# Recommend books on the Falklands War **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297 "2011-11-28T01:17:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/21 "2012-09-15T10:01:39Z")
Not a Commonwealth country, or direct military aid, but the French [gave the UK info](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocet) (final para of the Falklands War section) on their Exocet missiles to lessen their effectiveness, and apparently also cancelled or delayed sales of them to Peru, in case they were passed on to Argentina. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/22 "2012-09-15T12:51:18Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I remember your original inquiry, and I also remember not being able to find anything. Funnily enough, some of the cables between the U.S. and U.K. have been declassified this year, and may be perused [here](http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB374/). They are notable to me, in that they don’t mention at all, the prospect of any other country besides the U.S. helping the Brits. Not the Canadians, not the Aussies, no one. Not that it helps much, by Lawrence Freedman’s _The Official History of the Falklands Campaign_ does not seem, at a casual glance, that much of anything was either asked by the British or offered by Commonwealth or NATO countries in ways of direct support. Freedman notes that New Zealand offered a frigate to release a RN ship from duties elsewhere (p. 421) and that the threat of direct Australian and NZ involvement was briefly suggested as a disinformation to be supplied to Argentinian spies. However, a fairly large number of foreign citizens served in British forces, including Australian airmen in the Vulcan raids. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/23 "2012-09-15T17:11:58Z")
OK, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/24 "2012-09-16T15:42:46Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > It’s a few years old, but I remember Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins’s, [The Battle for the Falklands](http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Falklands-Max-Hastings/dp/0393301982), to be a good general history of the conflict. > > Edit: Here is a [monograph](http://www.offnews.info/downloads/ADA523209.pdf) of the Falklands’ War, written from the Argentine perspective. Looks interesting in a brief scan. $20.68 for a paperback? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/25 "2012-09-16T22:03:46Z")
$13.40 in India at present exchange rates. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/26 "2012-12-28T01:44:42Z")
BTW, I recently read this about the USS _Iwo Jima_. Quite surprising!: [USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iwo_Jima_(LPH-2)#Potential_role_in_1982_Falklands_War) ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/27 "2012-12-28T22:59:28Z")
Interesting . In _One Hundred Days_ Admiral Woodward describes the loss of a carrier as his biggest fear, since it would render the operation impossible. This contingency was not mentioned . ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/28 "2015-02-05T17:59:48Z")
> [@Enterprise](#): > > …Freedman notes that New Zealand offered a frigate to release a RN ship from duties elsewhere (p. 421)… I now see that was HMNZS _Canterbury_: [HMNZS Canterbury (F421) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMNZS_Canterbury_(F421)#1980s) ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/29 "2015-02-05T23:47:02Z")
Another vote for the Jenkins/Hastings book. Listened to it in the past month, very good. Covers not just the conflict but a very good account of the run up to it. The Sandy Woodwood book is also good for a personal perspective on the campaign. Might be hard to get hold of however. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/30 "2015-02-06T00:09:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > BTW, was there ever a request by the British for, or an offer from their own governments of, troops, aircraft, ships, supplies or other resources from the other Commonwealth countries to help retake the Falklands? Two ways to look at it. Many Commonwealth countries were represented in the war by virtue of being in the UK Forces - over 10% of the UK military were non-UK born. Special Forces, for example, always tend to have a sprinking of Fijians. Plus there are always on going secondments between the Anglo-speaking nations. Nationally, you can’t ask another country to go to war over an Island in the South Atlantic. That doesn’t mean all resources desired weren’t forthcoming, of course they were. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/31 "2015-02-06T10:23:36Z")
Chris Parry’s Down South is well worth reading for the perspective of a junior officer. He was a helicopter observer. He took part in the assault on South Georgia and made the initial attack on the Santa Fe. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/32 "2016-06-14T18:41:26Z")
Bumped. > [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > It’s a few years old, but I remember Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins’s, [The Battle for the Falklands](http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Falklands-Max-Hastings/dp/0393301982), to be a good general history of the conflict… Just finished it (on the anniversary of the Argentine surrender, as it happens), and highly recommend it. Well-researched, not afraid to point out mistakes by both the Brits and the Argies, and some of the wittiest, most engaging writing in any history book I’ve ever read. The authors cover the political, diplomatic and military aspects of the conflict with equal skill. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/33 "2016-06-14T18:50:12Z")
Just as a side note: Alternate History author Marc Jones has a short novel titled _The Fireflies of Port Stanley_ that speculates how the war might have been different if three British Firefly\* tanks had been sent to Port Stanley back in 1953. - - Fireflies were up-gunned Shermans, with the standard 75mm gun replaced with a much more powerful 17 pound gun. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/34 "2016-06-14T19:09:33Z")
Just started reading it now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/35 "2016-06-14T19:54:00Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Just started reading it now. Hastings and Jenkins, or Jones? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/36 "2016-06-14T21:54:22Z")
Jones. I think he’s rather optimistic about the accuracy of the tank gunners, but it is dramatic license! I’ve read Hastings & Jenkins’ work several times, as well as a couple of others like Ward’s Sea Harrier book and Parry’s Down South, the latter of which I mentioned above. My uncle was out there too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/37 "2016-06-14T22:24:23Z")
Especially considering none of them had been trained on that tank! But yeah, call it dramatic license for the sake of the yarn. Jeanne Kirkpatrick _does not_ come off well in this tale. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/38 "2016-06-15T02:02:23Z")
Hastings and Jenkins write that she tilted far more to the Argentines than to the British, and was made grumpy by the Reagan White House and State Department’s vacillations (including conflicting and poorly-timed instructions for a key UN Security Council vote). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/39 "2016-09-06T00:58:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Sandy Woodward’s _One Hundred Days_ is worth a read. He was in charge of parts of the task force, but not all. It’s an illuminating account of what happens at senior command levels when they are all basically making it up as they go along. Just finished this, and really liked it. Having spent most of his career in submarines, Adm. Woodward got the Commander Battle Group gig largely because he was the closest senior naval officer to the Falklands - on maneuvers off Gibraltar - when the Argentines invaded. He discusses the difficulties of protecting his fleet, juggling limited resources, trying to guess what the Argentines would do next, and dealing with casualties, logistics problems, bad weather, mechanical breakdowns and unreliable missile systems. He’s surprisingly forthright about his own shortcomings (snappish when tired, too easily frustrated with what seemed like slowness/incompetence by the RAF and Army, and less than gifted in dealing with the press). A great book. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297/40 "2016-09-06T04:19:52Z")
_The Lessons of Modern War_ series are interesting as they enter into the technical side of things. [Volume 3](https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Modern-War-Falklands-Conflicts/dp/0813313317/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473135591&sr=1-4&keywords=lessons+of+modern+war) deals with the Soviet Afghan campaign and the Falklands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-the-falklands-war/604297.md?page=3)