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Mission To Tashkent
Colonel F. M. Bailey, whose extraordinary adventures are told here, was long accused by Moscow of being a British master spy sent in 1918 to overthrow the Bolsheviks in Central Asia. As a result, he had, many years after his death, an almost legendary reputation there--that of half-hero,
half-villain.
In this remarkable book he tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police: the dreaded Cheka. At one point, using a false identity, he actually joined their ranks, who unsuspectingly sent him to Bokhara to arrest himself.
Told with almost breathtaking understatement by Bailey, this narrative offers remarkable insight into British secret intelligence work during the Great Game.
half-villain.
In this remarkable book he tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police: the dreaded Cheka. At one point, using a false identity, he actually joined their ranks, who unsuspectingly sent him to Bokhara to arrest himself.
Told with almost breathtaking understatement by Bailey, this narrative offers remarkable insight into British secret intelligence work during the Great Game.
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First published January 1, 1946
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May 27, 2023
There’s a scene in the film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” when Jones tries to intimidate his Nazi captors by telling them about his colleague Marcus Brody, whom he claims “speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he’ll blend in, disappear, you’ll never see him again.” Of course the joke in the film is that Brody is a bumbling English academic completely out of his depth anywhere outside of a university lecture hall, but the claimed description could have been applied to the author of this book, Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Bailey, sent as a British agent to Tashkent in early 1918 following the Bolshevik takeover of Russia. Sometime after his arrival, British troops intervened in the Russian Civil War on the anti-Bolshevik side, meaning that the Bolsheviks regarded him as an enemy agent. He spent 16 months in hiding before managing to escape into Persia.
The Introduction explains that Bailey wrote this account in 1924, but was unable to gain clearance for publication until 1946. Even then, large parts had to be omitted, and this is fairly obvious in the book.
At the beginning of his mission, one of Bailey’s tasks was to observe the situation of German and Austrian POWs, of which there were around 190,000 in Central Asia (referred to in the book as “Turkestan”). There were around 30,000 in the Tashkent area alone. With Russia’s withdrawal from WW1, the Bolsheviks had released the prisoners but the latter had no means of getting home. The British were concerned that German officers might organise them into an army that could invade British-ruled India. The British also wanted to prevent the soldiers getting back to Europe, where they might be used in the fighting still going on. When Bailey went into hiding, he adopted the identities of several of these POWs, using passports that were presumably stolen. One of the gaps in the book is around the fact that Bailey always seemed to have large sums of money at his disposal, even after 16 months on the lam. Where did he get all this money from?
This story sounds a pretty exciting one, but unfortunately Bailey isn’t the greatest storyteller. His escapades are related in a dry and matter of fact style, and although the reader doesn’t know what exactly has been missed out, I did have the sense that a lot was being concealed. I didn’t find this the quickest read.
The book is strongly anti-Bolshevik in tone, with Bailey illustrating the extent of the murder and persecution that arose from this ideology. This aspect of the book was interesting as we tend to hear less about this period than about the Stalinist time.
Bailey eventually made his escape in the most remarkable way imaginable, by joining the Cheka – the Bolshevik secret police! He did so by pretending to be an ethnic Serb from Bosnia who had been conscripted into the Austrian army before becoming a POW and then a committed Bolshevik. Now that’s what you call audacious!
Bailey’s Wikipedia entry describes him as a “British officer, spy, explorer, botanist, zoologist” to which might be added “linguist”. Regrettably I don’t think he’s quite done himself justice with this book. Either his writing ability didn’t match his other talents, or the coherence of this narrative was affected by what he had to leave out.
The Introduction explains that Bailey wrote this account in 1924, but was unable to gain clearance for publication until 1946. Even then, large parts had to be omitted, and this is fairly obvious in the book.
