What do you think?
Rate this book
Patrol
‘Already loose sand had drifted over the stamped-down square which momentarily had distinguished the subaltern’s no there was no sign, no mark, no indication whatsoever. There had been, here, eleven men. Now ten rode away’
In the Mesopotamian desert during World War I, the leader of a British patrol is shot and killed, by an unseen enemy. The officer is the only one who knows their orders and has not told anyone else where they are located. From then on the sergeant has to try to lead the men through a hostile desert landscape which is full of invisible Arab snipers. One by one they are picked off, and the group of diverse characters from different backgrounds has to try to come together in order to survive. The decision making process proves far from easy as tensions and prejudices from their former lives come to the fore. This thrilling tale of suspense goes right to the last page and was a best seller in the 1920s. The novel was filmed twice, by Walter Summers (as Lost Patrol in 1929) and by John Ford (as The Lost Patrol in 1934).
In the Mesopotamian desert during World War I, the leader of a British patrol is shot and killed, by an unseen enemy. The officer is the only one who knows their orders and has not told anyone else where they are located. From then on the sergeant has to try to lead the men through a hostile desert landscape which is full of invisible Arab snipers. One by one they are picked off, and the group of diverse characters from different backgrounds has to try to come together in order to survive. The decision making process proves far from easy as tensions and prejudices from their former lives come to the fore. This thrilling tale of suspense goes right to the last page and was a best seller in the 1920s. The novel was filmed twice, by Walter Summers (as Lost Patrol in 1929) and by John Ford (as The Lost Patrol in 1934).
- GenresWorld War INovels
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
14 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Philip MacDonald
148 books17 followersPhilip MacDonald (who some give as 1896 or 1899 as his date of birth) was the grandson of the writer George MacDonald and son of the author Ronald MacDonald and the actress Constance Robertson.
During World War I he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia, later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper. He also raised Great Danes. After marrying the writer F. Ruth Howard, he moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1930s, and between 1931 and 1963 wrote many screenplays along with a few radio and television scripts.
His detective novels, particularly those featuring his series detective Anthony Gethryn, are primarily "whodunnits" with the occasional locked room mystery. His first detective novel was 'The Rasp' (1924), in which he introduced his character Anthony Gethryn.
In later years MacDonald wrote television scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents ('Malice Domestic', 1957) and Perry Mason ('The Case of the Terrified Typist', 1958).
He twice received an Edgar Award for Best Short Story: in 1953, for 'Something to Hide', and in 1956, for 'Dream No More'. Indeed many critics felt that his short story writing was superior to his novels and they did win five second prizes in the annual contests held by 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'.
He also wrote under the pseudonyms Oliver Fleming, Anthony Lawless, Martin Porlock, W.J. Stuart and Warren Stuart.
During World War I he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia, later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper. He also raised Great Danes. After marrying the writer F. Ruth Howard, he moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1930s, and between 1931 and 1963 wrote many screenplays along with a few radio and television scripts.
His detective novels, particularly those featuring his series detective Anthony Gethryn, are primarily "whodunnits" with the occasional locked room mystery. His first detective novel was 'The Rasp' (1924), in which he introduced his character Anthony Gethryn.
In later years MacDonald wrote television scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents ('Malice Domestic', 1957) and Perry Mason ('The Case of the Terrified Typist', 1958).
He twice received an Edgar Award for Best Short Story: in 1953, for 'Something to Hide', and in 1956, for 'Dream No More'. Indeed many critics felt that his short story writing was superior to his novels and they did win five second prizes in the annual contests held by 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'.
He also wrote under the pseudonyms Oliver Fleming, Anthony Lawless, Martin Porlock, W.J. Stuart and Warren Stuart.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 4, 2016
An exciting action packed first world war novel about a group of soldiers on patrol in the Algerian desert and their desperate attempt to escape their enemies when their leader is killed.
A good old fashioned war story that does contain the language of the time it was first written, which some people may find distasteful.
Never the less it will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end.
Highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Casemate / Open Road via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
A good old fashioned war story that does contain the language of the time it was first written, which some people may find distasteful.
Never the less it will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end.
Highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Casemate / Open Road via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
April 21, 2020
Philip MacDonald's story was one of the first Penguin editions published, and has been the basis for no fewer than six motion pictures: 1929's "Lost Patrol," John Ford's 1934 "The Lost Patrol," Russia's 1936 "The Thirteen," 1943's "Sahara, remade in 1995, and the 1953 western "Last of the Comanche." With all those versions floating about, it's not surprising if you find the tale familiar.
