Just couldn't f finish this one. I managed to page 160 or so before the weight of tall stories and things that just didn't add up got the better of meJust couldn't f finish this one. I managed to page 160 or so before the weight of tall stories and things that just didn't add up got the better of me and I just had to stop. Things might have been better if there'd been a bit of due diligence or commentary on the part of the author, or if there'd been some contextualization or inclusion of Echo Company in the book. ...more
Well, there's a reason I usually don't go in for biographies, and this is it. While there are a few interesting insights in the book, unfortunately thWell, there's a reason I usually don't go in for biographies, and this is it. While there are a few interesting insights in the book, unfortunately the book's written in an irritatingly superior, I'm better than everyone else style. Literally everyone.
The constant carping over not being allowed to bomb everything in sight, and damn the consequences don't really help Broughton's case, and neither does his obvious contempt for anyone in the Air Force who isn't him. The first two thirds, dealing with air combat over Korea and Vietnam, are better than the final third, in which Broughton fails to account for his decisions in light of the Turkestan affair, which show him up as an annoying manchild unwilling to take responsibly for his actions. I'll freely admit that the court martial against him was flawed, but he acts like such an idiot all over it that it's difficult to generate any sympathy for him at all.
Fairly interesting insofar as it goes, but the authors incessant oppinionating get way too far in the way....more
A cheery, nostalgic look back at the increasingly pointless efforts by the UK's national and local governments to plan for nuclear holocaust and proviA cheery, nostalgic look back at the increasingly pointless efforts by the UK's national and local governments to plan for nuclear holocaust and provide an ever diminishing degree of comfort and relief for the population.
Driven by the obvious psychological damage caused by the BBC ending the world in Threads, for the uninitiated a drama documentary in which Auntie Beeb 'bounced the rubble' (and which threatened but ultimately failed to disturb the calm that Joe Dredd and the survivors of MegaCity 1 had given me in their tussles with the Sov Blok a couple of years earlier) its thematically split, dealing with topics like warnings, civil defence and evacuation. Its all entertaining enough, and it ticks the nostalgia button very nicely.
The best bits the final chapter, describing the BBC's attempts to get us to ban the bomb. It might all have a bit more impact if you weren't there....more