In this ground-breaking new book, Alan Ogden brings to life Lt Gen sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, soldier, statesman and an often-overlooked figure in British Military and Diplomatic History. Framed through the life of Carton de Wiart this book also offers an exploration of important topics and developments in the first half of the 20th-century, including the Boer War, World War I, World War II and Anglo-Sino relations.
This biography ranges from de Wiart's early life, his wartime experiences and role as Churchill's personal representative to Chiang Kai-shek. Ogden draws from an extensive array of primary sources including previously unseen private family papers to examine, in exquisite detail, the life and times of a man who experienced the horrors of war to rise up the ranks and become a personal representative of Winston Churchill and then Clement Attlee.
This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars studying British Military and Diplomatic history in the first half of the twentieth century.
Alan Ogden has done a spectacular job in shedding light on the private persona behind the celebrity image of Britain's most admired World War soldier. He has conjured up a captivating image of courageous leadership, military diplomacy and the art of speaking truth to power. I commend it to you.