{"product_id":"mavericks-empire-oil-revolution-and-the-forgotten-battle-of-world-war-one","title":"Mavericks : Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wildly exciting'\u003c\/b\u003e KATE ADIE\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'Thoroughly gripping ... An action-packed tale'\u003c\/b\u003e JUSTIN MAROZZI, \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e '\u003cb\u003eBeautifully written'\u003c\/b\u003e LOUIS DE BERNIÈRES\u003cbr\u003e '\u003cb\u003eStimulating... entertaining and instructive\u003c\/b\u003e' JULIAN EVANS, \u003ci\u003eDAILY TELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The forgotten story of a group of British mavericks who took on an impossible mission with a daring and fearless approach.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted \u003cb\u003ea daring campaign\u003c\/b\u003e to send \u003cb\u003ean unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies\u003c\/b\u003e to the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e It was \u003cb\u003ean almost impossible task\u003c\/b\u003e, but \u003ci\u003eMavericks\u003c\/i\u003e tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was \u003cb\u003eLionel Dunsterville\u003c\/b\u003e, the inspiration for Kipling's Stalky and commander of the expedition; \u003cb\u003eRanald MacDonell\u003c\/b\u003e, a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; \u003cb\u003eEdward Noel\u003c\/b\u003e, a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions; \u003cb\u003eToby Rawlinson\u003c\/b\u003e, the younger brother of one of Britain's most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and \u003cb\u003eReginald Teague-Jones\u003c\/b\u003e, a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMavericks\u003c\/i\u003e brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes\u003c\/b\u003e who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, \u003cb\u003eset in a forgotten corner of the Great War\u003c\/b\u003e where the rules were made to be broken.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Mavericks : Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One","offer_id":45325250199749,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/978-1-5266-7701-3.jpg?v=1763010885","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/mavericks-empire-oil-revolution-and-the-forgotten-battle-of-world-war-one","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}