Patrick Hennessey’s reflections of life in the British army from Sandhurst Military Academy through Palace guard duty then military tours into Bosnia, Iraq and, finally, Afghanistan are not an easy read. His work is filled with British slang, personal references and military acronyms. And as one reviewer noted, his prose is “quirky, unconventional, at times stream of consciousness, at others obscure.” For most reviewers, even with those difficulties, there was great value in the book. I am not a More...

Even before the British army totally f**ked up its mission in Basra (aided by the predilection of the squaddies for torturing and murdering the locals) it was paying Patrick Hennessey £1,000 a year bursary towards his university tuition fees. In return he went to Sandhurst, and we should all be grateful. Hennessey’s is a voice unique in our age, reminiscent of an earlier one when privileged young men faced with mud, gas, dismemberment and trenches, brought home to an all-too-soon-to-forget world More...

Very, very well wrought and very, very conscious of it's place as the first reflective book written by a soldier in his generation.

I read this because I took a class with the author this summer. He didn't talk about the book until after the class had ended and most everyone had left, only a few of us sitting around. He said that one thing he appreciated about America was the tradition of educated, well-written officers in the armed forces. So he wrote this to try to start that up in the UK. Ther More...

A "good read", but due to many wild inaccuracies and his constant self-promotion I often doubted if the author had been in the Army at all. Far from being "the youngest Captain in the Army", for example as he claims, and"commended for his gallantry", he was not promoted early as often happens at 23 or 24 but was promoted at 25 when his promotion was routinely due, and rather tediously he spends five pages complaining about not being given a medal for gallantry.

His basic military knowledge often More...

Despite being a pacifist who doesn't really get why anyone would want to be a soldier, I am interested in war and books about war. I have read some great books on the subject (some that come to mind include `Despatches' by Michael Kerr, `Stalingrad' by Antony Beevor, even `Bravo Two Zero' is a rip-roaring read that gave me some helpful insights). I am sorry to report that - despite the gushing praise all over the cover of this book - that, in comparison this book is pretty dull.

In essence, a man More...

In the past several years I have read dozens of military memoirs from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but all have been from an American standpoint. Hennessey's is the first I've read by a British army officer. The writing, not surprisingly, is excellent. Hennessey's reasons for entering the army after what appears to have been a very privilged life and university are somewhat vague, although it seems fairly certain that he mostly wanted to test himself in ways that only the military life and the More...

Unlike many who have read and reviewed this book, I have a military background and perhaps an unfair advantage. I understand the acronyms, the locations and even have a knowledge of many of the operations mentioned, and I have to appreciate that the learning curve in Patrick Hennessey's "The Junior Officers' Reading Club" may be quite steep, even too steep. However, for the practical knowledge and honesty which is displayed within the text and between the lines, this book is as close to the JCO More...

Picked this up in the Orlando Airport en route to Panama City to attend the Florida Defense Alliance, so I guess I should not be surprised that I gravitated to piece of combat literature. Was intrigued by the British point of view of the author as well as the first hand perspective from an army officer in Afghanistan. I'm an admitted fan of war lit and this is my first read on the Afghan war and I appreciated the POV from a young officer. The first part of the book centers around the author's ti More...

This book had parts which were really gripping and gave you a true sense of what it would be like fighting in Afghanistan and the strong bonds of friendship which form among the soldiers and officers. There are some descriptions which are really quite witty and I found myself trying to supress the giggles at times in order to try and keep up the pretence of me reading a "serious" book tackling a dramatic topic.

However, I found large parts of the book hard to follow. I think this had much to do More...

It is interesting to read about life in the modern British Army as seen through the eyes of one its young officers, albeit with the swaggering arrogance of a Guardsman. Hennessey actually comes across as surprisingly grounded, albeit that his attitude towards the staff, senior officers and the REMFs is predicatably condescending - how could they possibly know what the contemporary operating environment is all about? He nonetheless produces a good read and a well constructed tale of daring do wit More...

I so wanted to like this book... but unless you were a British young man who went through officer training school in the 2000s this book isn't for you. The writing has moments where you realize with a good editor this could be a decent book, BUT there wasn't a good editor. In the forward, the author talks about the reading club and mentions it started in officer training school and ended by the time they got to Afghanistan. Then the first chapter drops us into Afghanistan in the middle of the de More...

This has been hailed as a war memoir that is set to be a classic. Early on, I wasn't so sure - he comes across as a pretentious and slightly arrogant Guards subaltern (I suppose that should be no surprise!). But the latter part of the book, describing his experiences in Afghanistan, is powerful and vivid, and possibly one of the best descriptions of combat I have ever read. I actually couldn't put the book down towards the end for the gripping descriptions of the action. He is definitely more in More...

If you did a shot everytime Sandhurst was mentioned you'd be drunk by page ten....okay thats an exaggeration but it is mentioned alot. But thats why I brought the book. I get that little thrill you get when you read about somewhere you've been or live (...just me then?) I had no idea the RMA was so tough. I knew it was hard work but had no idea just how hard. Makes me wonder why any one would want to join the Army. They certainly don't look stressed out when they come into Tesco looking for valu More...

I had no real expectations when I began reading this book. The first sections put me off as I found it difficult to follow the style. Perhaps it was a generational difference or British vs American English which made it difficult to assimilate. It might be called a coming-of-age memoir and certainly points up how each generation learns the facts of life and war anew. The growing separation between himself and his civilian friends seems to surprise him - though he recognizes the indoctrination he More...

A gripping book that I couldn't put down at times. Hennessey has written a classic memoir of his time in the Armed Forces that should be mandatory reading for new recruits. His writing is engaging, thoughtful and often very humorous (though with dark humour!).

