What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

Death of a Hero by John Parker. Book about one of The Disappeared, Robert Nairac, a British Army soldier who was murdered and disposed of by the IRA after he was rumbled while undercover to meet a potential source in a pub frequented by IRA members and people sympathetic to the cause.

As you can tell from the title, it's biased and pretty much glosses over all allegations of Nairac's collusion with loyalist terrorists in atrocities such as the Miami Showband Massacre, dismissing them as circumstantial. This is despite the presence of a soldier with a "posh" accent directing the killers in that atrocity (Nairac was public schooled and the majority of soldiers were from more working class backgrounds). Nairac also liaised with with MI5, MI6, RUC, UDR, SAS, informants and various loyalist terrorist factions in his intelligence remit and had proven ties to Showband killers Harris Boyle and Robin Jackson, the former who was a member of the UVF and UDR, and the latter who was a prized intelligence asset and one of the most prolific assassins during the troubles.

Similarly, Nairac's confession to army captain and intelligence officer Fred Holroyd regarding personal involvement in the cross border murder of IRA chief John Francis Green is dismissed, despite Holroyd's assertion that Nairac showed him a Polaroid of Green's dead body. Holroyd, a whistleblower, was famously excommunicated and slandered after divulging the depths of the Army's collusion with loyalist factions.

It basically comes down to whether you believe Nairac was a Walter Mitty character in over his head who exceeded himself, or whether he was at the forefront in the collusion efforts and dirty tactics alleged by Holroyd. Offered up as proof of his lack of involvement in Showband is the assertion he was in the UK at the time and not on active duty, but this still leaves open the possibility he supplied the weapons and planned the attacks.

A fascinating, if infuriating, read about one of the most intriguing characters in the troubles and one I couldn't put down once I started. Plenty of fascinating, sordid tidbits peripheral to the main story that flesh out the background events and also plenty of wistful testimonials about the man from those who knew him which give you an insight into a deeply complicated mind.

Lost Explorers: Adventurers Who Disappeared Off the Face of the Earth by Ed Wright

This kind of potted history has a tendency to be dry and repetitive byt Wright has an eye for telling detail and a mordant with that makes this an engaging read