The Devil Soldier

An intruiging bit of obscured history within a greater event largely forgotten in the west. I knew extremely little about the Taiping rebellion, and was utterly clueless that western officers played a notable role - let alone that Fredrick Townsend Ward raised, trained, and led a large force of Chin......more

My reaction to this is mixed. First of all, that subtitle "The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China" is horribly cringe-worthy and misleading, and is contradicted by the explanation within the book. The publisher should not have used such a sensational subtitle. The events here are a......more

Well researched and well written. Caleb Carr has written a couple of well known historical crime novels, THE ANGEL IN DARKNESS and The ALIENIST. However, prior to writing those he was best known as a military historian, and this book on an American mercenary operating in Imperial China during the 18......more

Frederick Townsend Ward was born in Massachusetts in 1831. He was a fairly rebellious kid, and left school to serve aboard a clipper ship in 1847. He briefly returned to school, but left again to serve aboard another ship, captained by his father. He served in several capacities at sea throughout t......more

A fascinating biography one of the most interesting figures in the Taiping Rebellion, Frederick Townsend Ward. Ward was the American mercenary that formed the Ever Victorious Army in Shanghai and held the city by facing off against numbers several times his strength and became an indispensable piece......more