ARmy Rumour SErvice

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Oliver Cromwell was a military politician who started his rise to power in 1641 when he persuaded parliament take control of both army and militia. His new central army defeated the royalists and by 1647 had taken Charles into custody. Early in 1648 royalist risings broke out in Wales, Kent, and Essex and a Scottish army invaded on Charles's behalf and there were rumours of royalist agreements with Levellers. There followed several years during which Cromwell fought a series of battles across England, invading both Ireland and Scotland during this period. It is during 1648, following the battle of Preston that Robert Wilton really starts this novel, a novel which includes intelligence and counter-intelligence; romance of a sort without any bodice ripping; an underworld of conspirators; the execution of a monarch; and an unusual struggle between two adversaries.

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"The better class of culprit and deserter"

The York Chasseurs were formed in November 1813 and disbanded in 1819 in Quebec. Initially recruits came from military prison ships and condemned men. The Regiment was stationed in the West Indies for much of its life.

During this time thirty percent of the men died and twenty six percent deserted successfully. This book is a history of the Regiment, its formation, desertion records, actions fought, and disbandment. It has an appendix with a short paragraph about each man and officer who served in it, which would be useful for any one researching family history.

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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a massively significant figure in the history of the Near East and his achievement in creating the first (only?) Islamic, secular, democratic state - and one which looks fair to become a regional superpower in its own neighbourhood in this century - was unique.

There has been little available in English on this fascinating individual and what there was tended to be either not-very-good translations of the embarrassingly hagiographic biographies produced by Turkish partisans, or ditto translations of the debunking character assassinations produced by Greek, Armenian and Kurdish (mainly) distinctly non-fans.

George Gawrych taught for many years at the US Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and is currently a full Professor of History at Baylor University. He was granted access to primary source material in Turkish military archives, including to Atatürk's personal papers and has produced a very useful account of his subject's early years - up to the final victory over the Greeks and the creation of the Turkish Republic.

Gawrych's prose style is at best workmanlike and at its worst distinctly clumsy, but his research is very good indeed and his analysis of the results gives a rare degree of insight into the complex character of the Turkish national hero, brilliantly exposing both his undoubted strengths and his equally obvious flaws.

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