At the beginning of his mission, one of Bailey’s tasks was to observe the situation of German and Austrian POWs, of which there were around 190,000 in Central Asia (referred to in the book as “Turkestan”). There were around 30,000 in the Tashkent area alone. With Russia’s withdrawal from WW1, the Bolsheviks had released the prisoners but the latter had no means of getting home. The British were concerned that German officers might organise them into an army that could invade British-ruled India. The British also wanted to prevent the soldiers getting back to Europe, where they might be used in the fighting still going on. When Bailey went into hiding, he adopted the identities of several of these POWs, using passports that were presumably stolen. One of the gaps in the book is around the fact that Bailey always seemed to have large sums of money at his disposal, even after 16 months on the lam. Where did he get all this money from?
This story sounds a pretty exciting one, but unfortunately Bailey isn’t the greatest storyteller. His escapades are related in a dry and matter of fact style, and although the reader doesn’t know what exactly has been missed out, I did have the sense that a lot was being concealed. I didn’t find this the quickest read.
The book is strongly anti-Bolshevik in tone, with Bailey illustrating the extent of the murder and persecution that arose from this ideology. This aspect of the book was interesting as we tend to hear less about this period than about the Stalinist time.
Bailey eventually made his escape in the most remarkable way imaginable, by joining the Cheka – the Bolshevik secret police! He did so by pretending to be an ethnic Serb from Bosnia who had been conscripted into the Austrian army before becoming a POW and then a committed Bolshevik. Now that’s what you call audacious!
Bailey’s Wikipedia entry describes him as a “British officer, spy, explorer, botanist, zoologist” to which might be added “linguist”. Regrettably I don’t think he’s quite done himself justice with this book. Either his writing ability didn’t match his other talents, or the coherence of this narrative was affected by what he had to leave out.
September 1, 2023
This is one of those books that I didn't enjoy as much as expected - and was therefore taken by surprise. Set in Central Asia in 1918-1920, mostly in Uzbekistan, but also Turkmenistan and Iran as a part of his departure route.
There are a number of possible reasons I didn't enjoy this.
There was a lot about the time, the politics and the peoples that I am not familiar with. The first world war was in progress, Bailey was isolated in Tashkent, and playing a game of cat and mouse with a confusing array of people, secret agents, double agents, corruptible people, and opportunists. In my defence, I believe this book was written assuming a level of understanding of the situation that I didn't possess. By a quarter of the way through I was thinking I should have read Hopkirks The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia, which might have explained the situation better for me. Of course there was the newly established Bolshevik government, Germans, Serbians, Austrians, Turks, Chinese, Persians, Indians, as well as the British Empire and the Afghani's, so a lot going on.
The other reason may be the writing style. There is no getting around the fact it is presented in a very dry way. For such an exciting and risky few years, the narrative is remarkably flat. There are also many, many characters who are mentioned only to disappear, returning much later. I found I didn't pick up very well what their involvement was.
Hopkirk himself gives the book high praise, writing an introduction and an epilogue, which did more to explain things that the rest of the book. I know also that other reviewers have questioned the authenticity of the story, but although very much against the odds, and not without a heavy dose of luck that many of his companions didn't have, it was hard to suggest there was an alternative story from reading this book.
On a positive note, my copy is a Folio Society edition, with a great cover and some excellent photographs. Personally I would have benefited from more maps, there were two small sketched maps which didn't plot any routes.
I can't really go above 3 stars, given how hard I had to battle to keep picking up this book.
There are a number of possible reasons I didn't enjoy this.
There was a lot about the time, the politics and the peoples that I am not familiar with. The first world war was in progress, Bailey was isolated in Tashkent, and playing a game of cat and mouse with a confusing array of people, secret agents, double agents, corruptible people, and opportunists. In my defence, I believe this book was written assuming a level of understanding of the situation that I didn't possess. By a quarter of the way through I was thinking I should have read Hopkirks The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia, which might have explained the situation better for me. Of course there was the newly established Bolshevik government, Germans, Serbians, Austrians, Turks, Chinese, Persians, Indians, as well as the British Empire and the Afghani's, so a lot going on.
