Quartered safe out here

[gdt]

George MacDonald Fraser. 1993, new epilogue 2000.

GMF is, of course, the author of the marvellous Flashman novels. If you read between the lines of those you might suspect that GMF is a old curmudgeon at heart. There is no suspicion after reading this book, and this caused a flurry of criticism upon the release of the book. In the years since the world has caught up with GMF; for example, his criticism of Tony Blair for being a lightweight with no moral centre has become the accepted wisdom, and his thought that we do not take terrorism seriously is amply demonstrated by our failure to come to grips with Osama bin Laden.

What really sets this book apart from most war memoirs is the author's recounting of life at the bottom of the pile -- the light infantry private soldier -- and his honesty about his emotions.

Well worth a read.