What do you think?
Rate this book
Declarations of War
This dazzling array of stories, Len Deighton's only collection of shorter fiction, spans 23 centuries of warfare.
Deighton's gripping tales range from Hannibal's march on Rome--when strange, moving objects terrorize the troops of one of the toughest, most skilful armies in history--to a belittled Civil War general's efforts to get his men to face the Confederate army; to the dawn skies above an artillery-blasted French battle-line where a dogfight unfolds; to Vietnam, where two lost American soldiers stumble across an abandoned military airfield.
Each tale in "Declarations of War" explores the effects of war upon man's character, how it pushes him to act in a dehumanized, machine-like, and sometimes extraordiary way that can lead to both good and ill. Deighton portrays human conflict through a series of devastating experiences and shows how great deeds are often but the smallest thread in the large fabric of war.
Deighton's gripping tales range from Hannibal's march on Rome--when strange, moving objects terrorize the troops of one of the toughest, most skilful armies in history--to a belittled Civil War general's efforts to get his men to face the Confederate army; to the dawn skies above an artillery-blasted French battle-line where a dogfight unfolds; to Vietnam, where two lost American soldiers stumble across an abandoned military airfield.
Each tale in "Declarations of War" explores the effects of war upon man's character, how it pushes him to act in a dehumanized, machine-like, and sometimes extraordiary way that can lead to both good and ill. Deighton portrays human conflict through a series of devastating experiences and shows how great deeds are often but the smallest thread in the large fabric of war.
176 pages, ebook
First published September 27, 1992
13 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Len Deighton
221 books925 followersDeighton was born in Marylebone, London, in 1929. His father was a chauffeur and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his National Service, which he spent as a photographer for the Royal Air Force's Special Investigation Branch. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at St Martin's School of Art in London in 1949, and in 1952 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1955.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Read
March 31, 2021This collection covers wars ranging from Hannibal in the Alps to revolutions in central America. Reversal of expectation is a Keynote, as is the gap between the historical version of events and the events as remembered by people who lived through them – especially war events. It is a book loaded with irony, a sober reminder of how much time humanity has spent at war, and of how little we really seem to have learned from those experiences.
February 6, 2025
A mix of short stories with each having a military focus.Some were ok, others dragged on despite their length.
February 13, 2013
Originally published on my blog here in March 2004.
This collection of short stories is the only one published by Deighton; I don't know of other, uncollected tales, so this seems to be something of an experiment in his output (as were several other books he published in the early seventies). As the title suggests, they are all war stories, though all of them have something a little unusual about them.
The stories are all very short, and they are constructed so that the twist is the most important aspect of every one of them (something more commonly considered a feature of science fiction than other genres - though writers like Frederick Forsyth do this frequently in the thriller). All that most of the stories do is set up the situation, then reveal the twist. This makes them a little short of space for characterisation and so they are filled with stereotypes.
The best story in the collection is the first one, It Must Have Been Two Other Fellows, which has a premise rather similar to the song I Remember It Well. Two men meet in a garage where one is working on his car in his spare time after the Second World War, and they recognise each other - they were together in a tank action in North Africa. Or were they? As they reminisce about it, it becomes clear that their memories of what happened are mutually contradictory. So the reader is left guessing whether they are remembering different, yet similar, events, their mutual recognition being a mistake; or whether the War was a time that neither remembers clearly, even its most exciting moments.
Generally, though, these stories are fun to read once and individually. They do pall a bit read all in one go, even though, as no prior publication details are given, the assumption is that they were intended to form part of this collection from their conception. They are too similar to feel inventive to anyone who reads all the way through, and I was left, as someone who has now read them twice, feeling that Deighton is a novelist trying a little too hard at the unfamiliar craft of short story writing.
This collection of short stories is the only one published by Deighton; I don't know of other, uncollected tales, so this seems to be something of an experiment in his output (as were several other books he published in the early seventies). As the title suggests, they are all war stories, though all of them have something a little unusual about them.
