Too Thin for a Shroud
The Last Untold Story of the Falklands War
by Crispin Black
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Pub Date 4 May 2023 | Archive Date 6 Nov 2023
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Description
How a few minutes can change the course of history...
In May 1982, eight young officers of the Welsh Guards—whose colonel-in-chief is the King—found themselves despatched at short notice to fight 8000 miles away in the Falklands. Until now, no one has told their story which included the fiercest attack on British troops since World War II when Britain lost half a battalion and the Argentine air force successfully bombed four navy ships at the tail end of the conflict.
With gripping recollections from his peers, Crispin Black casts an entirely new light on this dramatic part of the campaign that is often overlooked. Using for the first time a trove of formerly secret Ministry of Defence documents, Too Thin for a Shroud captivatingly brings to life how the outcome was decided in ten critical minutes and that the Falklands War remains to this day one of the most misunderstood episodes in modern British history.
Crispin Black served as platoon commander of the Welsh Guards in the Falklands. He went on to serve in Germany and three tours in Norther n Ireland before joining the Cabinet Office as a lieutenant colonel with responsibilities for intelligence and COBRA liaison. He studied at King’s College, London, was a Defence Fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He previously wrote the acclaimed 7/7 What Went Wrong? (Gibson Square) and has written for The Times, Guardian, Telegraph and Independent as w ell as commented on intelligence for Channel 4, BBC, Sky and ITV.
‘One of the best in the field.’ Jon Snow
Advance Praise
‘Forensically dissects what went wrong.... his story is compelling and disturbing.’ 'Compelling, focused, incendiary. Many books have been written about the Falklands War, but none until now from the point of view of the two Guards battalions up to Tumbledown. Too Thin for a Shroud fills that gap and, after 40 years, at last sets the record straight.’
GENERAL SEBASTIAN ROBERTS
‘There are numerous moments when you stop aghast and re-read a paragraph. There are surprises, there are times when you have to stop reading to reflect and ponder over a passage and digest precisely what you have just read… some passages are as powerful as any great poem….I implore you to read this compelling and important book.’
LT MARK CORETH, Blues and Royals Troop Leader in the Falklands
‘I am delighted Crispin Black has written Too Thin for a Shroud… ensuring that those who suffered and died, fighting for the freedom of others shall not be forgotten.’
IAN DUNCAN SMITH MP
Marketing Plan
Broadcast interviews
Broadcast interviews
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781783342297 |
| PRICE | £20.00 (GBP) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Ron B, Reviewer
An interesting look at the war in the Falklands. The author's purpose is to explain the issues that led to increased casualties by the British forces. The book is a good reminder of the issues that can happen in any job situation - poor communications, political infighting, inadequate resources; all led to needless casualties during the war. The author does a great job using documents from the war, the investigations that followed as well as firsthand accounts. A terrific read!
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Kevin M, Reviewer
This review must, necessarily, begin with an acknowledgment that those of us who listened to the accounts of a war taking place 8000 miles away fed in carefully controlled reports from BBC and ITV reporters embedded with the Task Force are ill-placed to comment on many aspects of this worrying analysis from one who was there. Crispin Black, at the time a young Welsh Guards junior officer, was there on that dreadful afternoon when so many young Welsh Guards and other personnel suffered death and mutilation in a few short minutes, so his words must command our attention. Indeed, he poses questions that demand answers whether from a formal further Inquiry or otherwise. At the time and even now, having read this book and many others that consider aspects of the Falklands War, I could not - and cannot - understand how service personnel could be left in such a vulnerable position for so long, surrounded by large quantities of ammunition and facing an Air Force that had shown itself capable and courageous in pressing home attacks.
Unfortunately, and probably understandably, the author runs the risk of undermining his otherwise careful analysis by indulging in some inter-service rivalry that has no place in such an analysis. It is generally best to let the facts and objective analyses speak for themselves; chauvinism in such narratives serves to prompt questions over the objectivity of the analysis.
In the final analysis, however, the circumstances that led to such a ‘butcher’s bill’, as Wellington would have it, are such as to demand the most thorough and objective investigation that spares nobody’s blushes, however senior.
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