Within two weeks the French troops had mutinied, leaving the Western Front practically undefended. In the same month, Lenin arrived in Moscow on the heels of the Russian Revolution and vowed to make peace with Germany. To make matters worse, the Allies had reason to be dubious about the help they were receiving from across the Atlantic. The U.S. Army ranked sixteenth in the world (behind Portugal), and most of its soldiers were poorly trained. Byron Farwell's informed, stirring account describes not only how the United States turned the tide of the war but also how the war served as a national coming-of-age experience, with all of the concomitant awkwardness and confusion. Moving deftly from the home front to the Marne, from statistics and strategy to vivid accounts of the chaotic violence of the battlefield, Farwell draws a comprehensive portrait of America's brutal entrance into the twentieth century.

"Sets out to give an honest and thorough account of this extraordinary man and does so. . . . Arguably the best [biography of Stonewall]." —Washington Post Book World

The charismatic Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, who began his military career in the Mexican War, earned his great fame in the Civil War in a series of brilliantly fought battles. He was given the name Stonewall at the First Battle of Bull Run, when his brigade faced overwhelming odds but held the line. Byron Farwell's engrossing narrative reveals Stonewall Jackson both as a military genius and as a quirky, dark personality radically different from the storybook version that grew up after Jackson's untimely death at Chancellorsville in 1863.

"[Farwell] gets to the heart of why Jackson is so legitimately fascinating." —Chicago Tribune

"An exceptionally balanced view of a very complicated man. . . . Farwell lets Jackson emerge from his own words and actions. As a result, Jackson is no less a great figure of the Civil War, but he is equally an imaginable human being." —Journal of Military History

"The finest depiction yet of this shy, enigmatic, and devoutly religious Confederate commander. . . . Mr. Farwell writes with a lucidity and elan that rank him with the likes of Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, and James McPherson." —Washington Times

From the Great Indian Mutiny to Independence: 1958–1947

"The stories are glorious and told with zest and verve."—Washington Times

"With a profusion of anecdotes conveying the character of India under British rule, Farwell offers a panoramic survey of the Indian army during the 90 years between the Sepoy Revolt and the births of independent India and Pakistan. . . . Farwell is particularly entertaining on the subjects of polo playing, tiger hunting, pig-sticking and promiscuous romancing—all popular forms of relaxation for army men. Other matters of interest include discussion of the Sikhs, whose innate ferocity was fully exploited by the British, and an account of the 1919 massacre at Amritsar—a catalytic event that convinced many that the British would never accept Indians as equals."—Publishers Weekly

"Now that the Raj has gone with the winds of change, Byron Farwell's masterly picture is doubly welcome, . . . whether emphasizing the jewels in its military crown, the Jam Sahibs in its cricket matches, the mutinies, massacres, and finally Independence. Salaam!"—Elizabeth Longford

"Filled with interesting and often highly entertaining historical anecdotes, and there are some rare photographs and illustrations. . . . Lucid, well written. . . . A very sound contribution to our understanding of British Empire and Sourth Asian history."—Choice

The Gurkha regiments in the British army are, quite simply, the finest infantrymen in the world. Recruited in the kingdom of Nepal since the early nineteenth century, these short, wiry hillmen have served the kings and queens of Britain with such loyalty, tenacity, and incredible bravery that often the sound of their battle cry Ayo Gurkhali! (roughly translated as "Here come the Gurkhas!") has caused enemy soldiers to flee.

The Gurkhas fought beside the British in the Indian Mutiny, in France and Mesopotamia during World War I, and in every theater during World War II. They have fought as well in countless small wars—"the savage wars of peace"—including the Northwestern Frontier of India, Malaya, Borneo, and most recently, the Falklan Islands. Their courage is legendary. Since 1911, when they first became eligible, thirteen Gurkhas have been awarded the Victoria Cross, an unmatched record.

This book tells who the Gurkhas are and where they come from, describing their manners, customs, and character, and their history as soldiers, with special attention to their unique skills as remarkable valor. Their story is as colorful and as romantic as that of the French Foreign Legion, and yet it has never been fully or adequately told.

Finding Dr Livingston was only one of many exploits in the remarkable life of the great African explorer Henry M. Stanley. In a narrative that reads like a novel, Byron Farwell tells the story of this complex man who made a major contribution to the world's knowledge. He describes his bitter childhood, his coming to America where he found a friend and a name, his service in the American Civil War, his African adventures, and his late but happy marriage.

This book brings together the lives of eight of Queen Victoria's most renowned and idiosycratic generals, men who helped create the British Empire and whose lives reflect the vigor and diversity of the age. They are: Hugh Gough, Charles Napier, Charles Gordon, Frederick Roberts, Garnet Wolseley, Evelyn Wood, Hector Macdonald, and Herbert Kitchener.

"[Mr. Farwell] reminds us how much of history has always been about war. The figures he etches are Horatio Alger types with epaulets, conventional men whom luck and daring raised to unconventional situations. . . . Sparely but convincingly, Mr. Farwell conveys a sense of the society they worked in, one that tolerated eccentricity and excess but not trangressions of its male mythology—in which riding and religion were crucial, along with laudanum and chloral and stoic hardihood. Those who shun analyses and learned footnotes, preferring a thundering tale well told—or rather eight of them—should not miss this book."—Eugen Weber, New York Times Book Review

The outrageous, but often glorious, story of Britain's pre-World War I Army.

This is an upstairs-downstairs view of the Victorian-Edwardian army, one of the world's most peculiar fighting forces. The battles it fought are household words, but the idiosyncracies and eccentricities of its soldiers and the often appalling conditions under which they lived have gone largely unrecorded. Byron Farwell explores here the lives of officers and men, their foibles, gallantry, and diversions, their discipline and their rewards.

"An extraordinarily useful reference for those who wish to understand the British Empire at flood tide. I cannot recommend it highly enough."—William Manchester

"I loved it. It's a fascinating social history."—John Brooks

"Highly readable . . . witty and entertaining."—Business Week

"Eye-opening . . . extravagant . . . lively."—Kirkus Reviews

"A thumping good read."—Houston Post

"A delightful and extraordinarily well-informed book."—Washington Post

"Tells all the old stories of imperial heroism con brio." —Noel Annan, New York Review of Books

From 1837 to 1901, in Asia, China, Canada, Africa, and elsewhere, military expedition were constantly being undertaken to protect resident Britons or British interests, to extend a frontier, to repel an attack, avenge an insult, or suppress a mutiny or rebellion. Continuous warfare became an accepted way of life in the Victorian era, and in the process the size of the British Empire quadrupled.

But engrossing as these small wars are—and they bristle with bizarre, tragic, and often humorous incident—it is the officers and men who fought them that dominate this book. With their courage, foolhardiness, and eccentricities, they are an unforgettable lot.

"Byron Farwell has had a field day with his rich and varied material. . . . His book can be warmly recommended." —Christopher Hibbert, Book World

"A well-researched, highly readable account. . . . The book is delightful and will be of value and interest to both the student of military history and of the Victorian Empire." —Library Journal