Warriors

About this book

"Somalia is one of the world's most desolate, sun-scorched lands, inhabited by fierce and independent-minded tribesmen. It was here that Gerald Hanley spent the Second World War, charged with preventing bloodshed between feuding tribes at a remote out-station. Rations were scarce, pay infrequent and his detachment of native soldiers near-mutinous.". "In these extreme conditions seven British officers committed suicide, but Hanley describes the period as the 'most valuable time' of his life. With intense curiosity and open-mindedness, he explores the effects of loneliness. He comes to understand the Somalis' love of fighting and to admire their contempt for death. 'Of all the races of Africa,' he says, 'there cannot be one better to live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest: the Somalis.'"--BOOK JACKET.

Themes & subjects

About the author

Gerald Hanley

17 February 1916 – 7 September 1992

Gerald Hanley was an Irish novelist and travel writer and was born in Liverpool of Irish parents. Hanley's novels reflect his experiences of living in Africa, Burma and the Indian sub-continent, as well as his life as a soldier. His first book, Monsoon Victory was published in 1946, and his last novel, Noble Descents in 1982.