The Patriot Game - First Edition

Great condition Hardback with Dustjacket, 256 pages, First published 1973. A must read for N. Ireland / Troubles enthusiasts

For many people it seemed that the Ulster problem couldn't get worse. But for James Grogan, modern samurai and son of an Irish freedom-fighter, it was the challenge of a lifetime.

Disillusioned with the armchair politicking of his IRA paymasters, appalled by the incompetence of his fellow gunmen, disgusted with the aimless barbarism of civilian bombings, he decided to take events into his own hands.

Through personal knowledge of the British military and intelligence world, Grogan selected a top secret and highly vulnerable major target. But in doing so, he too became a target - for the British Army, the Special Branch, the Ulster police, the faceless men of Britain's security organisations, and, incredibly, the IRA itself.

By the time news of his plans filtered through the intelligence networks, Grogan himself was long gone. Which made life for his pursuers mildly difficult. Not knowing the target he had chosen, they knew only that he had to be stopped.
Against the fiery backcloth of the Irish troubles and the tortured involvement of the security forces there emerges an absorbing, chilling account of what one superbly trained professional can achieve against society.

Both authors have been in the Diplomatic Service and worked in journalism. JOHN DE ST JORRE is the author of a much-praised account of the Nigerian civil war and now divides his time between writing and foreign assignments for The Observer. BRIAN SHAKESPEARE has worked in the BBC and for The Economist, and until recently was involved in Common Market affairs at the British Embassy in Paris.