The stories are all very short, and they are constructed so that the twist is the most important aspect of every one of them (something more commonly considered a feature of science fiction than other genres - though writers like Frederick Forsyth do this frequently in the thriller). All that most of the stories do is set up the situation, then reveal the twist. This makes them a little short of space for characterisation and so they are filled with stereotypes.
The best story in the collection is the first one, It Must Have Been Two Other Fellows, which has a premise rather similar to the song I Remember It Well. Two men meet in a garage where one is working on his car in his spare time after the Second World War, and they recognise each other - they were together in a tank action in North Africa. Or were they? As they reminisce about it, it becomes clear that their memories of what happened are mutually contradictory. So the reader is left guessing whether they are remembering different, yet similar, events, their mutual recognition being a mistake; or whether the War was a time that neither remembers clearly, even its most exciting moments.
Generally, though, these stories are fun to read once and individually. They do pall a bit read all in one go, even though, as no prior publication details are given, the assumption is that they were intended to form part of this collection from their conception. They are too similar to feel inventive to anyone who reads all the way through, and I was left, as someone who has now read them twice, feeling that Deighton is a novelist trying a little too hard at the unfamiliar craft of short story writing.
December 20, 2020
I had never read a book by Len Deighton. This is his only collection of short fiction, thirteen stories about soldiers in different wars, like a concept album. In a World War I story, pilots take off at dawn in biplanes to patrol their base. The description seems both researched and poetic: “Major Winter noted the north wind and glanced back to see Ginger’s aeroplane catch the first light of the sun as it bent far enough over the horizon to reach them at fifteen thousand feet above the earth. The propeller blades made a perfect circle of yellow gauze, though which reflections from the polished-metal cowling winked and wavered as the aeroplanes rose and sank gently on the clear morning air.”
March 21, 2018
Short story collections can often miss the mark by trying to be too many things for too many people.
This one is more succinct somehow - Len Deighton knows his audience, he knows what they like, and virtually every one of these stories lives up tio the expectations of that audience.
There is a good spread of style and "genre" here as well - there are some political stories, some historical oeuvres, a bit of a ghost story and a few with a real twist at the end. Every one is different - but every one has substance, every one os a good story in its own right.
Well worth a read!
This one is more succinct somehow - Len Deighton knows his audience, he knows what they like, and virtually every one of these stories lives up tio the expectations of that audience.
There is a good spread of style and "genre" here as well - there are some political stories, some historical oeuvres, a bit of a ghost story and a few with a real twist at the end. Every one is different - but every one has substance, every one os a good story in its own right.
Well worth a read!
April 20, 2018
Deighton at his best
First class work from an author whose skill and seemingly effortless command of his craft is at its peak. In a different format but at the same level as "Bomber," "Winter," and "Goodbye Mickey Mouse." Ranging over centuries of war to show the commonalities and the nobility, horror, and ultimately human side of the life of soldiers and airmen. Don't miss this wonderful collection.
First class work from an author whose skill and seemingly effortless command of his craft is at its peak. In a different format but at the same level as "Bomber," "Winter," and "Goodbye Mickey Mouse." Ranging over centuries of war to show the commonalities and the nobility, horror, and ultimately human side of the life of soldiers and airmen. Don't miss this wonderful collection.
May 8, 2019
I am a big fan of Mr Deighton's work, having read around 18 of his novels, but this one was not amongst the top fifteen in my opinion. Some of the short stories were very clever, but most of them seemed to rush to a conclusion. His longer war stories such as Goodbye Mickey Mouse and SS-GB are much better and if you really want to get into his writing check out the excellent Bernard Sampson series.
January 6, 2020
Another of those 'Dad's Bookshelf' finds, picked up because it was short stories rather than anything too meaty, 'Declarations of War' tuned out to be an interesting surprise. There are a couple of well-worked 'twist' tales, with one making particularly clever use of an ultimately misleading discussion of the 'permissive society' which must have worked even better in 1971. There's an impressively grim and slightly Weird Vietnam story which explores the surrealistic aspects of that conflict, and the opening tale is very interesting in its interplay of conversation and underlying memories. At times, the characters play second fiddle to the overly detailed technical and historical background (which stifles some of Deighton's longer novels in my view), and I heard the wind in the twanging wires of biplanes a little too regularly. Some stories peter out or end too neatly - I wasn't convinced by Deighton's introductory discussion of writing short fiction and I felt the story of the Roman legionaries in the Alps read like watered-down Kipling (the brilliant 'Twelve Good Men and True' however could be what some of Kipling's soldiers had to do in the 1920s). On the whole though, a varied and engaging collection with the right levels of bleakness and dark humour. I wish Deighton had done a little more of this sort of thing.
