Friends, Colleagues and Fellow Collectors
Those of you who know me are aware that as well as having a part-time
teaching job I
also operate a small mail order military book business here in Auckland.
Once in a while a significant book from WWII still comes along. One such
book I
believe is "Barce Raid" which was released for sale in New Zealand last
week. In my
opinion this beautifully produced book with its very readable text and
striking photos
will live in your imagination for many years. The book is written by my
friend and
fellow Aucklander Brendon O'Carroll, author of "Kiwi Scorpions", a
history of the
NZ'ers who served in the Long Range Desert Group in WWII.
This latest book, "Barce Raid", covers the famous foray launched by the
LRDG in late
September 1942 against the Italian airfield at Barce (pronounced
"bar-chair"). At this
time the front line in the North African campaign was in distant Egypt
at El Alamein.
The small city of Barce is located in western Cyrenaica, NE of Benghazi
and NW of
Mechili. You can imagine the long journey it must have taken to travel
to Barce, all
the way from the Nile.
The account of the raid contains much first hand information from
veterans of the
raid, including one whole chapter which is reported verbatim from the
wartime diary
kept by one of the NZ soldiers. There is also interesting of information
about the Arab
population of Libya, something many books dealing with the North African
campaign
in WWII seem to overlook.
To my eye one feature of the book that imparts a special quality is the
large number of
full colour photos taken by the Swiss photographer Kuno Gross in 2002
and 2003.
Gross travelled with his camera over some of the same route taken by the
LRDG
raiders in Cyrenaica and extensively photographed Barce and the wartime
airfield as
they are today. It is as if time has stood still. Barce was seriously
damaged by an
earthquake in the early 1960s. The Libyans decided not to rebuild the
city and it was
abandoned. Although weakened by the earthquake the sturdy Italian
colonial buildings
in the city withstood the earthquake and still stand today, as do all
the main structures
at the airfield- hangars, administration buildings, maintenance workshop
building etc.
The views of Barce taken by Gross are of a silent and empty town,
looking very much
still as it was in 1942.
The colour photos of the desert by Gross tracking the route taken by the
LRDG party
show many differences in colour of the sand and landscape, from wartime
debris still
littering the ground by the Msus-Mechili road to the sand desert of
Giarabub, from the
fertile coastal plains of Cyrenaica (with derelict Italian settler farm
houses) to the
Kalansho Sand Sea, from escarpments to oases to vast desert landscapes.
The book has many original period photos in black and white, and one
colour section
that covers uniform items and weapons used by both LRDG soldiers and the
Italian
defenders of Barce.
I find there is something of the indomitable human spirit in stories
like this, w strong
will to succeed, belief in one's comrades, courage and generosity in
adversity, all
evidence of a timeless human condition that touches us all. I will not
tell you the story
(apart to say the raid on the city and airfield were successful) but I
hope you will wish
to read it yourself.
I have stock available and can supply immediately. The book is slightly
smaller than
A4, has 168 pages, and is printed on high quality art paper.
All copies of the book will be autographed by Brendan O'Carroll.
Prices (including first class airmail and bubble plastic wrappers) are
as follows:
New Zealand: $NZ59.00
Australia: $NZ68.00 (approx $AU63.00)
USA and Canada: $NZ80.00 (approx. $US57.00)
UK and Europe: $NZ85.00 (approx GBPstg34.00)
South Africa: $NZ88.00 (I do not have current conversion for the Rand)
If you wish to buy a copy of the book from me you can order by e-mail
and post the
money as an international bank draft, with a personal cheque drawn in
your own
currency, or in cash ('notes' as we call it, or 'bills' as they are in
the USA) in your
own currency. Please make your cheques out to "The Military Archive".
PS: If you would like a copy signed and personally dedicated to you by
Brendon
O'Carroll please add another $NZ20.00, so I can give something to
Brendon and to
cover my time and travel expenses in visiting him. Autographed books
with a
personalised dedication will take a few more days to arrive.
