Hard Lying : An Intelligence Officer on the Levantine Shore 1914–19

Lewen Weldon was mapping the desert of Egypt when the First World War broke out. A fluent Arabic speaker, he was recruited to run a network of spies and confidential agents from a steam yacht onto the Syrian coast behind Turkish lines. He took his men ashore in small boats at night, which also allowed him to land and conduct personal interviews before returning back through the surf. This vivid tale of adventure becomes eyewitness history as we encounter Armenians escaping the massacres, passionate Arab nationalists, resolute Turkish soldiers and a heroic network of Jewish volunteers. Weldon's modesty and self-deprecating Irish wit, complete with a few prejudices, take us to the vivid heart of his experience. This is a story that simply had to be told.