UVF: Behind the Mask

UVF: Behind the Mask is the gripping and shocking history of the Ulster Volunteer Force, from the formation of its post-1965 incarnation up to the present day. Aaron Edwards, who grew up in the Protestant working class community in North Belfast, blends rigorous research with unprecedented access to leading members of the UVF. His unique position reveals startling revelations into the inner-workings of one of the world's oldest and most ruthless terrorist groups, explaining the grisly details behind their sadistic torture and murder techniques, and their high profile atrocities. Brilliantly told through a compelling true crime narrative, Edwards offers key insights into the surrounding historical, social, and political environment of which the UVF was a direct product. Interviews with high-profile UVF members-including Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson, Gary Haggarty, and the group's current leadership, as well as their loyalist rivals such as Johnny Adair, and the police officers who sought to bring the paramilitaries to justice-reveal the secret details behind the group's violent campaign. UVF: Behind the Mask assesses the long-term effects of UVF violence on its own members, supporters and wider Northern Irish society, explaining, for the first time, how law enforcement agencies used informers and agents to combat UVF violence. Edwards' life and career has led him to the centre of the UVF's long, dark underbelly; in this defining work he offers a comprehensive and authoritative study of an armed group that has played a pivotal role in the Irish conflict. *** "Great historians are good storytellers and Aaron Edwards belongs in this class. His account of the modern UVF's history is told without embellishment. Facts are carefully woven into the troubles' historical tapestry . UVF: Behind The Mask is an excellent addition to the written history of the troubles." --Martin Dillon, Author and Former Journalist *** "I have no doubt that ... this new book by Aaron Edwards will be seen as the definitive history of the loyalist paramilitary grouping known as the Ulster Volunteer Force." --Hugh Jordan, Sunday World *** "Aaron Edwards' work is easily the best account of this little known but possibly most successful terror group of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles'." --Jim Cusack, Irish Independent [Subject: True Crime, Politics, History, Irish Studies, Terrorism]Ã?Â?Ã?Â?