Go Strong into the Desert

[mike snook]

Hi Lee

Welcome back. There is indeed....there are brand new colour plates of both an officer and a private of the 10th, as well as the G.D. Giles painting of the charge.

As ever

Mike

[10thHussar]

Hi Lee

Welcome back. There is indeed....there are brand new colour plates of both an officer and a private of the 10th, as well as the G.D. Giles painting of the charge.

As ever

Mike

I knew you wouldnt let us Hussars down.
Cant wait.

Regards

Lee

[mike snook]

Lee

As a wise man once said 'You can please some of the people....' .

Anyway we've scored a direct hit with you by the sound of it. Actually I can't think of another regiment which gets two plates all to itself.

Notwithstanding the received wisdom on pleasing people we've done our best to please 'all of the people all of the time' with no fewer than 40 new Sudan colour plates. We've gone to particular trouble to capture real world field equipment and dress, rather than parade dress, and we've given good coverage to Egyptian forces as well as the Brits and Mahdists - poor old Egyptians generally get ignored don't they. Particularly interesting plates are the so called 'Turkish' battalion (really Turco-Egyptian) and the Massowah battalion, both units from 1st El Teb. Also of note is our portrayal of what bashi-bazouk cavalry really looked like - no pictures borrowed from the Balkans in the 1820s here, but the real McCoy - light cavalry from the Sudan in the 1880s!!

There are nice personality portraits too of Gordon, Burnaby and, that one time hero of the 10th, Val Baker....so come to think of it that's three for the 10th after all.

But the plates are only part of the story...there are a lot of words arranged in quite a pleasing order too!! I hope you enjoy it.

As ever

Mike

[10thHussar]

Mike
If there were no plates i would be looking forward to reading it as much, they just make it even better!

Also very pleased you are showing the 'on campaign' look more than parade ground of all thiose great units. That is VERY comendable as it is a very 'unshown' side of this era in my opinion.
The every day life of the Victorian era Tommie on campaign is a real part of the interest for me, Particularly in the Sudan campaign when comparing it with say the later era Tommie experiences/uniforms/ equipment et al in Mesopotamia in ww1 and North africa in ww2.

As always

Lee

[Theo]

Mike,

This is excellent news! I have the Perry book on the First Carlist War - great production values and a mine of information, too! I really do look forward to adding this to my collection.

I see your own books on the AZW are coming out soon in paperback, too. Excellent!

Best Wishes to you

Theo

[mike snook]

Hi Theo. Yes, the Carlist book is a nice little production isn't it. Go Strong into the Desert is at least 3 times the size in terms of word count, however, and has a correspondingly much larger number of illustrations. It will also be in a larger format. No confirmed publication date yet but we are at full speed ahead and I've done all my bits, apart from the index which is the very last thing when all the pages have been laid out and so on. So not long now.

And yes, you're right, Frontline/Pen & Sword tell me How Can Man Die Better and Like Wolves on the Fold should be out in paperpack in about July. They'll be something around twelve quid I think - which is good - because I saw a second hand HCMDB being offered at $295 the other day. Outrageous.

Regards

Mike

[mike snook]

Morning all,

I now have a few more details on the publication of Go Strong into the Desert. It will be out at the end of August. 216 pages, 40 original colour plates and 200+ other illustrations including some of my photography from the battlefields. It will cost £25 plus p & p (UK and BFPO £3, Europe £5 and rest of the World £9). A Perry Miniatures publication available from:

www.perry-miniatures.com

Be aware that the pre-order facility is not yet up.

I have just seen the cover artwork by an artist called Karl Kopinski, which shows hand-to-hand fighting at Abu Klea, and is absolutely brilliant.

Regards

Mike

[10thHussar]

Thanks for the heads up Mike. I will keep my eye on the website to order as soon as its up. Cant wait.

[Gary Aardahl]

Hello Mike,
My name is Gary and I'm basically a new member (signed up a couple of months ago but haven't started posting until today). I've been checking in periodically and when I saw the mentions of this new book of yours I'm keeping more current. By the way, I just purchased second hand hardback copies of your AZW books through Amazon for under 30.00 US each.
I've been getting into the role of the Naval Brigades during the Egyptian and Gordon Campaigns and have noticed that there's not a lot of detail about them in previous publications. As an example I've noted how their personal equipment is generally tossed off as being brown valise pattern (which is not quite right.....). Anyway, with all I've been seeing in the postings for Go Strong... I'm looking forward to seeing your book. Thanks, and cheers,
Gary

[polarbear]

Mike

I checked the Perry site and your forthcoming book is a must have. I am posting information about it on the toy soldier forums which have a number of Sudan collectors. Your book is very timely for TS collectors since both Wm. Britain and John Jenkins are releasing Sudan series covering the 1884-85 period. The Sudan is currently very popular with collectors of 1/30 and 1/32nd scale painted metal figures.

