Mavericks

The forgotten story of British mavericks whose daring and fearless approach to impossible missions defied the odds and change the course of history.

We think we know the story of the First World War - a grim tale of brave soldiers led to slaughter on the Western Front, mere pawns in a brutal and senseless conflict. For countless honourable young men who served their country, this is tragically true. Yet beyond the familiar narratives lies a forgotten chapter of mavericks and misfits who defied the odds and carved their own paths through history.

In this page-turning account, Nick Higham introduces us to a small band of British soldiers, diplomats, spies and adventurers dispatched to the distant and chaotic shores of the Caspian Sea amidst the revolutions of 1917. While their contemporaries fought in the trenches, these men - enterprising, fearless and often reckless - embarked on a hastily devised mission: to block the Turks and mitigate a murky struggle between the rising Bolsheviks and their enemies. At the tail end of the war, which spilled into the revolutionary era of the Russian Empire, these men masterfully navigated a complex theatre of war, where their life-or-death decisions had the potential to alter the course of history.

Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, Mavericks brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a story of boldness and intrigue, set in a forgotten corner of 'the Great War' where the rules were made to be broken.