-- The first time the Gurkha voice has been heard at length -- Vivid, first-person descriptions spanning over fifty years of warfare -- Historical overview of Gurkha campaigns from 1939-1998 This collection of eyewitness material offers an unprecedented contribution to the history of the Gurkhas, a famed but elusive brigade whose story has always been told by "outsiders." These first-person narratives center on the fifty-year period from the outbreak of World War II, including the campaigns against Communists in Malaya and Hong Kong, the Falklands War, and recent confrontation in East Timor. The editors -- who traveled 5,000 miles to rescue material from surviving soldiers -- provide an introduction to Gurkha culture, historical overviews of each military campaign, and record some of the peculiarities of their encounters with these most resilient of soldiers.