Kitchener: The Man Behind the Legend

A hero of the Victorian era, British general Horatio Herbert Kitchener (18501916) was as famous for his stern, ""military'' appearance as for his victories on distant battlefields in the Sudan and South Africa. In this well-researched biography, based on family papers, military historian Warner shows that Kitchener, first Earl of Khartoum and Broome, was a complex figure who, while certainly out of touch with the lives of average soldiers, was at heart an adventurer hiding behind a huge, forbidding mustache. Beginning with the future hero's sheltered childhood and his ``schoolboy-adventure-story'' life as a military surveyor in Palestine and Egypt, the author recounts his rapid career rise, his well-planned battle campaigns and his many conflicts with politicians. This is an informed, balanced account that convincingly disputes many myths, including the notion that Kitchener was homosexual. Warner's books include The Crimean War. (March 20)