The Terrible Ones, A complete history of the 32 Battalion - Volume 1 and 2

 

This work builds a more complete picture than did Nortjes first book on 32 Battalion, published in 2003. It is based on over 10 000 pages of documents in the Department of Defence Documentation Centre, which have only recently been declassified. Because of his security clearance, Nortje had access to these documents before their declassification, and was able to use them to write this book. Complementing the documentary evidence are 233 personal recollections: interviews that Nortje conducted with 32 Battalion members, as well as Portuguese, SWAPO, Cuban and Russian soldiers. These give the perspective of the men on the ground, an element often missing from military history.

 

Definitive and magisterial, this is one of the most impressive military histories ever written.