Life and sex in the line of fire

Early on, it becomes clear that Myers has rather more time for the British army than any other combatant group in the struggle, describing, for example, the army press office as made up of "decent young men of the kind I had gone to school with."

To be fair, though, he does heap derision on the men of violence from all sides before the book is finished.

Myers appears to live a charmed life working first for Irish broadcaster RTE, then as a stringer for the Observer and NBC. He always seems to be near to shootings or bombings but manages to escape unharmed. On one occasion, he is being set up for execution by loyalist paramilitaries and is only saved by the quick thinking of his driver.

Myers appears almost as proud of his sexual conquests over the 10-year period as he is of his journalistic achievements. There is, in fact, so much of this voyeursim that it does stir the reader to reflect on the mindset of a man who needs to go into quite so much intimate detail, quite so publicly on the subject.

Sex seems to take the place of any political analysis of what was going on in Northern Ireland at the time. There is reference to Brigadier Frank Kitson as "one bright mind" who was not listened to. Others would argue that not only was Kitson listened to but his book Low Intensity Operations provided the blueprint for much of what happened over the years of the Troubles.

Given the political limitations and the overzealous helping of Myers's sex life, this is a well-written and engaging book.

The writer really holds the reader with his narrative of dare and do. And he doesn't shrink from outlining the true horror of bomb explosions, describing the smells of dead bodies and tissue and skin fragments around bombsites.

The book does certainly provide a good critique of the futility of war in a most engaging way. Even given the bad points, it is definitely worth a read.

PAUL DONOVAN