{"product_id":"mavericks","title":"Mavericks","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe forgotten story of a group of British mavericks who took on an impossible mission with a daring and fearless approach.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted \u003cb\u003ea daring campaign\u003c\/b\u003e to send \u003cb\u003ean unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies \u003c\/b\u003eto the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was\u003cb\u003e an almost impossible task\u003c\/b\u003e, but \u003ci\u003eMavericks\u003c\/i\u003e tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was \u003cb\u003eLionel Dunsterville\u003c\/b\u003e, the inspiration for Kipling’s Stalky and commander of the expedition; \u003cb\u003eRanald MacDonell\u003c\/b\u003e, a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; \u003cb\u003eEdward Noel\u003c\/b\u003e, a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions;\u003cb\u003e Toby Rawlinson\u003c\/b\u003e, the younger brother of one of Britain’s most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and \u003cb\u003eReginald Teague-Jones\u003c\/b\u003e, a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMavericks\u003c\/i\u003e brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes \u003c\/b\u003ewho survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, \u003cb\u003eset in a forgotten corner of the Great War\u003c\/b\u003e where the rules were made to be broken.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57396064420222,"sku":"NW9781526677013","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781526677013.jpg?v=1778672132","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-usa\/products\/mavericks","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}