Product Description

George MacDonald Fraser's hilarious stories of the most disastrous soldier in the British Army -- collected together for the first time in one volume. Private McAuslan, J., the Dirtiest Soldier in the Word (alias the Tartan Caliban, or the Highland Division's answer to the Pekin Man) first demonstrated his unfitness for service in The General Danced at Dawn. He continued his disorderly advance, losing, soiling or destroying his equipment, through the pages of McAuslan in the Rough. The final volume, The Sheikh and the Dustbin, pursues the career of the great incompetent as he shambles across North African and Scotland, swinging his right arm in time with his right leg and tripping over his untied laces. His admirers know him as court-martial defendant, ghost-catcher, star-crossed lover and golf caddie extraordinary. Whether map-reading his erratic way through the Sahara by night or confronting Arab rioters, McAuslan's talent for catastrophe is guaranteed. Now, for the first time, the inimitable McAuslan stories are collected together in one glorious volume.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21145 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Review
'It's great fun and rings true: a Highland Fling of a book' Eric Linklater 'Twenty-five years have not dimmed Mr Fraser's recollections of those hectic days of soldiering. One takes leave of his characters with real and grateful regret' Sir Bernard Fergusson, Sunday Times

About the Author
The author of the famous 'Flashman Papers' and the 'Private McAuslan' stories, George MacDonald Fraser has worked on newspapers in Britain and Canada. In addition to his novels he has also written numeous films, most notably 'The Three Musketeers', 'The Four Musketeers', and the James Bond film, 'Octopussy'. George Macdonald Fraser died in January 2008 at the age of 82.

Customer Reviews

Fraser's Best.
By now, I've read about 70% of Fraser's published work.
The Flashman series, is in a class by itself. 'Steel Bonnets' was slightly tough sledding for me. 'Quartered Safe Out Here' was excellent. But, 'The Complete McAuslan' was phenomenal. I can't really say anything better than has been said by the other reviewers.

Though the humor is subtle, I was practically rolling on the floor with tears through most of it. Having never served in the military, I can't say that I can personally relate to much of what's in the book, but, that's the beauty of it. Fraser is such an excellent writer, you don't have to be a former serviceman to get it or appreciate it! (It's as much about Scotland as the Gordons).

This book was so good I didn't want to end.

Had I read it as a teen, I probably would have run off to Scotland and tried to enlist in the Black Watch. (They're one of the few Regiments that'll take Americans...)
It's not in print in America, but I'm glad it's in print in the UK. Right after I finished it, I ordered about 4 or 5 copies for my friends over here, as gifts.

Great book!!! I can't say enough about it.

A triumph of comedic writing
Because THE COMPLETE MCAUSLAN isn't available in the Colonies, I had to spend the extra gold to get it shipped across The Pond - and it was worth every penny.

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Granted, it's actually a compendium of three works previously published over many years, but I salute Fraser's ability to sustain the level of humor from the beginning to end of his McAuslan saga.

Another of the author's remarkable talents is his ability to recreate in text a heavy Scottish dialect. After finishing, I gave the book to a colleague from Scotland, and she delightedly pronounced the dialogue authentic.

I suspect that this collection of stories, based on Fraser's reminiscences of his own stint with a Highland regiment, will entertain anyone who's ever served in the military, no matter what country or service branch. I myself spent 11 years in the U.S. Navy, and I couldn't put it down.

Absolutely first class!

Private McAuslan reviews:
See your man Fraser? Aye, wull, he's written a gey lot of books aboot Flashman, and they're stotters, so they are. But this yins different; it's all aboot his time as an officer in ra Gordon Highlanders, in ra desert, after ra war. There's some awfy guid baurs in this book, and some smashin' characters, and a wee bit canny observation, too. Ah liked it fine, but. He only got wan thing wrang; ah'm no dirty. Ra court-martial said so.