by N.D.G. James; "First published in 1987" stated; autographed by many fellow soldiers to "Don", including Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Seargent; Cpl and others; The Hobnob Press, Salisbury; hardbound; b/w photographs and maps; very good as-new condition of book and dust jacket.
 
from Preface -
When Rudyard Kipling that great champion of the British Army, wrote
 
Scent of smoke in the evening
Smell of rain in the night
The hours, the days and the seasons
Order their souls aright
 
he might as well have been thinking of Salisbury Plain where for generations, the Army has learnt and practised its battlecraft and tactics.  Indeed there can be few soldiers - serving or retired - who have not taken part in exercises on the Plain or fired their weapons on one of its many ranges whilst pilots of countless aircraft, have been familiar with the skies above it.
 
This book is a history of the Plain from the Services' point of view but it should be remembered that today, times are continually changing and technology is constantly advancing.  However, in the last analysis, it is the soldier who wins battles whether it be at Paardeberg, Alamein or Goose Green: Plain Soldiering is essentially about such men and their times.  N.D.G.J. November 1986