See how the military see

These three titles of Wylie's military/communication series were originally sold as individual books ('British watchtowers', 'Outposts' and 'North warning system') but they are much cheaper if you buy the box set.

The work was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum and the Ministry of Defence (both in the UK) to make a record of contemporary military surveillance and electronic communications in three very varied locations: South Amagh, Northern Ireland; Kandahar Province, Afghanistan; Cape Kakiviak, northern Labrador. The last place is not in a combat zone but a mountainous region inside the arctic circle. I thought British watchtowers the most interesting of the three books, especially as part of the 2001 to 2007 peace process all the towers have been dismantled so Wylie's photos are probably the only creative photographic record of their existence.

There was certainly no finesse in the visual appearance of these towers and that seems to be deliberate to tell South Amagh folk "We're watching you". The buildings in towns all had a covering of wire mesh several feet away from the concrete structure. In the countryside the towers were positioned on the highest ground for greatest surveillance area, with communications masts as an integral part of each site. 'Outposts' in Kandahar provide a completely different scenario from the lush greens of the South Amagh countryside. The watchtowers blend in beautifully with the browns of the Afghanistan mountains and desert plains which seems devoid of any trees. The photos of South Amagh and Kandahar are mostly taken some distance from the towers and frequently looking down on the compounds.

'North warning system' is probably the weakest of the three books, there are only eighteen photos, all taken from a helicopter with the first twelve just showing a minute structure in a white landscape. It seems Wylie didn't land to take some close-ups of the tower with a dome on top and two other domes on the ground. It wasn't clear from the very short bit of text whether the place is manned or not, probably not as there is nothing there except rock and snow and electronics can provide all the necessary information of an impending attack.

The three books all get the usual Steild treatment, excellent paper, printing (with a two hundred screen) and binding and they provide a fine photographic record of contemporary military activity.