With British troops once again engaged in fighting in the wilds of Afghanistan, this personal memoir of a Sergeant-Major of the Fourth Light Dragoons of the 1838-39 campaign in that unforgiving country is of great topical interest. Then, as now, Afghanistan was a crossroads which attracted the great powers with usually fatal results. This grim narrative of murders, suicide, betrayal, and of marches and fighting in an inhospitable environment has echoes of today s headlines. A fascinating and timely worm e eye view of the endurance and courage of the ordinary British soldier.