About the Author

Justin Taylor grew up on a sugar farm in Zululand and spoke Zulu before he could speak English. He was sent to boarding school for ten years before reporting for National Service in 1979. Doing 'your bit' for your country ran in Taylor's family - his grandfather was a fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and in the Second World War his father flew Spitfires for the SAAF.

In 1979 he was drafted into the military, completing two years of National Service as a Signals Officer with 32 Battalion in the Namibian / Angolan conflict (1979-80). Justin was wounded at the Battle of Savate and awarded the Chief of SADF Commendation Medal (MMM) for services of a high order. He then went on to complete part-time military service with 2 Reconnaissance Regiment.

Justin holds a BA from the University of Cape Town, majoring in Economics and Psychology and a MBL from the University of South Africa. He is now lives in Johannesburg and is a successful businessman. When not working he makes best use of his private pilot's licence! He is married with two daughters.

A Whisper in the Reeds is Justin's first book.

Reviews

“Justin Taylor writes with uncommon feeling about his duties, the slog, the heady combat,and friends and comrades who fought together, and then the pathos and bewilderment as shock, tragedy, and loss strike home amid all the courage and boldness.”
*Lt. Colonel Willem Ratte*

This account is now a valuable part of the 32 Battalion story and by writing this memoir Justin is preserving valuable history.”
*Regimental Sergeant Major Piet Nortje*

Gripping and gritty, this is first and foremost a soldier’s story, told without self-aggrandisement and just as the author experienced it. I can honestly say that this book is the best personal account of bush warfare as experienced by a soldier that I have read, since Granger Korff’s 19 With A Bullet. Author Justin Taylor has truly done for 32 Battalion what Granger Korff did for the Parabats, and this latest account by Taylor, at least in this reviewer’s opinion, is every bit as good as Korff’s memoir ... An amazing read that will keep you turning pages long into the night. Absolutely outstanding!
*South Africa*