{"product_id":"9781526677013","title":"Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One","description":"Author: Higham, Nick\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781526677013\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 03 Feb 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 368 Format: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wildly exciting' \u003c\/b\u003eKATE ADIE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Thoroughly gripping ... An action-packed tale' \u003c\/b\u003eJUSTIN MAROZZI, \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eBeautifully written' \u003c\/b\u003eLOUIS DE BERNI  RES\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eStimulating... entertaining and instructive\u003c\/b\u003e' JULIAN EVANS, \u003ci\u003eDAILY TELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe forgotten story of a group of British mavericks who took on an impossible mission with a daring and fearless approach.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs 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\u003eto 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\u003eIt was\u003cb\u003e an 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\u003e Toby 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\u003eDrawing 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\u003ewho 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.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46643232080030,"sku":"UBD-9781526677013","price":44.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781526677013.jpg?v=1774484813","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781526677013","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}