Carol Mather had a remarkable war. After joining a ski battalion which never made it to Finland, he was sent to Scotland for Commando training before being posted to North Africa, where he met such colorful characters as Randolph Churchill, Evelyn Waugh, David Stirling and Shimi Lovat.

As an early member of Stirling's newly formed Special Air Service, he was involved in thrilling exploits in the Western Desert before becoming a liaison officer on Monty's personal staff. In this role he had a front-seat view of the Battle of El Alamein.

After the battle, he returned to the SAS, was captured on a daredevil raid and sent to a POW camp in Northern Italy from where he escaped, making it back hundreds of miles to Allied lines. Sent home, he rejoined Monty's personal staff where he served from before D-Day and for most of the North West Europe campaign. His account of the desperate Battle of the Bulge is particularly revealing.

This exceptional wartime memoir is studded with legendary characters. The unique combination of behind enemy lines action and personal insights into how the war was conducted at the highest command level makes for utterly compulsive reading.