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An unpopular War: Voices of South African National Servicemen
Was R153.95Now R123.16(eB 1232)
Delivery time: Usually within 5 working days.
Average customer rating:  Country: South AfricaFormat: Trade paperback
Publisher: ZEBRA PRESSISBN: 9781770073012
Publication date: June 2006
Length: 230mm
Width: 150mm
Thickness: 21mm
Weight: 340g
Pages: 256
Prizes: Shortlisted for South African Booksellers' Choice Award 2007.
An unpopular War: Voices of South African National Servicemen
Author: J.H. Thompson
Was R153.95
Now R123.16
In the seventies, eighties and nineties, conscription had a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of young men, particularly those who had to serve in the Angolan war. In the seventies, eighties and nineties, conscription had a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of young men, particularly those who had to serve in the Angolan war. This title is a collection of reflections and memories of that time, collected by JH Thompson, who interviewed men who did National Service. Contributors include ordinary soldiers, Special Forces members, helicopter pilots, chefs and religious objectors. The title captures the spirit and atmosphere, the daily duties, the boredom, fear and other intense experiences of an SADF soldier.
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 An Unpopular WarReviewed by Nick from South Africa on 09 June 2006
1403 of 2595 people found the following review helpful:
The manner in which the author has captured 'reality' is absolutely superb. This is not only a book that must be read in order to inform South Africans about the realities associated with National Service but is furthermore a book that should be read by every, inter alia, psychology and sociology scholar out there. It not only highlights things like perceptions, for starters the perception among many of our countrymen and women that every white male as a result of going to the army supported apartheid and the Nat government, but other issues which can be debated and analysed within these disciplines. Furthermore it is clear that the author has gone to great lengths to verify information, and the factual accuracy and detail is phenomenal.
Apart from the memories flooding back it furthermore reinforced my belief that no matter how some individuals try and romanticize war it is a terrible thing. Any states military machine should be used for purely defensive and humanitarian purposes. That I believe was the biggest problem with the SA military set up. We were all called up to be part of a setup that was not defending the citizens of a country from an external threat but rather we were all used to further the self-interests of a select few and the West, the same way that the young men and women are being used by those with self-interests in Iraq today.
It never even crossed my mind when I was in the SADF in 1983-5, mainly I suppose due to my youth, but it is a rather unfortunate and sad reality that the young men and women of the middle class and poor will always be used as cannon fodder by those select few who have their own agendas in the fight for control of worldly resources. They get this right through indoctrination and by feeding the population patriotic propaganda which they do not believe in themselves. This is what happened to us.....What was it all for ?...Why did all these young men and woman suffer....and die....? Who were we doing this for ?.....Who were we protecting.... and from what ? For me this book reaffirms my belief that as citizens of this country we need to question everything our new government does.....we have a right to know wh
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InsightfulReviewed by Sean from Johannesburg on 11 July 2006
1160 of 2310 people found the following review helpful:
I am 24 and this book really gave me an insight as to what the guys my age went through back then. After reading another book "At thy call we did not falter" by Clive Holt, I definitely have a different perspective of what the soldiers went through during the Bush war. I've always had lots of respect for members in the armed forces but after reading these two books I am simply dumbfounded at the level of discipline these soldiers had in order to fight under those circumstances. Truly amazing.
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 Tales of fishermanReviewed by G.Annandale from Rustenburg, South Africa on 10 June 2008
152 of 304 people found the following review helpful:
War stories are like fisherman tales...you take them with a pinch of salt. This is no different.
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BrilliantReviewed by Craig from Johannesburg, South Africa on 21 July 2006
279 of 591 people found the following review helpful:
I started studying right after Matric solely to avoid the army. By the time I finished, conscription had just ended. After reading books like 'The Silent War' by Peter Stiff, I kept wondering if I somehow missed out on something, or whether the discipline would have done me a world of good. This book, which I read from cover to cover in one sitting (something I have never been able to do,) answered the question for me.
While the format of this book lends itself to easy reading, you will find yourself constantly thinking quite deeply about the issues at hand, placing yourself in the situation and thinking - what would I have done?
Update: As is always the case, you need more than one source to balance your opinion. I have just finished reading Magnus Malan's autobiography - My life with the SA defense force. If you like this kind of topic, pick that one up as well - I really enjoyed it.
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Unpopular WarReviewed by Unknown from Ascot, Berkshire on 04 May 2007
236 of 494 people found the following review helpful:
Authentic based on Sector 10 Bn54 and 32 ops '80/'81. However biased on dutch-sout@#$& lines which is not based on fact.
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BADReviewed by Andries from Kimberley , SA on 27 January 2007
338 of 697 people found the following review helpful:
do not buy this book , the most unpatriotic book in a long time, What would have happend if the war did not take place. out of all the stories in the book there wer just a on or two that was not onsided, The war made men out of us. maybe it was all the slapgatte that was on light duty all the time that gave their opinion.
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Boldly illuminated with tracer roundsReviewed by Gerrit Hoekstra from Sussex, UK on 16 October 2006
220 of 454 people found the following review helpful:
More confirmation of the appalling stories about the South African armed forces that were circulating during the Cold War era but were quashed by a government that refused to confirm or deny the abuses that were inflicted on the sons of white South African families and the abuses that these sons were inflicting onto others.
The South African armed forces at that time were mostly made up of conscripts and was Africa's most disciplined, effective and well-funded armed force. To many it was something to be proud of, grateful for, a rite of passage, a way of persisting the Afrikaner culture, or simply a way of staying out of trouble for two years and to hopefully learn something useful. To others, it tore families apart, scarred them for life, or was simply an utter waste of time and tax payers' money where you came for two years to acquire some bad habits. We see how in its final days this venerable institution fell apart when conscription ended, the discipline eroded and military equipment quietly disappeared into private hands.
Talking about this era is mostly a taboo subject and takes a brave author like J.H. Thompson to say it just like it was, right down to the prevailing vernacular. There are some laugh-out-aloud moments, but more of anger and anguish - especially if you were part of it.
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Two thumbs Up! Reviewed by Unknown from Pretoria, South Africa on 14 June 2006
157 of 321 people found the following review helpful:
I just completed this book and it was WONDERFUL!
I give this book the two thumbs Up!
I was also in the South African Defence Force in the 80’s and this book captures the emotions and situations that I experienced!
Helped me to cope with some of the things I had witnessed.
A must read!
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 One-sided Amateurish effortReviewed by Mnr "Japie" Van Renen from Canada on 30 July 2007
319 of 643 people found the following review helpful:
I find it difficult to take any author seriously who tries too hard to provide an one-sided account of the past. I bought the Afrikaans version of this book and immediately felt cheated after having read three pages. Apparently, the Army only had dissallusioned English soldiers among it's ranks, with Afrikaners fully represented... as stereotypes.
I find this strange, since MOST of the ex-conscripts I have spoken to have had mostly positive things to say about their time in the SADF.
Although we don't read the author's own words, we get the message/agenda behind the personal accounts she has selected. After reading this you SHOULD feel like you need to go buy more books to fill in the blanks.
In short, buy this book if you are English, are easily amused by Afrikaner stereotypes, or see the past in oversimplified terms as either completely Good or Bad.
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