The Leopard and the Cliff has been out of print for a long time with
second-hand copies being elusive; nonetheless it has a grim resonance
with today demonstrating the futility of fighting in that part of the
world.
""
""'Wallace Breem is a writer who never disappoints one. He has an
extraordinary power of treating military disaster in depth and yet with
pace, whether on the frontiers of Rome or British India, and of
analysing the tensions of command. Gripping as an action story, deeply
moving on the individual level, it involves one as an eye-witness from
beginning to end.' Mary Renault
""
""'I found the book gripping. I am not a Frontier man but the account of
the tribal situation on the Frontier and of the atmosphere accords with
all I have read or heard about it. The author brings out movingly and
with skill several points of vital importance to an understanding of
British India and the Frontier in particular. Everything depended on
India (in this case Pathan) co-operation; this broke down once the
British showed lack of confidence and began to retire. The clash of
loyalties which then arose was highly dramatic and painful for those
involved. The loneliness of such a man as Sandeman is also brought out
with skill.' Philip Mason, author of "A Matter of Honour: An Account of
the Indian Army, Its Officers and Men"