Those of you who know me are aware that as well as having a part-time
teaching job I
also operate a small mail order military book business here in Auckland.
Once in a while a significant book from WWII still comes along. One such
book I
believe is "Barce Raid" which was released for sale in New Zealand last
week. In my
opinion this beautifully produced book with its very readable text and
striking photos
will live in your imagination for many years. The book is written by my
friend and
fellow Aucklander Brendon O'Carroll, author of "Kiwi Scorpions", a
history of the
NZ'ers who served in the Long Range Desert Group in WWII.
This latest book, "Barce Raid", covers the famous foray launched by the
LRDG in late
September 1942 against the Italian airfield at Barce (pronounced
"bar-chair"). At this
time the front line in the North African campaign was in distant Egypt
at El Alamein.
The small city of Barce is located in western Cyrenaica, NE of Benghazi
and NW of
Mechili. You can imagine the long journey it must have taken to travel
to Barce, all
the way from the Nile.
The account of the raid contains much first hand information from
veterans of the
raid, including one whole chapter which is reported verbatim from the
wartime diary
kept by one of the NZ soldiers. There is also interesting of information
about the Arab
population of Libya, something many books dealing with the North African
campaign
in WWII seem to overlook.
To my eye one feature of the book that imparts a special quality is the
large number of
full colour photos taken by the Swiss photographer Kuno Gross in 2002
and 2003.
Gross travelled with his camera over some of the same route taken by the
LRDG
raiders in Cyrenaica and extensively photographed Barce and the wartime
airfield as
they are today. It is as if time has stood still. Barce was seriously
damaged by an
earthquake in the early 1960s. The Libyans decided not to rebuild the
city and it was
abandoned. Although weakened by the earthquake the sturdy Italian
colonial buildings
in the city withstood the earthquake and still stand today, as do all
the main structures
at the airfield- hangars, administration buildings, maintenance workshop
building etc.
The views of Barce taken by Gross are of a silent and empty town,
looking very much
still as it was in 1942.
The colour photos of the desert by Gross tracking the route taken by the
LRDG party
show many differences in colour of the sand and landscape, from wartime
debris still
littering the ground by the Msus-Mechili road to the sand desert of
Giarabub, from the
fertile coastal plains of Cyrenaica (with derelict Italian settler farm
houses) to the
Kalansho Sand Sea, from escarpments to oases to vast desert landscapes.
The book has many original period photos in black and white, and one
colour section
that covers uniform items and weapons used by both LRDG soldiers and the
Italian
defenders of Barce.
I find there is something of the indomitable human spirit in stories
like this, w strong
will to succeed, belief in one's comrades, courage and generosity in
adversity, all
evidence of a timeless human condition that touches us all. I will not
tell you the story
(apart to say the raid on the city and airfield were successful) but I
hope you will wish
to read it yourself.
I have stock available and can supply immediately. The book is slightly
smaller than
A4, has 168 pages, and is printed on high quality art paper.
All copies of the book will be autographed by Brendan O'Carroll.
Prices (including first class airmail and bubble plastic wrappers) are
as follows:
New Zealand: $NZ59.00
Australia: $NZ68.00 (approx $AU63.00)
USA and Canada: $NZ80.00 (approx. $US57.00)
UK and Europe: $NZ85.00 (approx GBPstg34.00)
South Africa: $NZ88.00 (I do not have current conversion for the Rand)
If you wish to buy a copy of the book from me you can order by e-mail
and post the
money as an international bank draft, with a personal cheque drawn in
your own
currency, or in cash ('notes' as we call it, or 'bills' as they are in
the USA) in your
own currency. Please make your cheques out to "The Military Archive".
PS: If you would like a copy signed and personally dedicated to you by
Brendon
O'Carroll please add another $NZ20.00, so I can give something to
Brendon and to
cover my time and travel expenses in visiting him. Autographed books
with a
personalised dedication will take a few more days to arrive.
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