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The Land That Lost Its Heroes: How Argentina Lost the Falklands War
Jimmy Burns was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina covering the Falklands War. In "The Land That Lost Its Heroes", he gives a detailed account of the military planning of the invasion, revealing not only the hidden motives and nature of Argentina's military regime, but also the pitifully inadequate reactions of both British diplomacy and intelligence.
Exposing the international intrigue and covert military operations of the war, Burns gets behind enemy lines to give a unique insight into Argentina's occupation of the Falkland Islands and the dramatic collapse of the regime. The subsequent secret missile programme linked Buenos Aires to Baghdad and Tripoli, and Burns shows how close this came to scuppering the rebuilding of democratic Argentina's relationship with the US and the UK.
Exposing the international intrigue and covert military operations of the war, Burns gets behind enemy lines to give a unique insight into Argentina's occupation of the Falkland Islands and the dramatic collapse of the regime. The subsequent secret missile programme linked Buenos Aires to Baghdad and Tripoli, and Burns shows how close this came to scuppering the rebuilding of democratic Argentina's relationship with the US and the UK.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Jimmy Burns
33 books14 followersFrom the author's website:
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2021
Jimmy Burns, as the blurb on the back states, was the only Brit correspondent to remain in Argentina from the beginning to the end of the Malvinas / Falklands conflict. He had just taken up the post as local correspondent for the Financial Times when the conflict broke out, and he remained in the post despite receiving death threats continuing to record the post-Malvinas history of the return of democracy to Argentina. This is the true value of this book. It is not a blow-by-blow account of the war on the ground in the Falklands / Malvinas (though he does a very good job of covering this succinctly), but documents the history of the pre-conflict period and goes on to detail the abandonment of the Junta and the return to democracy.
Burns is well qualified to do this, being Anglo-Spanish, fluent in Spanish and fully acculturated into Latin American life, and as correspondent-on-the-ground he had the contacts and the ability to see into the motives and minds of the Argentine community. He also writes extremely well with each sentence belieing the depth of knowledge and research. This can only come from an excellent, professional and accomplished journalist. This is the back-story behind the Falklands / Malvinas crisis and an attempt to understand the levels of diplomacy and politicking.
To understand the mind set of the Junta led by General Galtieri it is necessary to know how they achieved power. Reading this book along with V.S. Naipaul's The Return of Eva Peron (which Burns recommends) is the best way of achieving a knowledge of why the conflict occurred and what happened afterwards. It also gives one a further insight into contemporary Argentine writing like Carlos Gamerro's The Islands . Argentina is a young country only established after 1810 when the country achieved independence from Spain. The succession of governments since then shows a preponderance of rule by the military and empowerment by coup d'etat. The country saw waves of immigration from Europe, principally northern Spain and southern Italy as well as British settlers and entrepreneurs. This was a rich land of vast flat pampas split into huge estancias producing beef and wheat transported on British built railways to the port of Buenos Aires. Over this all, in terms of modern history stands the years of Juan Peron, who stands as a mythic character, along with his wife Eva (Evita) Peron. His years mark a 'golden age' in the memory of Argentineans. His return in 1973 and the subsequent continuance under his wife Isabel, saw Argentina descend into excalating conflict between left and right wing groups which eventually saw a coup d'etat and the installation of a military Junta in 1976.
The years from '76 to '82 marked rule by the military and a virtual police state remembered as the Dirty War with over 8000 people rounded up and tortured and killed to become 'los desparicedos'. Burns writes that the period marked "... a suppression of individuality and a negation of history and the replacement with an extreme nationalism verging on xenophobia". As the country under the Junta descended further into economic and social chaos, General Galtieri seized upon an act of national camouflage by landing in South Georgia and Las Malvinas, both claimed historically as Argentine territory but from their perspective seized illegally by the British in the late 18th and early 19th century.