The other reason may be the writing style. There is no getting around the fact it is presented in a very dry way. For such an exciting and risky few years, the narrative is remarkably flat. There are also many, many characters who are mentioned only to disappear, returning much later. I found I didn't pick up very well what their involvement was.
Hopkirk himself gives the book high praise, writing an introduction and an epilogue, which did more to explain things that the rest of the book. I know also that other reviewers have questioned the authenticity of the story, but although very much against the odds, and not without a heavy dose of luck that many of his companions didn't have, it was hard to suggest there was an alternative story from reading this book.
On a positive note, my copy is a Folio Society edition, with a great cover and some excellent photographs. Personally I would have benefited from more maps, there were two small sketched maps which didn't plot any routes.
I can't really go above 3 stars, given how hard I had to battle to keep picking up this book.
April 26, 2025
Another thrilling read.
July 24, 2025
Riveting tales of adrenaline fuelled heroism; absolutely fabulous. At one point Bailey is recruited by the enemy and sent out to find and arrest himself. It conjures up thoughts of a Johnny English or Austin Powers film, but in the case of 'Bailey - Ace of Deception' it's all true.
July 11, 2021
Delightful. It is bizarre to know that all this disguising and secret-messaging was really going on. The moment with the communist secret-service official on the street was wonderful to read. I can see how some would find it a bit slow as the understated British narration lacks the embellishments that we tend to find 'gripping,' but Bailey is fantastic. This is a man who knows how to let a story worth telling tell its own story.
I read this in the Folio edition and it is great. A good amount of pictures and an Introduction which lets you in on many of the things which Bailey did not feel free to write!
I read this in the Folio edition and it is great. A good amount of pictures and an Introduction which lets you in on many of the things which Bailey did not feel free to write!
July 7, 2025
Mr Bailey was cut from the same cloth as Sir Paul Dukes. The Cheka are hunting high and low for the man and he gets hired by them and given orders to go hunt for himself.
This is really good read. Like Sir Paul Dukes it is told by him. Like Sir Paul Dukes he comes across as humble, but of razor sharp wit and certainly able.
This is really good read. Like Sir Paul Dukes it is told by him. Like Sir Paul Dukes he comes across as humble, but of razor sharp wit and certainly able.
May 12, 2021
Colonel F. M. Bailey, whose extraordinary adventures are told here, was long accused by Moscow of being a British master spy sent in 1918 to overthrow the Bolsheviks in Central Asia. As a result, he had, many years after his death, an almost legendary reputation there--that of half-hero,
half-villain.
In this remarkable book he tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police: the dreaded Cheka. At one point, using a false identity, he actually joined their ranks, who unsuspectingly sent him to Bokhara to arrest himself.
Told with almost breathtaking understatement by Bailey, this narrative offers remarkable insight into British secret intelligence work during the Great Game.
half-villain.
In this remarkable book he tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police: the dreaded Cheka. At one point, using a false identity, he actually joined their ranks, who unsuspectingly sent him to Bokhara to arrest himself.
Told with almost breathtaking understatement by Bailey, this narrative offers remarkable insight into British secret intelligence work during the Great Game.
April 11, 2010
An original 007
October 4, 2025
💫 It's March 1918 and Bailey receives a telegram asking if he is medically fit for a long and arduous journey. It couldn't have come at a better time.
"I was in many ways glad to leave Shushtar. I had taken over a species of blood feud from my predecessor and three murderers had a few days before entered the town with the avowed intention of murdering me. The narrow streets made murder very easy."
Luckily, there's a need to send someone on a secret and dangerous mission into Soviet Turkestan, specifically to Tashkent, to find out what the Bolsheviks are up to.
✏️ Bailey is the epitome of Great Game agent. Traveling from British India into what we now call Uzbekistan, he spent more than a year dodging discovery, including by getting himself hired by the Cheka as a spy. The Bolsheviks had lost 15 spies in Bukhara and Bailey, under an assumed identity, took the job to get to the city and through it out of Turkestan -- with a stop in Samarkand en route.
