This is a well known and highly regarded book concerning the First Afghan War, it was written by a senior British soldier who experienced the conflict at first hand and wrote a substantial part of his narratives whilst actually imprisoned by the Afghans. Eyre and his family were captured by Akbar Khan and held for nine months until rescued by General Pollock's forces. Some of the manuscript was smuggled out of his cell while he remained a captive and on its arrival in England it was published. At the time, Eyre's account and that recounting similar experiences by Lady Florentia Sale (also available as a Leonaur edition) were considered companion pieces that would enable the British public to understand the Afghan debacle, the disaster that had there befallen the army under Elphinstone and the resulting annihilation of the army in the Afghan passes as it struggled to retreat into India. This book necessarily relates the First Afghan War in all its appalling detail and it therefore has few equals, as a consequence it is a source work of the most important and invaluable kind that is essential reading for all those interested in the subject as well as a vital addition to any library on the history of the British in Afghanistan.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.