Dangerous men : the SAS and popular culture
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Bibliographic Information
Dangerous men : the SAS and popular culture
Pluto Press, 1997
- hbk.
- pbk.
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Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
pbk. ISBN 9780745312064
Description
'A clear-headed critique of the SAS cult ... an incisive challenge to the mindless worship of 'the Regiment' Boyd Tonkin, Independent
In the popular imagination the Special Air Service Regiment, or SAS, is perceived as both protector and avenger of the Crown and emblematic of staunch British individualism. In Dangerous Men, John Newsinger analyses the recent glut of popular books, magazines and films based on the activities of the SAS and assesses the aggressive masculinity, graphic violence and military prowess that are represented in many of the works, and their use in perpetuating myths of muscle-flexing nationalism.
The book is divided into four parts covering the myth of the SAS analysed through historical works, and its representation in personal memoirs, fiction, survival manuals, TV documentaries and Hollywood film. Through the works examined, Newsinger deconstructs a range of real and imagined scenarios in which the SAS are pitted against an array of perceived enemies of the state, including the representation of the its role in the storming of the Iranian Embassy and in conflicts from the Falklands to the Gulf.
Among the works examined are the bestselling memoirs by Michael Paul Kennedy, Andy McNab, Peter de la Billiere, Chris Ryan, and Jenny Simpson; fiction by James Follett, Terence Strong, Gerald Seymour and the Soldier A-Z series; key historical accounts by Philip Warner,Tony Geraghty, James Adams, and Mark Urban; and acclaimed films such as Who Dares Wins and The Rock .
Table of Contents
Introduction: Enter the S A S
1. The Myth of the S A S
The Founding Myth
The War in the Desert
Liberating Europe
Palestine Interlude
The Malayan Emergency
The Storming of Jebel Akhdar
Confrontation
The Two Yemens
Dhofar
Into the 1980s
The War with the I R A
The Gulf War.
2. Telling it like it was: The S A S as Autobiography
The Appeal of War
The Good War
A Counter-Revolutionary Elite
The Soldier's Tales
The Longest War
The Wife's Tale
War Memoirs and British Society.
3. Celebrating the S A S
The S A S as History
The Illustrated S A S
The Monthly S A S
The S A S as Lifestyle
The S A S as Documentary
The S A S as Film
4. The S A S as Fiction
The S A S Thriller
From Afghanistan to Heathrow
The War in Northern Ireland
Soldier A to Z S A S
The Unromantic S A S.
Conclusion
Notes
Index
- Volume
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hbk. ISBN 9780745312163
Description
The British soldier-hero has frequently been portrayed in literature as the quintessential figure of masculinity. In recent years however, a new brand of all-male hero has begun to usurp him. The author of this text argues that this character, based on Britain's SAS soldier, is different from its precursors. In the popular imagination, the SAS is perceived as both protector and avenger of the Crown and emblematic of staunch British individualism. Analyzing the glut of fiction, memoirs, videos and film based on the activities of the SAS - in which writers with "inside information", and SAS personnel themselves, extol the virtues of the Service through images of aggressive masculinity and muscular nationalism, graphic violence and military prowess - the author assesses this representation and its use in perpetuating myths of muscle-flexing nationalism. Scenarios in which the SAS are pitted against an array of perceived enemies of the state - from international terrorists to the peace movement - are deconstructed, as is the representation of its role in the storming of the Iranian Embassy, and in conflicts from the Falklands to the Gulf.
Table of Contents
- Enter the SAS - the siege at the Iranian Embassy
- soldier heroes - popular imagination and the SAS
- the myth of the SAS - its widespread influence
- the SAS as autobiography - SAS memoirs
- the SAS as fiction - the construction of masculinity
- celebrating the SAS - looking at various histories, Special Forces magazines, the SAS as fashion, murderous chic
- the SAS as film, TV, videos
- the future of the SAS as military security.
by "Nielsen BookData"