"Still I had to see Samarkand."
❤️ This book was unexpectedly funny, often darkly so (I should have counted how many times a new name exits the text with a variation on the phrase "and then he was taken out and shot"). There's a wryness to Bailey's recounting of his journey that comes off as humor to me.
"The Kaznachei wishing to speak to the Amir about me and, not knowing how to bring the matter up (confound these unapproachable autocrats!) told him that his 'two guests', Awal Nur and Kalbi Mohammed, were leaving and that I had ordered them to buy six horses."
His asides about collecting butterflies are hilariously random to me, too.
The book has to read for what it is: the travels of a British Imperial agent, with all the defense of empire you'd assume comes with it. It had some interesting connections to the last book I read (Let My Country Awake) a history of Indian would-be revolutionaries in the US around this same time.
But Bailey is also, at times, quite complementary to locals (well, those who helped him more so than others) and he includes a decent plov recipe in the text. There is an appropriate level of respect for local cuisine and architecture, too.
"We returned to the railway station about ten o'clock but the train did not start till five in the afternoon, and we might have made a leisurely tour of all the wonderful sights instead of hurrying through Tamerlane's capital."
And somehow he managed to bring his dog Zep on this whole adventure?
👥 Any Central Asianist should really read this. But also people interested in spycraft, especially in the early 20th century, would find this super interesting.
"In our model there was a badge of some kind in front of the cap. This we fudged by sticking on a piece of white paper over which was a piece of brown paper. We had no paste so these were temporarily fixed for the purpose of the photo with the only sticky thing at hand, a kind of apricot preserve!"
📍 I read this while on my own (not at all secret) mission to Tashkent. Like Bailey I also made my way to Samarkand, but sadly not Bukhara this time. No one was taken out and shot. We're all still trying to figure out what the Bolsheviks are up to.
"I was in many ways glad to leave Shushtar. I had taken over a species of blood feud from my predecessor and three murderers had a few days before entered the town with the avowed intention of murdering me. The narrow streets made murder very easy."
Luckily, there's a need to send someone on a secret and dangerous mission into Soviet Turkestan, specifically to Tashkent, to find out what the Bolsheviks are up to.
✏️ Bailey is the epitome of Great Game agent. Traveling from British India into what we now call Uzbekistan, he spent more than a year dodging discovery, including by getting himself hired by the Cheka as a spy. The Bolsheviks had lost 15 spies in Bukhara and Bailey, under an assumed identity, took the job to get to the city and through it out of Turkestan -- with a stop in Samarkand en route.
"Still I had to see Samarkand."
❤️ This book was unexpectedly funny, often darkly so (I should have counted how many times a new name exits the text with a variation on the phrase "and then he was taken out and shot"). There's a wryness to Bailey's recounting of his journey that comes off as humor to me.
"The Kaznachei wishing to speak to the Amir about me and, not knowing how to bring the matter up (confound these unapproachable autocrats!) told him that his 'two guests', Awal Nur and Kalbi Mohammed, were leaving and that I had ordered them to buy six horses."
His asides about collecting butterflies are hilariously random to me, too.
The book has to read for what it is: the travels of a British Imperial agent, with all the defense of empire you'd assume comes with it. It had some interesting connections to the last book I read (Let My Country Awake) a history of Indian would-be revolutionaries in the US around this same time.
But Bailey is also, at times, quite complementary to locals (well, those who helped him more so than others) and he includes a decent plov recipe in the text. There is an appropriate level of respect for local cuisine and architecture, too.
"We returned to the railway station about ten o'clock but the train did not start till five in the afternoon, and we might have made a leisurely tour of all the wonderful sights instead of hurrying through Tamerlane's capital."
And somehow he managed to bring his dog Zep on this whole adventure?
👥 Any Central Asianist should really read this. But also people interested in spycraft, especially in the early 20th century, would find this super interesting.
"In our model there was a badge of some kind in front of the cap. This we fudged by sticking on a piece of white paper over which was a piece of brown paper. We had no paste so these were temporarily fixed for the purpose of the photo with the only sticky thing at hand, a kind of apricot preserve!"
