THE AUTHOR of a controversial book delved into his reasons for writing it at the Salisbury Military History Society last week revealing he ‘wanted to write something that was raw and that resonated and that matters.’

Following a brief stint in the military during a gap year, Simon Akam went onto become a journalist working in various countries including the US and Africa but his experiences in the military remained with him.

On assignment in Afghanistan for The Economist, he was commissioned to write a book - The Changing of the Guard –The British Army Since 9/11.

Simon said: “I thought there was an opportunity to write a book that would jump the genre, it would be a book about the army but really would be about Britain and just told through the lens of the army. I wanted to write something that was raw and that resonated and that matters.”

Simon was keen to point out that it isn’t an authorised book.

“If you want to speak to people in the army, you have to sign a contract to let the military see it before publication and I wasn’t willing to do that. I predominantly talked to people who had left the military.”

Five publishing houses bid for the publishing rights to the book and Penguin Random House won. By 2018, the book was finalised and only weeks away from publication when a letter arrived at Penguin Random House saying they should not publish the book.

This was from a contact at Oxford with close military connections.

The publishers demanded Simon give the book to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to let them edit it, but he was not prepared to do this as it was outside of the signed contract.

Subsequently, the contract was cancelled, and the publisher demanded he repay the £26,000 advance and half of their legal fees.

Simon said: “I had spent the money and had been expecting more so was not willing to go quietly. We did everything we could to negotiate and to resolve it without success. So, I organised a coalition of press freedom organisations to register disquiet, but that didn’t move the publishing position, so then I went to the Guardian and following that, another publisher brought it out.”

He added: “Accountability is pivotal to the impression I had of what it meant to be an army officer. That you carried peoples’ lives in your hands and that if anything went wrong, you carried the can.

“What I shared in the book was that there was a disconnect in the operational outcome, and career progression at high levels, that is not unique to the military, and I laid that out, in a very clear and undeniable way which may be uncomfortable reading.

“The book sold well, and I won an award but, in some ways, the most touching elements are the letters I received from people.”

The Salisbury Military History Society is based in Lower Bemerton and provides a community meeting place for those with an interest in military history. Details of upcoming speakers can be found on the website.

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