The invasion and conflict from April to June 1982 are covered adequately along with the numerous attempts and failure to find a diplomatic solution. What becomes clear is the failure by the Junta to understand and believe that the US would support its NATO ally, and the failure for it's territorial claims to be taken fully by the United Nations. The grim conditions suffered by the conscript army in Las Malvinas and its general failure to deal with a professional opposing force after the landings by the British Taskforce in May '82 are a reflection of the way the Junta viewed the populace. Despite the heroic attempts by air force pilots to sink the ships of the taskforce, the army poorly equipped it's largely conscript army who were poorly led, and the Navy following the sinking of the Belgrano retreated to mainland ports and played little part in the campaign, once diplomacy had failed, then the invasion was doomed to failure.
The surrender of the Argentine forces in the Falklands on 14th June 1982 marked the end of the Junta. The return of the conscripts with tales of brutalisation and trauma and ineptitude by professional Argentine officers added to the taint of torture and tyranny fronted by this officer class. Retribution was demanded both outside and within the armed forces. What came to the forefront is what had been denied for ages within Argentine culture: Human Rights. The key person to emerge was ex-lawyer Raúl Alfonsín. An interim president Reynaldo Bignone instituted free elections duly won by Alfonsin's Renovacion y Cambio party. Alfonsín threw the country into a period of self reflection and analysis demonstrated by the trials of Junta accusing them of torture and killing between '76 - '82. Alfonsín walked a tight rope between democracy and a still powerful and resentful military who continued to see the Dirty War as a crusade against left wing takeover. As inflation and national debt continued to rage, his government faced increasing problems; on the one hand to fight for human rights and retribution against the military; on the other to attempt to control the economics that saw inflation continue through the roof. That he eventually failed came down to a historical problem in perception by the whole Argentine population and Alfonsín's government's failure to get across how deep the problems the nation faced. The analysis of this failure is a little weak and brief. That his successor Carlos Menem was far more acceptable to the US is made clear but the failure of Alfonsín to carry through the process of democratisation and carry the population with him is not.
This is where Burns begins to show his colours of partiality. Menem is seen as a corrupt ultra-Nationalist, little more than a corrupt playboy, whilst Alfonsín is seen as honourable but essentially failing man of justice seeking the way forward to modernity and democracy.
Burns is well qualified to do this, being Anglo-Spanish, fluent in Spanish and fully acculturated into Latin American life, and as correspondent-on-the-ground he had the contacts and the ability to see into the motives and minds of the Argentine community. He also writes extremely well with each sentence belieing the depth of knowledge and research. This can only come from an excellent, professional and accomplished journalist. This is the back-story behind the Falklands / Malvinas crisis and an attempt to understand the levels of diplomacy and politicking.
To understand the mind set of the Junta led by General Galtieri it is necessary to know how they achieved power. Reading this book along with V.S. Naipaul's The Return of Eva Peron (which Burns recommends) is the best way of achieving a knowledge of why the conflict occurred and what happened afterwards. It also gives one a further insight into contemporary Argentine writing like Carlos Gamerro's The Islands . Argentina is a young country only established after 1810 when the country achieved independence from Spain. The succession of governments since then shows a preponderance of rule by the military and empowerment by coup d'etat. The country saw waves of immigration from Europe, principally northern Spain and southern Italy as well as British settlers and entrepreneurs. This was a rich land of vast flat pampas split into huge estancias producing beef and wheat transported on British built railways to the port of Buenos Aires. Over this all, in terms of modern history stands the years of Juan Peron, who stands as a mythic character, along with his wife Eva (Evita) Peron. His years mark a 'golden age' in the memory of Argentineans. His return in 1973 and the subsequent continuance under his wife Isabel, saw Argentina descend into excalating conflict between left and right wing groups which eventually saw a coup d'etat and the installation of a military Junta in 1976.
