During the War of Independence, when Ernie O'Malley lay under sentence of death in Mountjoy prison hospital, some notes of his were smuggled out. Most of all, ' he wrote, I would have liked to talk about the rank and file where I found solace.' This book is indeed O'Malley's tribute to his fellow soldiers, in which he provides an account of various offensives against the British in 1920-21. O'Malley took part in three offensives and had first-hand knowledge several others, which are detailed in a unique and informed perspective in this book.