📍 I read this while on my own (not at all secret) mission to Tashkent. Like Bailey I also made my way to Samarkand, but sadly not Bukhara this time. No one was taken out and shot. We're all still trying to figure out what the Bolsheviks are up to.
September 18, 2024
A fascinating story if you are interested in the British-Russian "Great Game" and Central Asia. Bailey took on mythical proportions, especially with the Soviets, after his visit to and flight from Tashkent and Bokhara. It's not 100% clear what he actually accomplished, cut off from communication with London for most of his time in Central Asia, but the story and his recall of names and places is amazing.
Unfortunately Roger Tredwell, Bailey's friend and fellow prisoner in Tashkent, does not appear to have written a book. That would be a good companion to this.
Unfortunately Roger Tredwell, Bailey's friend and fellow prisoner in Tashkent, does not appear to have written a book. That would be a good companion to this.
March 18, 2025
This is the journal of an English explorer and it is incredibly fascinating. The way he describes his adventures, and the vivid descriptions of the settings in Central Asia were beautiful. I felt like I was transported back in time. Although the book was at times slow, the overall read was very fun and informative. The images in the middle of the book really help set the scene as well.
Crazy to think that we can now get to distant places in a day, whereas Bailey had to travel for weeks to get to the same location.
Crazy to think that we can now get to distant places in a day, whereas Bailey had to travel for weeks to get to the same location.
March 8, 2024
Classic great game true story set mostly in what is now Uzbekistan in aftermath of WW1 and amid ongoing Bolshevik revolution. Derring do, spycraft and regional insight. An entertaining bedtime read.
August 11, 2024
Interesting read about a very foreign time and place, written in a slightly understated British style. It would be interesting to know what isn't being said in this book: eg where does he get all the money?
November 28, 2014
Back in 1918 Great Britain was engaged in the WW1, and yet early in 1918 nothing was entirely on Britain's favour. In March, Bolshevik leaders signed the Brest-Litovsk treaty, effectively ending Russia's involvement in the war. This meant a big blow for the Entente interests, removing a second front that had many German soldiers committed to.
During the course of the war Russia had made thousands of prisoners from the Central Powers armies, and they were all scattered across the Russian lands. Fearing that with the new treaty all these soldiers might get back to their former armies and streghten its enemies, Britain deployed many secret agents along Russian to prevent that from happening.
One of these agents was Frederick "Eric" Bailey. At the beginning of his career he first worked for the British secret services. A capable man, he was fluent in several Central Asian languages, and just the right person to take on a mission to Tashkent. This book I'm reviewing now relates that mission of his.
According to Bailey, he was sent to Tashkent to make three requests to the Bolsheviks authorities; that is the numerous Austrian prisoners of war ought to be controlled, cotton (essential constituent of war munitions) ought not to be sold to the Central Powers and Bolshevik authorities ought to stop harassing British citizens in Turkestan.
That was all Bailey was willing to concede as far as his mission went. After he made these three requests he stayed in Tashkent, observing events and meddling with internal affairs. It was then when Bolsheviks thought he might have been an agent provocateur and decided to arrest him.
After his arrest, Bailey realized he was not safe anymore and resolved to make it to the mountains in an effort to disappear from the city. Disguised as an Austrian prisoner of war, he wandered for as long as one year in Tashkent and its surroundings. And this is where his story starts to smell.
If he was on a mission to influence Bolshevik authorities to make decisions on a certain direction, why was he hiding?. If he was in fear of getting shot as he stated multiple times in the book, why did it take him more than one year to decide to go on the run and leave Turkestan?. Could that not be the reason that he was up for something else? That his truly purpose was to cause unrest in the area?
Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since these events took place. And it's common knowledge that during the Russian Civil War Britain was on the side, and actively supported the White Russians.
So we are left with a wishy-washy story, with very little of the so promised intrigue that so pompously this book is supposed to offer. As most of the recollection of the events have to do with Bailey's wanderings.
