading of the initials of abbreviations. As a person who worked in the defence industry for over 40 years I know that all the acronyms are treated a nouns and verbs not a sting of letters. The first part of the book makes this clear with a look up table of what the string of letters mean if you really want to know.
This however did not spoil the book which kept me enthralled and in awe of the risks taken by the SF in theit day to day work..

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Great story, marred by narration

This was an epic and enthralling account, told with some humility, that was well worth a listen. But for goodness sake get someone who knows about military abbreviations to read it; or at least check it for credibility’s sake afterwards. CASEVAC, CINC FLEET, TACSAT and so on are spoken as complete words, never read out letter by letter; it’s the Super Étendard, not the Entendard, and Grytviken is not pronounced Great-Viken. 42 Commando RM is pronounced 4-2 Commando, not Forty-Two Commando. These mispronunciations, coupled with a rather staccato delivery, detracted from this otherwise excellent book. It was surely easy enough to get someone with a passing familiarity with the military to proof-listen this account?

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Insightful, well read, fascinating!

I was a schoolboy when these events and… It really is interesting to hear about the detail, the thought processes and the real challenges. There is no trying to attend the SAS is a glamorous organisation, it comes across as just a thoughtful professional service doing the right thing in very difficult circumstances. I must say I personally really enjoyed how it was read too!

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Authoritative account but awful narration

General Cedric Delves has the authority to write a revealing account of the SAS role in re-taking the Falklands. His account is both anecdotal and reflective and, whilst it understandably is coy about SAS methods, nevertheless is successful in conveying the essence of what it was to be a special forces commander operating, very successfully, behind enemy lines. He is candid in his views about the senior command of the campaign. He clearly has a profound respect for Admiral Sandy Woodward and the Royal Navy, mirrored by his positive comments about Julian Thompson and 3 Brigade. He singles out the RN helicopter crews for particular praise, not surprising given the SAS use of helicopters for their commute to work.

The audiobook is profoundly let down by the narrator. Yet again, Audible appear to have selected someone with a theatrical voice but little or no understanding of his subject matter. Benedick Blythe adopts a staccato style which is both irritating and distracting. He then consistently spells out the many military acronyms rather than pronouncing them as would a soldier. It wouldn't have taken much research to get this right but clearly that degree of professionalism isn't part of the job. In some cases, Blythe even manages to transpose letters of the acronyms, as in GMPG for GPMG - easy to do if unfamiliar with the subject but surely something a narrator is expected to get right.

Overall, very much worth the effort to hea, even working through the radio interference that is the narration.

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Superb!

This book grabbed me unlike any other true war story. The heroism depicted by all the personnel at South Georgia is staggeringly unbelievable. How they did what they did, beggars belief!

What an amazing book.

I thought that the narration was superb, indeed I initially thought that it was being read by the author.

Please listen to this book, this story needs to be heard!

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Excellent book, excellent voice artist

Gripping and frank account of Delves’s time down south. This will be a classic. The voice artist fits perfectly and, indeed, has the best voice I have heard on an audiobook.

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This book and “The First Casualty”

Two books to read in reference to the Falkland War. Across an Angry Sea and “First Casualty”

Fantastic to listen too and read.

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SITREP

Well written and insightful account of the Falklands War by General Cedric Delves. Rather spoiled by the narrator's habit of spelling out letter by letter words like sitrep which, in the military are used as words. A preview by any soldier or sailor or even airman would have spotted this.

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