First published in 1965 John Gale's autobiography is one the brilliant evocations of English life. From growing up in rural Kent to joining the Coldstream Guards and drunkenly dancing with the young Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Gale's early years seemed untroubled by darker shadows.

But later, as a foreign correspondent in Algeria, Egypt and the Far East, he witnessed scenes of such horror that his comfortable world - and his sanity - were shaken to their very foundations.

Witty, ironic, sharply observed and deeply moving, John Gale's memoir is a unique record of a young man struggling to make sense of the world.