CRIMEAN WAR - FICTION
"Badge of Glory" By Douglas Reeman 
(Book #1 of 4 in the Blackwood Saga)
Captain Phillip Blackwood joins the HMS Audacious in
1850 to fight slavery in West Africa. This is a time when steam powered ships
are being deployed and the reader is introduced to their early use in action.
After the start of the African campaign, Blackwood's unit is transferred to the Mediterranean
where they soon are committed to ground action at Balaclava, where
the action is the heaviest and Royal Marines and Russians slaughter each other.
Phillip's younger half-brother plays a major role in the book and is in the
thick of the fighting. One of the more interesting characters in the book is the
captain's dog robber (sergeant aide) Smithett.
Reviewed by Kenneth S. Smith 2/27/2001
Available from:
Arrow Books through McBooks Press
www.mcbooks.com
