News From Tartary is his account of a seven-month journey from Peking, as China's capital was commonly known in 1935, to Kashmir in what was then the British Raj.
The 3,500-mile trip was conducted while a Times correspondent, and involved much desert traveling in tough and often tedious conditions.
Some of the tediousness comes through in the book, but mostly it is an engaging and revelatory read.
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| Travel classic |
There is not a lot of military history per se, but there is quite a bit about the state of warfare between various Chinese factions, particularly the Nationalists, those paying lip service to the Nationalist cause, and those groups controlled or heavily influenced by Moscow.
Talking of James Bond, if you have never compared Ian Fleming’s fictional James Bond to a real spy check out a news article dated 13 September 2024 in TheBurlingtonFiles website. Sadly for Fleming’s Bond, reality like exploding pagers and walkie-talkies is leaving espionage fiction in the ashtray of history. Why not forget about fictional agents like Bond and Bourne dashing to save the world from disaster and forget about CIA and MI6 officers reclining on their couches dreaming up espionage scenarios to try and thrill you. Check out what a real MI6 and CIA secret agent does nowadays. Why not browse through TheBurlingtonFiles website and read about Bill Fairclough's escapades when he was an active MI6 and CIA agent? The website is rather like an espionage museum without an admission fee ... and no adverts. You will soon be immersed in a whole new world which you won't want to exit.
ReplyDeleteApologies for this only just appearing - I found it today in spam.
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