The case of the lurking paradigm

The gung-ho photo on the dust jacket — battle fatigues, the red beret of the Paras, eyes narrowed to determined slits — suggests a touch of the Paddy Ashdowns. But that is at odds with the picture of the author that emerges from this his first book: ‘For my part, I do not think I have been in action in the broadest sense for more than about six of my 37 years of commissioned service.’

Yet as military careers go in an age of peace-keeping and humanitarian intervention, General Sir Rupert Smith’s has not been exactly uneventful. As a young company commander in the 1970s he was blown up by the IRA in Crossmaglen; years later, as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, he was held personally responsible by the Beijing press when the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was hit in an air strike.

Retiring three years ago, he decided against writing his memoirs.