Taking Command

Baron Richards of Herstmonceux served in the Far East, Germany and Northern Ireland before commanding deployments in East Timor and Sierra Leone, where his intervention in the civil war, without official sanction from London, proved decisive in ending years of factional fighting. He later served with NATO and led ISAF forces in Afghanistan.David Richards became Commander-in-Chief Land Forces of the British Army in 2008 and held that role until 2009, when he was appointed Chief of the General Staff. In 2010 he was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces, and served in that position until 2013. He was made a Life Peer in February 2014.

This is a most engaging account, both characteristically direct and controversial, of a life of soldiering from the post-imperial era, through the Cold War, Iraq and Afghanistan right up to the age of Jihadists and cyber-warfare. - Antony BeevorNot for many years has there been a CDS with comparable operational experience, nor one who has thought as much about defence. - Allan Mallinson, Times Defence CommentatorA brilliant memoir by the UK's most significant soldier-scholar-statesman of the new century; a compelling, thoughtful, and thought-provoking read by one who played a key role in virtually every military endeavor of the past decade - General David H. Petraeus (U.S. Army, retired)He has seen just about every combat zone since Sandhurst. One is in the hands of a consummate soldier. - Frederick ForsythNot the usual dry treatise on the use of force, his memoir is a highly readable account from someone involved in all the key theatres of our recent history - The Sunday TimesA fascinating book on the British Army from the 1970s to today - The Spectator