Randy

Below is John Jenkins Gordon at Khartoum set

[mike snook]

Hello Gary

Welcome to the forum. I hope you like the AZW books.

It sounds like you know more about naval equipment than I do....! We are publishing some nice original drawings by Verner and Villiers of naval ratings on the steamers during the relief expedition, so hopefully that will be new to you and of interest. The problem for me is that I'm a military historian and not a uniforms and equipment buff, but I've done my best, including running the text past friends of mine who are amongst the best equipment and weapons experts in the country.

I am between Sudan books at the moment; so if I haven't waxed as lyrical as you would like about the navy you can send me a PM ticking me off and I can consider incorporating your points in Beyond the Reach of Empire.

I can't beieve I'm getting sweaty about naval equipment. I hope you haven't seen the Verner watercolour of the naval rating - then you'll be able to forgive me almost anything!!!

Regards

Mike

Hello Randy

That's a magnificent set isn't it. Yes, I think the book will be very timely indeed for TS collectors. Not long to wait now.

Regards

Mike

[Gary Aardahl]

Greetings Mike,
Thanks for the welcome, both here and the AZW forum. I'm not familiar with Messers Verner or Villiers, but I'm looking forward to seeing their work! Most of what I've put together has been from The List Of Changes illustrations as found in Skennertons publications of the lists and from his Saddle Up about Australian load bearing equipment. I was also lucky to view some original photos that came up for auction online (unfortunately they were running a bit too rich for my blood, so I contented myself with downloads from the site). Some were posed for the camera with 2 views of each subject showing a nice amount of detail (not too many photographers were so considerate of us in the future). There was also one showing the gun crew "working" the 40lb Armstrong Gun as used on the Armoured Train in Alexandria, 1882. Neat stuff!
The role of the Naval Landing Parties in the various Victorian campaigns is a small but interesting part of the overall fascinating subject. I'm looking forward to seeing your integration of their part as it relates to the entire campaign.
What will Beyond The Reach Of Empire deal with that will be different or additional to Go Strong...? It's curiosity, so don't feel obliged to relate any info at this point in time.
Thank you for taking the time to answer these and all posts. All the best,
Gary

[mike snook]

Hi Gary

If I'm a bit less lazy and include their sub-titles all will become clear:

Go Strong into the Desert: The Mahdist Uprising 1881-85 . This you could characterise as a heavily illustrated concise history of the whole Mahdist episode (with uniform guide/notes) from the first clash at Aba Island to the repulse of the Mahdists from Southern Egypt at Giniss. This is designed to serve not just people with an interest in the history but also hobbyists with an interest in what the partcipants actually looked like.

Beyond the Reach of Empire: The Gordon Relief Expedition is if you like a 'mainstream' history book of the Nile expedition and its particular highlight will be the fighting in the Bayuda. This is where you will find the most comprehensive accounts of Abu Klea and Abu Kru ever published. If I get it right it should supersede Julian Symons England's Pride (now approaching 45-ish years old would you believe) as the standard account of the relief expedition. There will also be a lot more analysis of why the expedition failed than has ever really been covered before. So.....I'd better get on with it!!

Hope that makes sense.

Regards

Mike

[Gary Aardahl]

Mike, all I can say is Brilliant! The last two things I've read on the Gordon Relief were Fighting The Fuzzy-Wuzzy by DeCosson and With The Camel Corps Up The Nile by Count Gleichen. Both were fascinating reads and great from the historical perspective of being 1st hand accounts. I've also accumulated a small collection of illustrations from both The Graphic and The Illustrated London News including one full-colour 2-page map, Birds Eye View Of The Sudan And Surrounding Countries. This one takes pride of place in my living room hanging alongside another 2-page illustration of Queen Victoria presenting the wreath of Imortelles to the colour party with the recovered colours of the 24th Ft. The period images are wonderful for themselves, but as you pointed out, details are sometimes misleading or just wrong. But the impact of these must have been amazing to the reading public that were following the whole story through the only media they had available.

I can't wait for GSITD to be available. All the best to you in your next endeavor.
Cheers,
Gary

[mike snook]

Hello folks,

Just to say that it's now possible to place pre-orders for Go Strong into the Desert on the Perry Miniatures website which is at:

www.perry-miniatures.com

There is a link to a pdf which shows the marvellous cover painting by Karl Kopinski - its well worth a look. Back at the top of the site is their usual secure ordering facility.

I know that the presses roll on 9 August so I imagine they'll be on their way to those who pre-order by the end of the month.

Regards

Mike