Kitchener: The Road to Omdurman and Saviour of the Nation — John Pollock

This enlightening biography, drawing on both official accounts and private letters, re-establishes Kitchener's reputation as a hero of the British Empire. When the Great War broke out, Kitchener, with the foresight lacking in many of his contemporaries, insisted that it would last at least three years and that he must raise an army of 3 million men. This began with an immediate recruitment of 100,000 volunteers, and the familiar poster campaign image of him with the line "Your country needs you". Major battles and initiatives of the Great War are recreated in a dramatic narrative history which does justice to Kitchener's masterly planning. This superb double volume biography will transform our view of Kitchener and the First World War.