First published in 1988, The Radical Soldier's Tale is both an introduction to and a transcript of his 'Memoirs', written after his retirement in 1881. In this autobiography he presents his life as a soldier during the Sikh Wars, his life as a policeman, and the ideologies which divided people from each other in the societies he had known and read about.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Map I; Map II; Part 1; 1. Writers, Editors and Historians 2. A Working Life 3. Soldiers' Stories 4. 'A Low Order of Men' 5. The Practice of Writing 6. The Propulsion of Experience 7. Public and Private; Part 2; Note on the Dating of John Pearman's 'Memoir'; Note on the Transcription of John Pearman's 'Memoir'; A Transcript of 'Memos of Late Sergeant John Pearman of H. Mgt 3rd or Kings Own Light Dragoons'; Notes to the Transcript; Notes; Bibliography; Working Class Military Autobiography; Index