{"product_id":"philistine-a-professional-soldier-in-africa-9781919534718","title":"Philistine: A professional Soldier in Africa","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs one of the Specialist Pathfinders of 44 Parachute Brigade during cross-border operations into Angola in the early 1980s, the author and the unit operated ahead of main forces, conducted reconnaissance, target marking, demolitions, and covert insertion tasks during the Border War. Missions included helicopter deployments, long-range patrols, infrastructure sabotage, and contact with FAPLA and SWAPO elements inside Angola within the structure of the South African Defence Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author asserts familiarity with the tools and trade of soldiering and records operations as experienced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lived record of the Angolan Bush War as part of the South African Border War, presented with historical precision and the dark humour of airborne troops but not with political reframing or retrospective moralising. Executed precisely and restrained in explanation. and presented in a authentic voice and soldier's tone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt contains over 80 photos, some never seen before. Cameras were prohibited but 2 were smuggled in and these took those historical photographs. Letters were heavily censored by the South Africans to retain operational integrity. The book is reconstructed from memory and from uncensored letters that made their way to the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers of military memoirs, airborne forces history, special operations, African war history, and studies of the 44 Parachute Brigade and its Pathfinders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVolume 1 establishes the foundation for subsequent volumes covering additional theatres of War.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pilgrim Scribes Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/23\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781919534718\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 302\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.94d","brand":"Mark Griffiths,Andrea Sartori","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52801336148149,"sku":"9781919534718","price":42.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/philistine-a-professional-soldier-in-africa-9781919534718","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}