Vladimir Peniakoff (1897–1951)

Private Army by Vladimir Peniakoff - published 1950 - this Corgi edition 1965. The mission: “Sow despondency and alarm.” A riveting eyewitness account of the British Army’s first forays into special forces’ irregular warfare in the north African theatre of the Second World War. ‘Popski’ is a charmingly erudite writer and one who has no ego. He willingly tells of as many cock-ups as triumphs, and gradually the reader becomes bewitched by his unorthodox and self-taught approach to waging war behind enemy lines. Following victory over Rommel’s Afrika Korps, the story crosses the Med to Italy - where the action is at its most gripping. Reminiscent in the desert chapters of Lawrence’s Seven Pillars prose, this one’s a real gem.… (más)

Nothing wrong with the book per se, but it's not my usual genre and it didn't pull me in fast enough. I set it down, and when it surfaced again months later, I had other things I wanted to read. Looking at the page I left it at, the beginning of chapter two, I realized that his style, ponderous and deliberate, probably didn't help:

"Improvisation and dash are foreign to my nature, unknown risks make me uncomfortable; I am never so happy as when I can spend my time making cautious preparations. Slow and unhurried, I have of course many times let golden opportunities slip by, unused...." and so on and on. I think my golden opportunity to read the book also slipped by, unused.… (más)