[font=\'Arial]GO STRONG INTO THE DESERT The Mahdîst Uprising in Sudan 1881-85 A Military History and Uniform Guide by Lt. Col. Mike Snook with Colour Plates by Michael Perry On 11 August 1881, two companies of Egyptian infantry landed on an island in the White Nile to arrest a remarkable imâm by the name of Muḥammad Aḥmad ibn al-Saiyid ʻAbd Allâh, who called himself the Mahdî. Within the hour most of the soldiers concerned were dead - routed by a poorly armed and numerically inferior band of disciples. The subsequent dramatic rise of the Mahdîst movement, culminating in the siege of the Sudanese capital, the death of General Gordon and a serious fundamentalist threat to Egypt, is told in Go Strong into the Desert, an original and authoritative military history of events in Kordofan, Khartoum and the Red Sea Littoral between 1881 and 1885. Known for the quality and depth of his research, and extensive fieldwork on the battlefields he writes about, soldier-historian and leading subject matter expert Mike Snook has recently returned from serving in the Sudan, and has once again approached the old interpretations of Victorian military history with a fresh eye, an enquiring mind, and his reader\'s enjoyment at heart. Go Strong into the Desert focuses in close detail on the combat waged across the Sudan, and is characterized by absorbing blow-by-blow narratives of what actually happened during such dramatic actions as: [/li][li]The Siege of El Obeid and the massacre at Sheikan of Hicks Pasha\'s Kordofan expedition. [/li]The defeat of Valentine Baker Pasha\'s gendarmerie at El Teb. Sir Gerald Graham\'s costly victories over Osman Digna at El Teb and Tamai. The desperate fights of Sir Herbert Stewart\'s Desert Column at Abu Klea and Abu Kru. The epic of General Gordon\'s stand at Khartoum. Sir Charles Wilson\'s river dash and the rescue mission mounted by Beresford RN. The Battles of Hashin, Tofrek and Giniss. In addition, the book\'s battle narratives are supported by analysis, copious illustrations, contemporary sketches, maps, detailed orders of battle, a comprehensive guide to the dress and equipment of the participants on both sides, modern photography of the virtually unchanged battlefields, and more than 30 full-colour uniform plates by sculptor, artist and designer Michael Perry. Designed to cater for both the history enthusiast and the hobbyist alike, Go Strong into the Desert will be available in the summer of 2010. [/size][/font]
