Author:Kevin Mervin
Kevin J. Mervin was one of over 2,000 British Territorial Army soldiers called up to fight in the Iraq War in February 2003. Based on a diary kept throughout his tour of duty, the author's personal account of the conflict illustrates what it was like for a 'part-timer' to fight alongside the regular army.
Weekend Warrior chronicles the difficulties and traumas Mervin and his colleagues endured while carrying out their work, including situations in which they literally had to fight for their lives. The author also describes how he and his companions dealt with the horrific sights, sounds and realities of war.
Thrust unexpectedly into the middle of a dangerous conflict, Mervin's memoirs relate not only the fear and excitement he experienced but also his sadness at the scenes of poverty he witnessed and his anger towards the
media, which, he feels, reported the conflict to the world with an anti-war bias. On his return home, Mervin faced further challenges when he lost his job because of his call-up and he also received criticism from an often hostile public.
Weekend Warrior paints a startlingly vivid picture of fear and confusion on the front line and highlights the problems faced by those lucky enough to return home.
Vividly written
—— Pennant Magazine (Journal of the Forces Pension Society)Superb... A wholly absorbing and powerful narrative full of good sense, properly weighed facts and clear understanding
—— Peter Hitchens , Daily MailAbdullah's voice is reasoned and often humorous, didactic rather than dictatorial ... he is a spokesman for his country
—— Walll Street JournalRomer carries the reader along effortlessly on a lengthy, complex yet immensely satisfying journey
—— Joyce Tyldesley , BBC HistoryIntriguing, iconoclastic ... An artist's sensibility is evident ... memorable and original
—— Toby Wilkinson , Times Literary SupplementEnthralling from the first word to the last
—— The Atlantic MonthlyMoving and extremely well-documented
—— Oxford MailExcellent... One often feels as if one is actually present at the scenes she describes. There can be no higher praise... Inconvenient People is as interesting a work of social history as you are ever likely to read.
—— Anthony Daniels , SpectatorFascinating and chilling, Inconvenient People reads like a series of Victorian novels in brief - only all the tales are true
—— Bel Mooney , Daily MailThis superlative study opens the door on the cruelty of the quacks who locked up lost souls
—— Edward Pearce , IndependentSeveral riveting cases Sarah Wise has unearthed for this fine social history of contested lunacy in the 19th century... Wise has given us a fascinating book that teems with rich archival research. The pictorial sources are an added boon and make for a wonderfully illustrated addition to the history of the 19th century
—— Lisa Appignanesi , Daily TelegraphRich, gripping and moving mix of social history, psychiatry and storytelling
—— Your Family TreeA dark and disturbing investigation...trenchant and disturbing book
—— John Carey , Sunday TimesThere is so much to interest and entertain in this book, which is enhanced by over eighty informative illustrations
—— Gillian Tindall , Literary ReviewA wonderfully engaging book
—— Jad Adams , Who Do You Think You Are MagazineFascinating book (4 stars)
—— Michael Kerrigan , ScotsmanWise reopens 12 uncontested lunacy cases from the 1800s, meticulously exploring the details of each and recreating the stories with a page-turning eye for a great narrative
—— IndependentSarah Wise knows how to grab the reader’s attention with phrases that would have done Bulwer-Lytton proud. But the book’s readability does not disguise its scholarship. This is a valuable contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century
I thrilled to Sarah Wise’s Inconvenient People, an enthralling study of those who fell foul of Victorian mad-doctors and greedy relatives
—— Philip Hoare , Sunday TelegraphIt makes for a harrowing read, but much of it is also hilarious, and as gripping as the most lurid Victorian melodramatic novel. Yet again, one closes a book with the impression that beneath the polished mahogany surfaces and shimmering silks of Victorian interiors lurked Hell itself
—— A. N. Wilson , Mail on Sunday
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