New York: Tapplinger Publishing Co., (1975) dj. Hardcover first edition - Using first-hand diaries and reports, including those of Rider Haggard's brother Andrew and of Father Ohrwalder (the Austrian missionary who spent ten years of captivity in the Mahdi's camp), this is an account of a remarkable episode in the 'high Empire' period of British history. "The Mahdi's rising in the Sudan in the 1880s starting as a localized Holy War against the 'decadent' Turkish/Egyptian overlords, engulfed a million square miles of arid territory and forced the British Liberal Government to get involved after the early disasters of the Hicks expedition and Gordon's death at Khartoum. It describes the growth and strength of the Mahdist movement and the extraordinary devotion and discipline of the Dervish troops. Facing such opponents with stoic endurance were the British, Egyptian and Sudanese Negro soldiers, and the resulting military engagements evoked amazing feats of courage and derring-do on both sides. The Dervish Empire outlasted the Mahdi by thirteen years." Illustrated with photographs. Index. 235 pp. ISBN: 0-800821688.