One thing is of interest though. Bailey's account gives us a picture of the Russian Revolution proceedings in such a distant land from Moscow as Turkestan. A lot has been written on the Russian Revolution, especially about its development in Russia's biggest cities. With Bailey's story, we will get to know how these events affected the citizens of Turkestan. No matter how biased Bailey was.
Unimpressive work at any rate.
During the course of the war Russia had made thousands of prisoners from the Central Powers armies, and they were all scattered across the Russian lands. Fearing that with the new treaty all these soldiers might get back to their former armies and streghten its enemies, Britain deployed many secret agents along Russian to prevent that from happening.
One of these agents was Frederick "Eric" Bailey. At the beginning of his career he first worked for the British secret services. A capable man, he was fluent in several Central Asian languages, and just the right person to take on a mission to Tashkent. This book I'm reviewing now relates that mission of his.
According to Bailey, he was sent to Tashkent to make three requests to the Bolsheviks authorities; that is the numerous Austrian prisoners of war ought to be controlled, cotton (essential constituent of war munitions) ought not to be sold to the Central Powers and Bolshevik authorities ought to stop harassing British citizens in Turkestan.
That was all Bailey was willing to concede as far as his mission went. After he made these three requests he stayed in Tashkent, observing events and meddling with internal affairs. It was then when Bolsheviks thought he might have been an agent provocateur and decided to arrest him.
After his arrest, Bailey realized he was not safe anymore and resolved to make it to the mountains in an effort to disappear from the city. Disguised as an Austrian prisoner of war, he wandered for as long as one year in Tashkent and its surroundings. And this is where his story starts to smell.
If he was on a mission to influence Bolshevik authorities to make decisions on a certain direction, why was he hiding?. If he was in fear of getting shot as he stated multiple times in the book, why did it take him more than one year to decide to go on the run and leave Turkestan?. Could that not be the reason that he was up for something else? That his truly purpose was to cause unrest in the area?
Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since these events took place. And it's common knowledge that during the Russian Civil War Britain was on the side, and actively supported the White Russians.
So we are left with a wishy-washy story, with very little of the so promised intrigue that so pompously this book is supposed to offer. As most of the recollection of the events have to do with Bailey's wanderings.
One thing is of interest though. Bailey's account gives us a picture of the Russian Revolution proceedings in such a distant land from Moscow as Turkestan. A lot has been written on the Russian Revolution, especially about its development in Russia's biggest cities. With Bailey's story, we will get to know how these events affected the citizens of Turkestan. No matter how biased Bailey was.
Unimpressive work at any rate.
November 1, 2019
This is a great travel book and also a great history book. It's an extraordinary narrative of Bailey's time in Central Asia at the end of the first world war, but also - more significantly - during the Russian revolution. The first half of the book gives a fascinating insight into how the revolution affected the lives of the people on its periphery 2000 miles from the centre.
Bailey never describes himself as a spy but that is certainly how the Bolshevik authorities saw him. We follow him through the tangled life he led in Tashkent, sleeping in a different house every night to avoid their searches. When he eventually escapes Tashkent his story is a fascinating tale of hardship and survival in the desert as he makes his way with his small group to the safety of Persia.
Three times he loses the notes for the book, each time having to rewrite from memory. Yet he does this and tells his story with modesty and charm.
I read this book in a Folio Society hardback edition that I picked up for £5 in a second-hand book shop. This edition includes evocative photographs not present in the paperback.
Bailey never describes himself as a spy but that is certainly how the Bolshevik authorities saw him. We follow him through the tangled life he led in Tashkent, sleeping in a different house every night to avoid their searches. When he eventually escapes Tashkent his story is a fascinating tale of hardship and survival in the desert as he makes his way with his small group to the safety of Persia.
Three times he loses the notes for the book, each time having to rewrite from memory. Yet he does this and tells his story with modesty and charm.
