Imperial Warrior
Lawrence James

Imperial Warrior

"Bull" Allenby, a cavalryman with a massive frame and ferocious temper, appeared the archetypal World War I general. Judged by Orwell the "best of a bad lot", he commanded the armies which liberated Jerusalem, Palestine, Syria and the Lebanon in a series of dazzling campaigns during 1917 and 1918. The first biography for over 30 years of a controversial commander, this book draws heavily on unpublished sources and sheds new light on the high command on the Western Front as well as the war in the Middle East and Allenby's relations with his protege, Lawrence of Arabia.

Allenby, a figure of contradictions, was also a gentle family man, keen naturalist and lover of poetry. This biography concludes with the stormy career of Allenby the soldier-turned-proconsul who faced mutinies by his own troops in 1919 and for the next six years engaged in an often violent struggle with Egyptian nationalism.

Book Details:

  • Author: Lawrence James
  • Published Year: 1993
  • Rights Sold
    • UK: Weidenfeld & Nicholson
Lawrence James

Lawrence James

Lawrence James was a founder member of York University and then took a research degree at Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career he became a full-time writer in 1985 and has emerged as one of the outstanding narrative historians of his generation. His books include Crimea: The War with Russia in Contemporary Photographs, The Savage Wars: British Campaigns in Africa 1870-1920, Mutiny: Mutinies in British and Commonwealth Forces 1797-1956 and Imperial Rearguard: The Last Wars of Empire.Lawrence James edited the Daily Telegraph British Empire supplement (1997) and was th...
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Book Reviews

  • "...excellent biography."
    John Grigg, The Spectator
  • "The strength of Imperial Warrior is its author' grasp of history."
    Justin Wintle, Financial Times