Squaddie

I finished reading Squaddie: A Soldier's Story last night.

Written by Steven McLaughlin it documents the quite incredible circumstances in which he joins the Royal Green Jackets and leaves his mark as the last ever Green Jacket to pass out of Sir John Moore Barracks, and be the oldest man to ever pass the Combat Infantryman's Course at Catterick Garrison.
He then goes on to serve in both Iraq and Northern Island, and his insight into both of these conflicts is quite an eye opener. Especially in regards to Northern Island, I had no idea that tension and trouble was still so high.

Being born in the late 80s I was never around with the Northern Island conflict was at its worse and all over the news, so now with the 'ceasefire' and its lack of popularity in the news it all feels like its over and done with to me. But I found it quite shocking to read how it is still very much alive for those on the ground. Although the die-hard belief in Irish nationalism seems to be fading out with each generation, and we all know how political conflicts never last as long as religious ones, so the conflicts in Northern Island might not be so far from dissolving into a memory.
Although that's just between the soldiers and the Catholics, the Protestants are always going to get flak.

In all I found it to be a brilliant book, and I'm sure anyone with any modern military interest would throughly enjoy it.

Now I just have to pull myself to the end of Battle Royale, which I must say is rather poorly written, and in many cases just terrible. It doesn't hold a candle to the film, which just seems to be a revised and improved version of the book, or the manga, which from what I've seen retains exactly the same story only with artwork instead of bad prose.
After that I think I might buy Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or read the last Ghost in the Shell novel.