Ten soldiers, in the desert during WWI, bury their fallen commanding officer - who never shared their mission or orders. With limited supplies, their Sargeant opts to head for the nearest river, assuming their position on the map is accurate. In the process, he must avoid enemy Turks/Germans, undeclared but likely unfriendly native Arabs, and their own thirst. Fortunately they find a watering hole, much father away than it looked - but after one night, it's clear they are not the only ones gathered there.
Stranded, hunted by an unknown enemy, and increasingly short on supplies, the tension and strain bring out the worst in each man. Social preferences, religious prejudices, and fear of the unknown become magnified, and petty insults cause as much enmity as that felt towards the unknown snipers.
As in any troop, we get to know some of the characters very well - their interests, motivation for signing up to fight, and regrets - others are just shadows. Most interesting is the Sargeant, carrying the weight of command, schoolyard referee, and knowledge of their likely fate on his shoulders. But this is a military story, and your interest is caught up in the fate of the patrol, rather than the fate of the individuals.
It's an incredibly tense story, if you've never seen any of the movies. If you have, it's a quick read and differs in some way from each movie version. The story is, however, filled with the verbal slurs used during wartime towards those perceived to be the enemy or of lessor social standing, and the Jewish character is subject to antisemitic comments regrettably authentic to the time. And at least one of the characters regularly references the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme (using an even more inappropriate title) - as that nursery rhyme concludes with each titular character having been done away with, the subject is somewhat apropos - just to add to the atmosphere and general stress. ("Patrol" was published over ten years before Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" aka "And Then There Were None.")
Author Philip MacDonald served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia during WWI, so he had firsthand knowledge of his subject. He later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper, but ultimately he moved to Hollywood to write novels and screenplays (not for Patrol though), radio (and television) scripts,. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1930s and wrote other genre under various pseudonyms.
I should also mention the 203-page Casemate edition has a helpful glossary in the back for such words as "gora," which I trotted mid-read to Google to decipher. I do wish they would footnote the definition, mention the glossary at the beginning, or put the list in the front of the book.
Ten soldiers, in the desert during WWI, bury their fallen commanding officer - who never shared their mission or orders. With limited supplies, their Sargeant opts to head for the nearest river, assuming their position on the map is accurate. In the process, he must avoid enemy Turks/Germans, undeclared but likely unfriendly native Arabs, and their own thirst. Fortunately they find a watering hole, much father away than it looked - but after one night, it's clear they are not the only ones gathered there.
Stranded, hunted by an unknown enemy, and increasingly short on supplies, the tension and strain bring out the worst in each man. Social preferences, religious prejudices, and fear of the unknown become magnified, and petty insults cause as much enmity as that felt towards the unknown snipers.
As in any troop, we get to know some of the characters very well - their interests, motivation for signing up to fight, and regrets - others are just shadows. Most interesting is the Sargeant, carrying the weight of command, schoolyard referee, and knowledge of their likely fate on his shoulders. But this is a military story, and your interest is caught up in the fate of the patrol, rather than the fate of the individuals.
It's an incredibly tense story, if you've never seen any of the movies. If you have, it's a quick read and differs in some way from each movie version. The story is, however, filled with the verbal slurs used during wartime towards those perceived to be the enemy or of lessor social standing, and the Jewish character is subject to antisemitic comments regrettably authentic to the time. And at least one of the characters regularly references the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme (using an even more inappropriate title) - as that nursery rhyme concludes with each titular character having been done away with, the subject is somewhat apropos - just to add to the atmosphere and general stress. ("Patrol" was published over ten years before Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" aka "And Then There Were None.")
Author Philip MacDonald served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia during WWI, so he had firsthand knowledge of his subject. He later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper, but ultimately he moved to Hollywood to write novels and screenplays (not for Patrol though), radio (and television) scripts,. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1930s and wrote other genre under various pseudonyms.
I should also mention the 203-page Casemate edition has a helpful glossary in the back for such words as "gora," which I trotted mid-read to Google to decipher. I do wish they would footnote the definition, mention the glossary at the beginning, or put the list in the front of the book.
October 28, 2021
An imaginative book that has formed the basis of many a film plot so deserves recognition for the first or one of the first to write a story where a group is picked off one by one.
At times it was pleasant to read, at others predictable, self-indulgent, and slow.
I can appreciate the story and some of the characters but some of the writing made me lose grips of what I was reading at times.
At times it was pleasant to read, at others predictable, self-indulgent, and slow.
I can appreciate the story and some of the characters but some of the writing made me lose grips of what I was reading at times.
December 31, 2020
Tension, suspense, and locked-oasis murder-horror, featuring period-accurate racism and madness!