In the book he describes his experiences of over 6 years of serving as an Army officer, from the Sandhurst that hasn't fully emerged from a Cold War era way of thinking, to the theatres of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The latter place and h More...

Seeing young Prince Harry on TV recently made me remember reading this book last year. Harry plays video games in his spare time in Afghanistan. The author reads books, watches DVDs, eats and whinges in his spare time. The overall pointlessness of the exercise permeates the book. The young author has little to add to his account of what happened to him, and what happened to him is what the book is about. There are interesting and revealing passages in this book but I fear it is in spite of the a More...

An irreverent, flippant, and visceral read of what goes through the mind of a warrior before, during, and after combat. The military jargon and the British idioms will no doubt lose many an intrepid soul but seize the day and persevere because this is a gem of a book. It tells it like it is. Reminded me a lot of Junger's book on Afghanistan and the film Restrepo. However, this book takes place in Iraq, Bosnia, and the UK as well. Infantry soldiers believe they have a monopoly on human suffering More...

This book was a great insight into the life of a British solider. It was written very well and really increased my admiration for what the armed forces do. I unfortunately discovered the glossary when I had finished the book, which would have been helpful to know about before, as there are a lot of acronyms. Hennessey keeps the pace moving and writes some great descriptions of characters; his observations of people, systems and cultures are very interesting. All the way through, though, I was wa More...

I have a rule with books that I must read to the half way point before I allow myself to give up on a bad novel. Struggling for days through this monotonous bore of a book – both in style and in story content – I was desperately looking forward to abandoning Patrick Hennessey’s The Junior Officers' Reading Club. Hennessey writes in an endless stream of consciousness which doubled with his experiences of boredom at Sandhurst (an Officers’ training academy for the British Army) makes for an incred More...

Really interesting and gratifying read, especially seeing as I am considering joining Sandhurst after university. Patrick Hennessey's account of his experiences in the army manage to be extremely entertaining at points, despite the fairly serious nature of the book, which I found, although extremely hard-hitting, both thought-provoking and satisfying.

Although Hennessey's writing style is fairly unconventional, and can at times be slightly confusing, it is on the whole written in an enjoyable an More...

This well written book is a memoir of a third generation British military Oxford graduate surprises everyone (including himself) when he sighs us for Sandhurst, the Military college. He's in pretty good shape, so the basic physical training goes well.He complains about the class work saying that he is being taught outdated techniques for WWII and/or the Faulklands type of warfare, knowing he will be in Iraq in a few months.After graduation, it's to London to walk around in big fully hats and mar More...

The Junior Officers Reading Club Killing Times and Fighting Wars by Parick Hennessy is very good giving you a first person view and describing things so they make sense. The main character you follow from the start of his training to the last day of his tour is Patrick Hennessy. You follow him through the horrible degrading times of training to the mental and physical pains of war. You read through the story seeing his kindness leave him and seeing how war changed the 18 to 20 year old men and w More...

A first hand view from an articulate, erudite young man in today's British Army. Give a fighting man's view of the state on the ground... and yet in retrospect sees the method in the madness... perhaps. For a military man this is essential reading... far better and more detailed than the occasional email from participants in the combat zone in Afghanistan. Having been through Helmand operations in Afghanistan, then back to the peacetime UK mainland, Hennessey was sent as part of the infantry com More...

Hennessey's memoir of his experiences at Sandhurst and in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the Grenadier Guards is by turns ironic, passionate, lighthearted, and of course, poignant. Typical of "thin brown line" memoirs, The Junior Officers Reading Club is also wholly of our time and of the "three block war" - highlighting the awful truth that men enjoy (aspects of) war with the self-consciousness of today's media age.

As well written as would be expected from a former English major at Balliol, TJ More...

The Junior Officers Reading Club.

This outstanding book is Patrick Hennessey's personal account of his experiences as a university graduate who joins the British Army and, after a year at the Military College at Sandhurst, emerges as a junior officer in the Grenadier Guards. It provides a very readable and entertaining review of his experiences undergoing military training and follows up with a detailed account of his experiences serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In particular his experiences in Af More...

Seriously considering skipping to the end. I never used to to do that but life is busy and there are more books to read than I will ever possibly find the time to tackle.

Despite the back flap description this is in no way a book about books or reading let alone a reading club. I am more than halfway through and the stream of consciousness style prose, army slang, British slang and pop culture package is just driving me nuts. Oh, and the language - I am usually able to ignore most foul language More...

The best book I've ever read about war. (That sounds a bit bloodthirsty). What I mean is, Patrick Hennessy's book helped me to understand much more what it must be like to be a soldier. Plus, the guy can really write. Its a world away from a cliched action story. Instead, it's his real life experiences and views. Reading this also made me realise how tough it is for military people to adjust to their lives afterwards.
I listened to the audiobook version, which I'd recommend as Patrick reads it h More...

There are a lot of things I really liked about this memoir, and there was one thing that really disappointed me. I'll start with the negative - let's deal with the bad stuff first, get it out of the way, then really enjoy all the great things in this book.

I got this book for Christmas, after having had it on my reading list for some time. I love books about books and books about reading. Unfortunately, this memoir is not about books or about reading. It is about war. There are references to book More...

Not as well written as the puffs and some of the reviews would lead you to believe, but a good read all the same. Although I’ve nothing much to compare it with, this account of life inside the contemporary British army seems plausible as does the impact of heavy fighting in Afghanistan.

The cultural/historical references make me feel old; I remember the Falklands War quite well, but the author was born a few weeks after it finished.

The main value of this book was getting an insider’s account of More...