Torn Apart: Fifty Years of the Troubles, 1969-2019

by Ken Wharton, Dr Aaron Edwards (Foreword)

In the early twentieth century there was a war brewing on Britain's doorstep. Northern Ireland was filled with discrimination and suspicion, a sense of foreboding that would soon erupt into full-blown rioting. As the fiftieth anniversary of the Troubles approaches, Ken Wharton takes a thorough look at the start of the Troubles, the precursors and the explosion of violence in 1969 that would last until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In all, the Troubles cost 50,000 casualties and nearly 2,000 civilians' lives across Northern Ireland, the Republic and England. Utterly condemnatory of the paramilitaries, Wharton pulls no punches in his assessment of the situation then and seeks to dismiss apologists today. His sympathy lies first with those tasked with keeping order in the province, but also with the innocent civilians caught up in thirty years of bloodshed. Torn Apart is an in-depth look at the start of the Troubles, looking at the seminal moments and Northern Ireland today using the powerful testimony of those who were there at the time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2019

About the author

Ken Wharton is a former British soldier who served in the Royal Green Jackets regiment. Currently, he writes non-fiction books on the violent religious/political conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.

The books are an oral history based on first-hand accounts by soldiers of all ranks who served in the Operation Banner campaign as well as Wharton's own personal experiences when he did two tours of Northern Ireland.

Reviews

[Pinko Palest · Rating 1 out of 5]

obviously written by an asset. Disgusting far-right intelligence service propaganda, often in the form of atrocity porn. Adopts a hard right loyalist line and serves it in Daily Mail prose style

[david c streicher · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author's biases ruin the book. The title should be "Britain's Fight Against the IRA." The author was a British soldier stationed in Belfast during the Troubles. He devotes 70% to 80% of the book on the killings perpetrated by the IRA and how the British army turned the tables, primarily by recruiting informers and deploying special forces. I agree with his condemnation of the killings of innocent civilians by the IRA. However, he spends very little time on the heartbreak resulting from 1,000+ killings of innocent civilians (primarily Catholics) by Ulster paramilitaries such as the UVF. Nor does he see fit to cover the ethnic cleansing instigated by Rev. Paisley that started the conflict. Finally, there is no explanation of why Britain chose to fight the IRA but turn a blind eye toward the murders committed by the Ulster paramilitaries.

[George Larmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TITLE SAYS IT ALL
An unusual 70th Birthday present from my daughters just last week.
TORN APART is a comprehensive analysis of our casually referred to Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’. An encyclopedic work of historical significance that deserves its place on the shelf alongside LOST LIVES and a book that should be on the reading list of all who wish to try and fully dissect and understand this bloody awful period in our history.
Written in a conversational, easy-to-read style but by no means an ‘easy read’ as Ken uses his scalpel-like ability to expose the often bone-chilling brutality and carnage and sheer inhumanity that men and women can inflict on each other in furtherance of their blind blood-splattered hatred and beliefs.
For those who know nothing or very little about the subject matter it will be an eye-opening read and for those of us who unfortunately lived through it, TORN APART will be an eye-watering read as we remember, through silent tears, our own loved ones who were killed and maimed and our lives were literally TORN APART. - George Larmour (Author of THEY KILLED THE ICE CREAM MAN)