Sir Winston Churchill's first major historical work was this thrilling eyewitness account of one of the most remarkable events in the history of the British Empire. The River War was written in 1899 when Winston Churchill was a serving officer in the British army. It includes first-hand accounts of the actions in which he took part, including the celebrated victory at Omdurman. The River War tells one of the most extraordinary stories in the annals of the Empire: the rise of the famous Mahdi and his Dervish Empire; the murder of General Gordon at Khartoum; and the subsequent re-conquest of the Sudan by the Anglo-Egyptian force under General Kitchener. In the riveting style that would later earn him the Nobel Prize for Literature, Churchill recounts the background to the war, the history of the Sudan and its people, as well as vivid accounts of the battles and the hardships endured by the soldiers. Long out of print, The River War is a gripping account of this clash of arms and cultures. 296 pp 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 8 pp b/w photos