Article in Press
This article is currently in the Just Accepted phase. The final published version may have formatting changes or additional corrections.
Abstract
Brenda O’Carroll, the author of The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa (2023), has sojourned the worlds of military research; a process that enabled him transition from a Custom Officer in New Zealand into juggling roles of Military Historian, Editor, Collector, Exhibitor, Author and Specialist in the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) of the World War II (WWII). His many decades of researching LRDG explain the book in terms of its authoritativeness and the author’s capacity to weave a simple but engaging narrative on the subject. Prior to this publication, O’Carroll had published 6 six books on LRDG namely: The Kiwi Scorpion: The Story of the New Zealand in LRDG (2000); The Beaded Brigands (2002); Barce Raid: The LRDG’s Most Daring Exploits in World War 2; Long Range Desert Group in Action, 1940-1943 (2020); The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean (2020); and Fighting with the Long Range Desert Group: Merlyn Craw MM’s War, 1940-1945 (2022). The one being reviewed is the seventh but not the last of his publications in the LRDG series. The book is an addition to the historiography of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aspects of WWII in North Africa.