I read this book in a Folio Society hardback edition that I picked up for £5 in a second-hand book shop. This edition includes evocative photographs not present in the paperback.
March 10, 2014
Don't you hate it when you infiltrate the enemies spy service and then they send you to find and arrest yourself?
Well that really happened to this British diplomat who spent a significant amount of time dodging the Bolsheviks in Teshkent who probably would have killed him if they caught him. It's great being reminded about the horrors of communism every once and again as it's easy to forget how terrible it must be to live under such social agony. For instance, he mentioned a couple who were arrested. He was sentenced to three years in prison for saying something negative about the state. The wife was sentenced to a year in jail for failing to denounce him when he said it. How would you like to live in a society like that?
This takes place from 1918 to 1921ish.
Well that really happened to this British diplomat who spent a significant amount of time dodging the Bolsheviks in Teshkent who probably would have killed him if they caught him. It's great being reminded about the horrors of communism every once and again as it's easy to forget how terrible it must be to live under such social agony. For instance, he mentioned a couple who were arrested. He was sentenced to three years in prison for saying something negative about the state. The wife was sentenced to a year in jail for failing to denounce him when he said it. How would you like to live in a society like that?
This takes place from 1918 to 1921ish.
August 28, 2013
A very enjoyable read. I first stumbled across Bailey in Hopkirk's Setting the East Ablaze, and greatly enjoyed taking the time to detour into his "source material". As a story or tale I'd rate this five star, as a piece of writing, good but not overwhelming, hence the overall four star. Bailey's first hand account of Tashkent during the Bolshevik takeover is fascinating, and his subsequent escape through Bokhara to Persia a nice adventure tale in and of itself, told with the occasional terse and wry humor of a British explorer/spy/diplomat of this era.
August 30, 2018
I happened upon this book while scouring the library for background reading before a trip to Uzbekistan. It's a wild, swashbuckling, and apparently ~genuine, double- and triple-agent first-person spy thriller ranging far and wide across the shifting boundaries of the British Empire. A bit dated in language, but once you get past that it's good fun.
July 22, 2014
Very interesting read. Historical non fiction, recounts the adventures of this spy as he travels to Tashkent on his mission. I enjoyed this recount as it describes an era of the past, no modern technology or transportation a window into a secretive world that existed before my birth and exists no more. Wonderful. Will read again.
February 12, 2013
This is a riveting tale of the competition between Russia and Britain during the early 1900's for control of Central Asia known as the "Great Game." A very well written account by one of Britain's key players.
June 18, 2013
Fascinating memoirs of the great game - with a generic string narrative of the hobbit - all on a journey with no destinations or aims, but with loads of characters changing their disguises, in and out of doors at a dizzying rate.
January 2, 2016
A masterpiece of last-ditch victorian confidence as the true story of a British secret agent being hunted across Central Asia unfolds amidst the strange clash of civilisations as Russian colonies become top-down socialist entities while ignoring the desires of the native populations.
December 5, 2017
Real life "Great game" adventures by Colonel Bailey. Writing style slightly clunky and a bit too slow-paced for my liking. Overall an admirable effort, but too little actually happens to keep it interesting.
May 8, 2020
A gripping tale of intrigue and politics inside the great game. Gives an insight into the daily lives of people in the transition to Bolshevism and also the grander picture of power shift at the time. Has some slower parts or it would be 5 star.
December 20, 2021
Very interesting memoir of the author's time in Central Asia during & shortly after WWI. While his writing style is less than enthralling, what he was writing about was fascinating. His photos of the people & places he was writing about were a great addition to the book as were the two maps
Want to read
August 2, 2010Edition irrelevant.2005-06-08
July 22, 2012
Great 1918-19 romp by a British colonel/agent through Central Asia.
December 27, 2020
F.M Bailey, the Brit than knew Kazakhstan better than the Russians that tried in vain to catch him...
Amazing, historic, heroic, what a man that blended into landscape and escaped!
Amazing, historic, heroic, what a man that blended into landscape and escaped!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews