Rhubarb 2021

ST EDWARD’S

Readers will be drawn into the depiction of the life of a man who signed up to fight and found himself on the wrong side of captivity after the fall of Singapore in 1942. Much of the remainder of the book is devoted to a first-hand account of life as a prisoner of war of the Japanese.That those who survived would have been endlessly fatigued seems the starkest lesson from this memoir, officers did indeed work and work it was, building the railroad between Bangkok and Rangoon. Here inhumanity features heavily with many familiar and harrowing themes revisited: forced marches; threat of, and then viewing of, execution; hunger, despair and savagery. Light-hearted anecdotes of the distilling of ‘gin’ from leftover vegetables don’t detract from the many reminders of the horror of this theatre of war. The Bridge over the River Kwai, David Lean’s masterpiece of filmmaking about this period, in many ways underplayed the horror and overplayed the existence of men of seemingly unrealistic levels of stoicism and character. This memoir comprehensively reminds us that the reality was in so many ways much darker and the characters within it are far more recognisably human.

The Persian War in Herodotus and Other Ancient Voices

ByWilliam Shepherd (Cowell’s, 1959-1964) T he PersianWar is the name generally given to the first two decades of the period of

BOOKS

conflict between the Greeks and the Persians that began in 499 BC and ended around 450. The pivotal moment came exactly 2,500 years ago in 480/479, when a massive Persian invasion force was defeated and driven out of mainland Greece and Europe, never to return. This victory of a few Greek city-states over the world's first superpower was an extraordinary military feat that secured the future of western civilization.

No Condition is Permanent: Risk, Adventure and Return – The Business of Life

All modern accounts of the war as a whole, and of the best-known battles of Marathon,Thermopylae and Salamis, depend on the ancient sources, foremost amongst them Herodotus. Yet although these modern narratives generally include numerous references to the ancient authors, they quote little directly from them.This is the first book to bring together Herodotus' entire narrative and interweave it with other ancient voices alongside detailed commentary to frame and clarify the original texts. Dr Peter Jones of Classics for All writes: ‘The bulk of the book closely follows Herodotus’ narrative, combining translated passages (these are very well done) with accurate précis of the intervening narrative. Flesh and muscle to these mighty bones are added in two ways: first, by texts from other sources which enlarge on Herodotus’ account, and second by discussions of the historical problems which have kept scholars arguing for over 2000 years. … It is not easy to combine the words of Herodotus with other ancient sources and personal commentary, but Shepherd does so masterfully, without overloading or confusing the reader. Shepherd’s judgement, too, about what to comment on is also sure. … It all adds up to an exciting, highly informative and also very enjoyable read: Shepherd writes with clarity and verve.’

By Sir Bob Reid (former Governor, 1987-2017, Chair of Governors 2000-2006) S ir Bob Reid is

former Chairman of Shell UK,

British Rail, ICE Futures Europe and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Scotland, among much else. Aged 9, he lost his right hand, learnt to write with his left and went on to win a golfing blue at University before turning to business.This inspirational portrait of successful leadership tells how he steered global organisations through the best and worst of times by gaining trust and valuing the individual. His is a story of determination and achievement shot through with political upheaval, economic reversal and industrial catastrophe. Sir Bob’s first posting was to Borneo. Stints in Africa,Thailand and Australia followed, after which he became Chair of Shell UK, responsible for all oil exploration, production, refineries and coastal shipping. He then steered disparate large organisations through challenging times by drawing on universal principles about people, power and profit that he had absorbed in his youth and expatriate years. Success was often rooted in his understanding that you don’t need to like every member of your team, but you do need to elicit and nurture each individual contribution.The wisdom gained in a lifetime of leadership, of realising the talent and energy of the people you work with, will inspire anyone who wants to make a difference in business and social enterprise, now or in the future.

Shepherd’s lifelong interest in ancient Greece and Rome traces back to the teaching of Pat Brims and Mervyn Evans in his time in Room One in the Classical Sixth. Since retiring from publishing as Managing Director of Osprey he has written four books for the company. His editor was Marcus Cowper (Segar’s, 1987-1992), a former colleague who is now heading Osprey himself.

The PersianWar was published at the end of 2019 by Osprey Publishing.

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