Many people will be vaguely familiar with the Mau Mau campaign in Kenya in the 1950s. This familiarity will likely stem from allegations of torture and the establishment of British ‘concentration camps’ which subsequently resulted in compensation totalling £20m announced in 2013.

Veterans will probably agree that there is no ‘nice’ way to conduct a counter insurgency campaign with the French in Algeria, Americans in Vietnam accused of similar excesses. At the heart of all these campaigns are ordinary soldiers fighting a brutal, fanatical and often unseen enemy. Hugh Stott has compiled all the citations for the various awards given to British and African personnel during the campaign.

Funded by the King’s African Rifles Association, the book’s cover looks, I’m afraid to say, instantly forgettable. However, a thirty second delve into the contents reveal this to be a true masterpiece. Firstly, the courage of locally recruited soldiers and police officers is outstanding as epitomised by the George Medal citation to Tribal Policeman Chege Migwe: “An armed gang of Mau Mau terrorists attacked the camp. All the armed militia ran away leaving Chege alone. He took cover and waited for the enemy to breach the fence. He then opened fire killing one. He immediately became the target for all the enemy but maintained accurate fire killing another two and wounding several others. By his calmness under fire, he caused the enemy to withdraw.”

Also outstanding is the gallantry of British soldiers, mostly national servicemen, from long dead regiments such as the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. This is wonderfully illustrated by the posthumous Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct to Private Roy Sarahs of the Devonshire Regiment. “In the incident Pte Sarahs had his left leg blown off above the knee and another soldier rendered unconscious. Despite the pain and loss of blood he decided to crawl to his company position for help. He crawled for an hour and a half before he became too weak to go any further. His wounds attracted safari ants which swarmed all over him. He decided to attract attention by firing occasional rounds from his weapon and, after two hours, help arrived. Pte Sarahs was transported to the nearest Field Hospital where he died almost immediately.” He was recommended for a George Medal but, at the time, this could not be awarded posthumously.

This is an outstanding book and a must for anyone interested in medals and citations or simply a wider understanding of an oft neglected and hard fought campaign.

This is a slim volume of just over a hundred pages giving an insight into the business practices in Gulf countries. Ed brown commanded the British Military Mission in Kuwait before a successful business career in Kuwait, Saidi Arabia and Bahrain – as such he has definitely ‘walked the walk’.

The title refers to what will succeed in the region (the rice solution) rather, than what Westerners think will succeed in their own country (the potato solution) but will not in the Gulf. The book is filled with simple advice with many of the points seeming obvious but often overlooked by outsiders. For instance, the concept of saving face is deeply embedded in the Arab psyche but, if understood, can be used to good effect to improve outcomes. I well remember teaching gun drills to a group of Middle Eastern officers. After a practical session with two of the class manning the weapon, I asked the remainder to highlight any faults. At this point a group of British soldiers would be gleefully finger-pointing (the potato solution) – but the Arabs remained silent - not wishing to denigrate their peers. The rice solution was to carry out the same drills, but as a competition, which soon had the desire to win overriding the desire to save face.

This book is literally full of gems such as the mysterious world of Wasta or influence and also has a practical guide to the five pillars of Islam which underpin life in the Middle East. Rice Solutions is a must for any expatriate considering doing business in The Gulf.