Mavericks

A hugely engaging tale of oil, Empire, espionage and vanity. Nick Higham tells the story of a forgotten campaign that is peppered with characters who seem to have sprung from the pages of a Boys Own Adventure. A reminder too, that history is filled with chancers and rogues and shaped by the unreliable memoirs that they leave behind -- Otto English, author of FAKE HISTORY Adventure, high jinks, violence: five eccentric British spies. A kaleidoscope of colourful lives, lived dangerously - and with style. A wildly exciting game -- Kate Adie, former BBC Chief News Correspondent and bestselling author of THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS Who better to send across Central Asia to secure oilfields at the height of the Russian Revolution than upper class mavericks whose early exploits had inspired Kipling? These unlikely characters wanted their exploits remembered, and in Nick Higham they have found the storyteller they deserve. He weaves a compelling story from unreliable memoirs. An account full of ripping yarns, but the author warns: ‘Don’t expect them all to be true' -- David Loyn, former BBC International Development Correspondent and author of THE LONG WAR An absolute gem of a book - meticulously researched, and written with brio. It tells the astonishing story of six remarkable men — the Mavericks — who truly earned that title with their derring-do and adventures amid the twists and turns of the Battle of Baku. The men's courage and ingenuity in the face of often insurmountable odds is breath-taking, as is their appetite for risk amid the geopolitical quicksands of the Caucasus during the decline and fall of empires. They met with both triumph and disaster, and treated those two imposters just the same. I’m so glad Nick Higham has shone a light on these intrepid men, and their exploits in a region whose complexities continue to preoccupy and fascinate us today -- Caroline Wyatt, former BBC defence correspondent In Mavericks, Nick Higham tells one of the strangest stories of the First World War. He has done a great job teasing fact from fiction. I found Mavericks utterly absorbing -- James Barr, author of A LINE IN THE SAND I read this beautifully written book with a smile on my face. They don't make Brits like this anymore -- Louis de Bernières, critically-acclaimed author of CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN In this excellent book, Nick Higham gives his leading men space to breathe. All [the Mavericks] make great copy… The rattling good tale, of course, comes to a downbeat end [in defeat]. Lively and judicious -- Anna Reid * Literary Review * Stimulating … Higham’s story of the wild train ride back to Baku is worthy of a Buster Keaton movie … Higham’s memorable opening account of a company of North Staffordshire infantry holding off a Turkish advance at a mud volcano is an impressive illustration of British training and discipline … [He] has written an entertaining and instructive account of how empires can be fatally weakened by overreach and arrogance -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph * All the ingredients of a rattling good yarn are here ... A thoroughly gripping, chaotic and often cinematic series of adventures ... An action-packed tale of imperial British braggadocio, bravery and blundering on a grand scale -- Justin Marozzi * The Times * The stirring stories come thick and fast, as the former BBC correspondent Nick Higham describes the six-week long Battle of Baku – arguably the least remembered engagement of the First World War. Thrilling and sardonic by turns, the book weaves together the stories of half a dozen British imperial agents and adventurers as they furiously extemporise a future for the very edges of their overstretched empire -- Simon Ings * Spectator * Nick Higham makes a significant contribution [to First World War literature] by shedding light on an extraordinary and little-known episode around the Caspian Sea in the closing days of WWI. ... His journalistic abilities ensure that this is an engaging and well-paced read, enlivened by an extraordinary cast of characters whose unusual talents and skills made an impact within the geopolitical uncertainties of the end of the First World War * Military History Matters *