Laughter is the Best Weapon

by Charles Ritchie

“An army may march on its stomach but it leans on its funny bone.” So says Brigadier Charles Ritchie, and he should know. Postings to the Yemen, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and other far-away trouble spots gave him many opportunities to demonstrate that the ability to laugh – and make others laugh – is an invaluable skill in an officer’s kitbag.In Laughter is the Best Weapon – the Remarkable Adventures of an Unconventional Soldier, Charles abandons the popular trend for military heroism and angst-ridden confessions. Instead he leads the reader on a forthright yet light-hearted and self-deprecating journey through his 38 years’ service as a Royal Scot. In the process we witness his sometimes significant, but often comedic, participation in a wide range of recent British military operations.If you prefer your military history more entertainingly honest than earnestly intellectual and your soldiers hilariously slapstick rather than heroically stoic, then this is the book for you. Liberally sprinkled with career-limiting cock-ups, bizarre near-death experiences, and the clatter not of gunfire but shameless name-dropping, these delightfully varied anecdotes deliver a hugely entertaining glimpse into the extraordinary life of one of the British Army’s most spirited and loveable characters.

205 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2021

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Charles Ritchie was a great story-teller. All of his stories are interesting; a great many of them involve imbibing excess alcohol. I found the alcohol-related stories sometimes a little disturbing, given the context, but fun to read nonetheless. There was some clever wording which Ritchie was never shy to point out. I didn’t find any of the stories laugh-out-loud but they were mostly light-hearted. The foreword by Princess Anne is excellent. This book is definitely worth reading and Charles Ritchie definitely sounds like someone worth knowing, which I do now, a little, thanks to this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for the advance reader copy.

[Nosferatu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having had the pleasure of meeting Charles personally before his death, I can testify that the man was a great story teller. He was well known and loved locally, where everyone knew him as “the brigadier.” Many folks have not only heard some of the stories he told in this book, but many, many more. I loved to read his book, it is light-hearted, highly entertaining, and true to the way that he was.

[Mr P Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having personally knowing Brig Ritchie as a serving soldier and civilian this book is an excellent antidote of his life as a soldier. Professional and fun, throughly enjoyable addictive reading, still laughing now at some of his antics. A great read.

[Vansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all the books I've received ARCs for from Pen & Sword, so when this was one of their featured books, I clicked on it, despite not being too interested in British military history. I expected a pompous book that glorified British military superiority and filled with nostalgia for Empire. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book wasn't like that at all. The book's very self-deprecating, and well-written, and it's difficult to write humour, as easy as it is to read. The author hasn't picked any self-glorifying anecdotes to narrate at all, and he sounds like he would have been an excellent raconteur in person! I found the period he covers fascinating-the dissolution of the British Empire with the independence of colonies, and his experiences in those places, and through the heights of the Cold War, where he was stationed in East Berlin. The only instance where he abandons all attempts at humour is a harrowing, moving chapter on the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, where he describes his experiences with NATO and their tragically ultimately futile attempts at alerting the UN to provide more troops and the potential for disaster. This was an extremely illuminating chapter that throws light on the devastation of the war, and the complete inadequacy of NATO troops stationed in that theatre.
This was a very entertaining book to read, and I would recommend it very highly, to anyone suffering from a book reading slump during this pandemic.