The Road to Khartoum – A Life of General Charles Gordon –

“Of all the British Empire’s military and diplomatic figures, General Charles Gordon most exactly fulfilled the heroic imaginings of an admiring people. The two sides of his personality – often at war with himself as well as the British government – led him to condemn the practice of slavery while seeking out the excitement and danger of colonial conquest.

His unorthodox lust for leadership brought him positions of power in Britain’s expanding 19th century territorial possessions, until, as commander of the English garnison in Khartoum, he died a martyr’s death at the hands of fanatic Muslim fundamentalists.

In this splendidly researched portrait of a maverick turned flawless legend, Charles Chenevix Trench vividly explores the undeniable hold Gordon exercized over others who were willing to endure appalling hardships just to follow him to China, Palestine, South Africa … and the Sudan. It was an extraordinary charismatic power, which – like Lawrence of Arabia decades later – influcenced a singular period of world history.”