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Peace, War and Whitehall

A Memoir

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Peace, War and Whitehall

By: Charles Guthrie
Narrated by: Paul Blezard
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Bloomsbury presents Peace, War and Whitehall by Field Marshal Lord Guthrie, read by Paul Blezard.

Charles Guthrie has been one of Britain’s foremost soldiers as well as a terrific personality throughout his remarkable life. It is great that he is now telling his own story.' – Sir Max Hastings

Field Marshal the Lord Guthrie commanded at every level in the British Army from platoon to army group, and was Britain’s senior military commander at a time of great change. He oversaw the modernization of the armed forces following the Cold War years and led Britain’s military involvement in operations in the Balkans and Sierra Leone.

Charles Guthrie was commissioned into the British Army in 1959 at a time when Britain’s influence was shrinking throughout the world, and Peace, War and Whitehall describes his operational experience with both the Welsh Guards and 22 SAS in Aden, Malaya, East Africa, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

As a senior officer he commanded the Welsh Guards during an operational tour of the Bandit Country of South Armagh at the height of the Troubles, before leading an armoured brigade in Germany in the midst of the Cold War, and eventually being appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine and Northern Army Group as the Cold War ended and the former Yugoslavia began to disintegrate into savage internecine warfare.

Peace, War and Whitehall details Lord Guthrie’s extraordinary career from a young platoon commander through to Chief of the Defence Staff.©2023 Charles Guthrie (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 20th Century Europe Great Britain Military & War Modern War Military Africa Memoir United Kingdom Cold War
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Critic reviews

Pithy, humorous, engaging but above all wise… will guide future generations of our military leaders, but will also fascinate the general reader for their insights into how world-changing decisions are made.
A lively and engaging account of a life well lived… [a] fascinating memoir.
Charles Guthrie has been one of Britain’s foremost soldiers as well as a terrific personality throughout his remarkable life. It is great that he is now telling his own story.
[Lord Guthrie’s] boldness and humour make the book fizz.
There is profound wisdom in these engaging memoirs, written with wry humour and a deceptively light touch. (Allan Mallinson)
All stars
Most relevant
Wonderful insight and well narrated. Great historic count and reminder of the events the British military faced contemporarily

Brilliant

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A great listen with fantastic insight to how our Army has developed over the past decades.

Excellent

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Fascinating insight into the career of a very senior British Army officer at a time of huge change in the military, the world order and wider society. Insightful and also very entertaining.

However, the narrator sounds like a fruity old ham who’d be better served playing a pantomime dame. His regular mispronunciation of standard military terms also really grated, eg “Forty Two Commando” instead of “Four Two.”

Very worth a listen, if you can accept the narrator.

Excellent account of a very senior officer’s career - but the narrator..?!

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Disappointingly short on insights and conclusions from someone at the highest level of military life. Long on anecdotes but glossed over the more in-depth perceptions that he could have given

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