Kidnapped by the Junta: Inside Argentina's Wars with Britain and Itself

by Julian Manyon

"Fascinating ...  if this gripping account teaches anything, it is the folly of tyrannical  regimes believing they can act with the same violence and impunity  abroad as they do at home"  THE SPECTATOR
"Heart-thumpingly powerful ... history told from the closest and most frightening quarters." SINCLAIR MCKAY, author of The Secret Life of Bletchley Park
Forty years on from the outbreak of the war, acclaimed TV journalist Julian Manyon digs down into Argentina's 'Dirty War' and its effect on the Falklands conflict
On May 12th, 1982, after the first bloody exchanges of the Falklands War, British journalist Julian Manyon and his TV crew were kidnapped on the streets of Buenos Aires and put through a traumatic mock execution by the secret police. Less than eight hours later they were invited to the Presidential Palace to film a world-exclusive interview with an apologetic President Galtieri, the dictator and head of the Argentine Junta.
Spurred on by the recent release of declassified CIA documents about Argentina's 'Dirty War', Manyon discovered that his kidnapper was a key figure in the Junta's bloody struggle against left-wing opposition, with a terrifying record of torture and murder. Also in the secret documents were details of the wider picture - the turmoil inside the Junta as the war with Britain got under way, and how Argentina succeeded in acquiring vital US military equipment which made its war effort possible.
Published on the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, this book is an extraordinary insight into the war behind the war. Manyon provides a harrowing depiction of the campaign of terror that the Junta waged on its own population, and a new perspective on an episode of history more often centred on Mrs Thatcher, the Belgrano and the battle of Goose Green.
"Shocking, terrifying and revealing. Ground-breaking history, expertly told - a dramatic new insight into the Falklands conflict."  ROGER BOLTON, BBC journalist and broadcaster

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2024

Reviews

[X · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the title, I'd gotten the impression this would be more about the author's personal experiences than it was. It was more about the "Dirty War" (a part of history I must admit I knew nothing about) than his experiences. It was largely a summary of some recently declassified CIA documents. I do think it's pretty cool that this guy was able to find all this context about an event he lived through that clearly affected him, and that he went through the trouble of reporting on all his findings in book form. I could've benefited from even more background context being an American that knew nothing about this. I also kinda felt like something about it was just steamrolling through the information in a manner that came across as disorganized. Some things would repeat, other things would come up out of nowhere, there wasn't a lot of chronological organization and it was a bit difficult to figure out what was being organized at all. However it was really interesting (and horrifying.)

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stuff!

This was an incident that knew absolutely nothing about, so found it very interesting. How frightening to have been kidnapped while working as a journalist in Argentina, especially when you learn later that few survived such crimes there. Very enlightening as to Argentina, as well as plenty on the lead up to the Falkland Islands War, adding a few more pieces to that puzzle.

I listened to the Audible audiobook: Unfortunately, the audio quality was extremely poor, and at times I could not make out what was being said. As it’s a fairly recent recording, that was disappointing to experience. Still worth a listen though.

I would have probably rated it higher in print.

[William Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about the “Dirty War” in Argentina during the reign of the Junta, and its lead up to the Falklands War. Kicking off with the authors personal experience of being kidnapped it primarily features as a history of the Junta, and a biography of one of its most notorious and abhorrent perpetrators Anibal Gordon.

The book covers the history well in a very readable manner, which does well to clearly articulate to the reader who the main actors are, and the key events. The author does not shy away from the atrocities which happened, providing respectful clarity of the severity of what happened without being flippant or grotesque.

A really interesting read and overview of this period of Argentinian history.

[Another Old Man Historian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I enjoyed the book! His particular experience mixed with the quick recapping of both the Falklands War/Guerra de Malvinas and the Dirty War was succinct, I enjoyed the end of the book particularly. However, I am biased.

I like this genre, region, and type of history. I don't know if I would recommend for everyone but again I thought it was good enough to appreciate!

[Rhys Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mad ting. Knew the Junta was bad but I didn’t realise they were THAT bad