This volume begins with an overview of the state of Malaya in 1948 and a review of the many troubles in Malaya in the post-war period. It then goes on to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides in 1948 before describing the history of the long-running Emergency. It includes stories of characters, such as Gurney, Chin Peng and Sir Gerald Templar. The book provides a comprhensive history of the campaign. The Malayan Emergency ran from 1954 to 1960 as the Maoist Malayan Communist Party struggled to take control of British-ruled Malaya, the state of emergency even continuing officially for three years after Malaya's independence in 1957.