October 8, 2020
Patrol by Philip MacDonald is the novel that John Ford used as the basis for The Lost Patrol. MacDonald served with the cavalry in Mesopotamia during World War I. After the war, he trained horses for the army. In 1931 he moved to Hollywood. His writing includes over twenty-five novels which made him one of the most popular mystery writers in the 1930s. He also wrote screenplays and fifteen of his novels became movies.
I picked this book up hoping it would explain some of the war in Mesopotamia. American interests in World War I usually does not extend beyond the Western Front. However in this book Mesopotamia is just the setting. A British unit is on patrol and their lieutenant is shot and killed, leaving the sergeant in charge of the men. The lieutenant, however, is the only man who knew the mission and their location. Any attempt to get back to the British outpost now needs to be based on luck. The men in the unit are from a wide variety backgrounds and interests -- An actor, a man from Cockney, and a Jew. The term Jew is thrown around quite a bit along with the “n” word. The “n” word, for the most part, is from the nursery rhyme, Ten Little “N” where people disappear one by one. The same thing happens in this novel. It is interesting too that profanity is censored in the book and not racial slurs. The world was different in 1927 England when this book was published.
This book shares the same plot line as future works like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (not the original title, by the way) or Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat. It is more of a book of people dealing with the unknown enemy or challenge. The people themselves who are usually controlled by societal forces are now in a new and different situation. Here the men are in an unknown position lead by a man, who although an NCO, is not an officer. Although the sergeant manages discipline, he does not carry the clout of the lieutenant had even though he was not liked. The sergeant must work on two levels -- as a leader and as one of the men. It is a good story, but not really a war story. The war provides the setting. The men and situation provide the story.
I picked this book up hoping it would explain some of the war in Mesopotamia. American interests in World War I usually does not extend beyond the Western Front. However in this book Mesopotamia is just the setting. A British unit is on patrol and their lieutenant is shot and killed, leaving the sergeant in charge of the men. The lieutenant, however, is the only man who knew the mission and their location. Any attempt to get back to the British outpost now needs to be based on luck. The men in the unit are from a wide variety backgrounds and interests -- An actor, a man from Cockney, and a Jew. The term Jew is thrown around quite a bit along with the “n” word. The “n” word, for the most part, is from the nursery rhyme, Ten Little “N” where people disappear one by one. The same thing happens in this novel. It is interesting too that profanity is censored in the book and not racial slurs. The world was different in 1927 England when this book was published.
This book shares the same plot line as future works like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (not the original title, by the way) or Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat. It is more of a book of people dealing with the unknown enemy or challenge. The people themselves who are usually controlled by societal forces are now in a new and different situation. Here the men are in an unknown position lead by a man, who although an NCO, is not an officer. Although the sergeant manages discipline, he does not carry the clout of the lieutenant had even though he was not liked. The sergeant must work on two levels -- as a leader and as one of the men. It is a good story, but not really a war story. The war provides the setting. The men and situation provide the story.
March 31, 2022
Lean, tense, and atmospheric WWI thriller about a British platoon lost on patrol in Mesopotamia, or present-day Iraq. The soldiers eventually find a spring, and are then pinned down by snipers, who pick them off one by one. This short book was adapted into several popular movies, including The Lost Patrol (1934), Sahara (1943), and Last of the Comanches (1953). The characters represent a cross-section of British society, and they speak in dialogue that is realistic for the time, often offensive or anti-Semitic. The book is a quick read; I finished it in one evening.
MacDonald went on to have a very successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter. He wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and the novel The List of Adrian Messenger, which was adapted into an all-star movie directed by John Huston in 1963.
MacDonald went on to have a very successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter. He wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and the novel The List of Adrian Messenger, which was adapted into an all-star movie directed by John Huston in 1963.
June 30, 2016
Trapped in a small oasis by snipers and no horses, a small British desert patrol made up of representatives from differing classes and walks of life, endure desert heat, their need for constant vigilance and the occasional Arab sniper.
PATROL has one of those classic closed settings from which there seems to be no escape, perhaps made most poplar by Agatha Christie in her AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and by the film, ALIEN. This is an effective means of generating suspense in part through the setting, along of course with a lurking danger.
PATROL comes a bit earlier than either Agatha Christie’s mystery or the much later sci-fi film, but is equally as effective. The central question for the reader here is, ‘Who will survive?’
Or will all die?
Read it – and find out!
PATROL has one of those classic closed settings from which there seems to be no escape, perhaps made most poplar by Agatha Christie in her AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and by the film, ALIEN. This is an effective means of generating suspense in part through the setting, along of course with a lurking danger.
PATROL comes a bit earlier than either Agatha Christie’s mystery or the much later sci-fi film, but is equally as effective. The central question for the reader here is, ‘Who will survive?’
Or will all die?
Read it – and find out!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews