Rich in narrative and anecdote, this poignant and important book has at its heart short biographies of Chelsea Pensioners whose lives span the twentieth century from Passchendaele to Anzio, from the Malayan emergency to the Mau Mau uprising, from Aden to Indonesia. To read this book is to understand in part what soldiers are all about. Ziegler is fascinated by the values these veterans share, and which the Army inculcated in them: self-discipline, acceptance of risk and pain, patriotism, loyalty to their fellows. And of course, sometimes bigotry, narrowmindedness, even blinkered stupidity...