The years from '76 to '82 marked rule by the military and a virtual police state remembered as the Dirty War with over 8000 people rounded up and tortured and killed to become 'los desparicedos'. Burns writes that the period marked "... a suppression of individuality and a negation of history and the replacement with an extreme nationalism verging on xenophobia". As the country under the Junta descended further into economic and social chaos, General Galtieri seized upon an act of national camouflage by landing in South Georgia and Las Malvinas, both claimed historically as Argentine territory but from their perspective seized illegally by the British in the late 18th and early 19th century.
The invasion and conflict from April to June 1982 are covered adequately along with the numerous attempts and failure to find a diplomatic solution. What becomes clear is the failure by the Junta to understand and believe that the US would support its NATO ally, and the failure for it's territorial claims to be taken fully by the United Nations. The grim conditions suffered by the conscript army in Las Malvinas and its general failure to deal with a professional opposing force after the landings by the British Taskforce in May '82 are a reflection of the way the Junta viewed the populace. Despite the heroic attempts by air force pilots to sink the ships of the taskforce, the army poorly equipped it's largely conscript army who were poorly led, and the Navy following the sinking of the Belgrano retreated to mainland ports and played little part in the campaign, once diplomacy had failed, then the invasion was doomed to failure.
The surrender of the Argentine forces in the Falklands on 14th June 1982 marked the end of the Junta. The return of the conscripts with tales of brutalisation and trauma and ineptitude by professional Argentine officers added to the taint of torture and tyranny fronted by this officer class. Retribution was demanded both outside and within the armed forces. What came to the forefront is what had been denied for ages within Argentine culture: Human Rights. The key person to emerge was ex-lawyer Raúl Alfonsín. An interim president Reynaldo Bignone instituted free elections duly won by Alfonsin's Renovacion y Cambio party. Alfonsín threw the country into a period of self reflection and analysis demonstrated by the trials of Junta accusing them of torture and killing between '76 - '82. Alfonsín walked a tight rope between democracy and a still powerful and resentful military who continued to see the Dirty War as a crusade against left wing takeover. As inflation and national debt continued to rage, his government faced increasing problems; on the one hand to fight for human rights and retribution against the military; on the other to attempt to control the economics that saw inflation continue through the roof. That he eventually failed came down to a historical problem in perception by the whole Argentine population and Alfonsín's government's failure to get across how deep the problems the nation faced. The analysis of this failure is a little weak and brief. That his successor Carlos Menem was far more acceptable to the US is made clear but the failure of Alfonsín to carry through the process of democratisation and carry the population with him is not.
This is where Burns begins to show his colours of partiality. Menem is seen as a corrupt ultra-Nationalist, little more than a corrupt playboy, whilst Alfonsín is seen as honourable but essentially failing man of justice seeking the way forward to modernity and democracy.
April 5, 2022
This book covers mainly the politics of the war. Indeed, it might be somewhat confusing to a reader lacking any knowledge of the war's events; an account of these comes only near the end of the book. It clearly explains Argentinian views concerning the islands' sovereignty which appear even now to have changed but little.
Given the size of the present-day military establishment on the islands, the reluctance of the UK to set up an adequate defence prior to the Argentinian invasion in 1982 was a matter of "penny wise pound foolish". One is forced to wonder why no-one (it seems, British or Argentinian) thought to offer the islanders a large bribe to induce them to leave, to avoid the cost of the war both in money and lives,
Given the size of the present-day military establishment on the islands, the reluctance of the UK to set up an adequate defence prior to the Argentinian invasion in 1982 was a matter of "penny wise pound foolish". One is forced to wonder why no-one (it seems, British or Argentinian) thought to offer the islanders a large bribe to induce them to leave, to avoid the cost of the war both in money and lives,
October 1, 2020
A rare example of a book focused on the Argentinean side of the Faklands conflict which is perfect for opening up your mind and viewing that flash point in history from as many perspectives as possible. It is also a very good source for academic writing.
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March 27, 2024The book has great strengths but also weaknesses - it is a foundation book on the Falklands war or rather its background - but it is dated. ore thoughtful remarks follow shortly, I hope.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews