In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller since its first publication in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY describes the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier. Its author has been hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.