Title: Where Have All the Bullets Gone?
Author: Spike Milligan
Category: Non-Fiction
Page Count: 266
Rating: 3.5/5
This is the fifth – and final, as far as I can tell – volume of war memoirs from famous goon Spike Milligan. As usual, it’s an interesting mix of humour and reminiscence, although be warned that there’s also a little casual racism thrown in as well. Unfortunately, Milligan picked up a bunch of terms in his army days that would no longer fly, and which were arguably considered offensive even when the book was published.
But if you can get past that and you don’t mind that the book itself is more about the characters that Milligan met than about what actually happened during the war, you’re in for a good time. This one essentially covers what Milligan got up to at the end of the war, and so it focusses a lot more on what he and his fellow soldiers were doing to pass the time as the war came to an end.
There’s still lots of good stuff here though, and I liked how he also sprinkled in journal entries, letters and other bits and bobs from the people that he talks about. It helps to make sure that we’re not just looking out of Spike’s eyes and hearing his stories, but rather that we’re getting a nice little cross section.
All in all, it’s pretty good and recommended, but watch out for the racism and just skip it entirely if you’re not interested in the Second World War.
