This is a worthy but detailed and, as far as can be seen, accurate, history of the events leading up to the war. If you have any interest at all in the Falklands campaign this is a must have, but don't buy it unless you like military detail and accounts of campaigns. As the title says It is an official history, and was approved by the British authorities, who made material available to the author. We don't know if the American authorities 'approved' it, but the author used the US National Archive and the Reagan Library.

As a British citizen living in the USA I had no trouble buying Volume 1. Volume 2 was a different story. It was listed as available on the publisher's web site, but Amazon UK never had any copies in stock, and Amazon USA did not list it (even though Taylor & Francis published it simultaneously in the USA). Interestingly, the British Library and the Library of Congress were also unaware of its existence. Presumably this is because it mentions (although not in detail) the part played by the CIA and other American agencies in supplying information to the British forces. In the end I had to get a visitor from Britain to order it from a small London bookshop and bring it in their luggage.