Farwell: the Great War in Africa Book

Remote from the main events of World War I and eclipsed by the fearful slaughter in Europe, the Allied campaigns against the German colonies in Africa have sometimes been dismissed as "sideshows." But they were fascinating sideshows indeed. They were fought with spears and airplanes, knobkerries and armored cars, with pangas, machine guns, and bare hands. Had they taken place at any other time, these encounters would have riveted the attention of the world. Among the events described here are the stalking of a German cruiser on the Rufiji River by an elephant hunter; the true story behind C.F. Forester's African Queen; the tale of the L-59, a zeppelin that made the world's longest sustained flight, from Bulgaria to central Africa and back; a battle where both armies were routed by killer bees; and the adventures of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the German commander so admired by his enemies that captured British officers often asked to shake his hand. Byron Farwell's account of World War I in Africa is a colorful, anecdotal narrative that brings military history to life with a cast of splendid eccentrics.Read More