May 17, 2018
A man saves his most bitter hatred for those who have seen him at his most vulnerable, for those who despise him and for those who grant him a desperately needed favour.
April 20, 2023
A great read of short stories from a great author, thoroughly worth the time. The characters face all kinds of trials and moral issues. I just love his writing.
July 10, 2023
To be honest, I'll have to read this again. It's very good. All great short stories. Some are edge of seat. All military related.
December 4, 2019
Classic Deighton, just in short form. Nice reread and this version had an extra story compared with my old paper version.
December 7, 2018
I first read this as a callow youth and was a bit disappointed. It's a collection of short stories on the theme of war across the ages, a departure from the author's terrific espionage thrillers. I can appreciate these stories better now and there are some great tales here, all told with this writer's usual elegance & wit. "A New Way To Say Goodnight" is a classic, with a devastating sting in the tail. "Brent's Deus Ex Machina" and "Twelve Good Men And True" are standouts too. The later brilliantly portrays a platoon of English 'Tommies' serving in India near the end of the Raj. Some were a little too bleak for me, like the Vietnam tale "First Base" and the US Civil War set "Discipline".
So its four stars from this lifelong Deighton fan. With "Bomber" and "Goodbye Mickey Mouse" he wrote two of the great WW2 novels and showed there's more to his genius than genre defining spy stories. This collection merits revisiting and my original 1973 Panther paperback is a thing of beauty - a v. classy simple design with the Iron Cross medal as shown.
So its four stars from this lifelong Deighton fan. With "Bomber" and "Goodbye Mickey Mouse" he wrote two of the great WW2 novels and showed there's more to his genius than genre defining spy stories. This collection merits revisiting and my original 1973 Panther paperback is a thing of beauty - a v. classy simple design with the Iron Cross medal as shown.
September 26, 2013
This is one of those books that, no matter in what arm of service you served in, will have each story resonate with your experience in the armed forces. You sort of feel a kinship with almost each character; from the NCO who lingers a second extra in the officers mess to the major grumbling about duty in the morning.
It's a brilliant book but the stories are so abstract to the common man and the twists sometimes so insignificant that at times the stories feel like those stories enlisted men share about their basic training that, to an outsider, would sound silly.
Great read though.
It's a brilliant book but the stories are so abstract to the common man and the twists sometimes so insignificant that at times the stories feel like those stories enlisted men share about their basic training that, to an outsider, would sound silly.
Great read though.
April 24, 2022
Bit disappointed, really. I'm a fan of the novels and generally found these too lightweight, with insufficient character and a rather overused "twist". Having said that, there were some interesting observations, particularly in "It Must Have Been Two Other Fellows", and it's clear he has a good understanding of war and what it does to people.
February 5, 2017
I loved these meticulously-researched, character-driven war stories, filled with Len Deighton's trademark mix of humour and ghastliness. My easy favourite was Winter's Morning, which, it will surprise nobody to learn, is set on a First World War air base.
Read
March 4, 2010Declarations of War by Len Deighton (1974)
August 26, 2016
A gem! And a delight, but not a surprise: in this short anthology, Deighton exercises his usual skill. 'Nuf said.
April 27, 2013
In the American version one story was removed!
March 1, 2015
Len Deighton always writes great books
July 26, 2015
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but these were very well-written and interesting, and short enough to be bearable.
December 30, 2015
Always liked Len Deighton books. Haven't read him in decades. This book of shorts stories was ok - liked some stories not others. Judge for yourself.
DD@Phila
DD@Phila
July 13, 2016
It's a long time since I read this, but I am a Len Deighton fan and remember the impact "Winter's Morning" made on me.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews