During the Second World War, Byron Farwell (1921–1999) served as a captain of engineers attached to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in the British Eighth Army area.

"As [Farwell] so artfully reconstructs it, the African front comprised a series of conflicts full of schemes and maneuvers and heroics and disasters, as the Allies sought to conquer four German colonies in the region while contending as well with other problems caused by the inhospitable climate and geography and by the presence of winged pests. History buffs, especially military, will savor every episode on every page."