As the last major campaign fought exclusively by British and Commonwealth forces, the Western Desert continues to exert a fascination. From Wavell"s offensive against the Italians in 1940, through the battles with Rommel"s Afrika Corps, to the British success at Alamein, the Desert War remains one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of World War II. In this book, assembled with the co-operation of the staff of the Imperial War Museum, are unpublished extracts from memoirs, diaries, letters and taped interviews. They reflect the experience of the campaign, from the noise and smoke of battle and the vagaries of desert life to leave spent in Cairo and Alexandria, the development of the Long Range Desert Group and the SAS, Rommel and the Afrika Corps and the role of the Commonwealth forces. Published on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Alamein, this book serves as a reminder of the human face of war.