Spying out Central Asia in the Great Game. Mini biographies of young British officers in India travelling/exploring areas of Central Asia.Including Alexander Burnes, Francis Younghusband, Fred Burnaby, and some Russian officers as well. Excellent. ( )

Read 2011. Biographical sketches of the colourful players in the Great Game, spying in central asia during the late 19C, mainly British. ( )

Britain and Russia played the 'great game' in the 19th century, each with expansionist ambitions in Central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Punjab, and Tibet. Officers in both armies went on 'shooting leave' - the cover story was that they were off hunting - but in reality these were espionage trips to test out the lie of the land and track the other side's deployments. John Ure's book is a series of 'vignettes' tracking the adventures of chancers on both sides. It is a fun read, and manages to present a wide range of characters - some who disguised themselves as (Muslim) holy men and got away with it, some who were ridiculously obsessed with class and rank, some who were diplomats, some who were robbed and beaten, and some who were 'bounders'. One of the most intriguing was Valentine Baker, a Crimean war hero and commanding officer of the 10th Hussars, who in the 1870s travelled through Tbilisi, Baku, Tehran, and into Baluchistan, and eventually back to London via Russia. He had apparently covered himself in glory - but then was accused of raping a woman on the Aldershot to London train in June 1875. The trial was a cause celebre, although he was found not guilty of rape he was convicted of indecent asault and it ruined his career. He then ended up working as military adviser first to the Sultan of Turkey and then to the Khedive of Egypt.