I Bought a Star

Now back in print, Thomas Firbank's memoirs about his experiences in the Second World War have achieved a classic status. The book starts in the Basque region of Northern Spain in 1938. Firhank drives his faithful Bentley car back to England. He joins the Guards regiment, with the help of a relative in London, where he buys his regimental badge (featured on the book's cover), hence the book's title, I Bought a Star. The book follows Firbank's exploits through the rigorous army training in Scotland and in North Africa. He is rapidly promoted to the rank of Major, having seen active service in Italy and the Nijmegen sector, a key strategic clashpoint located between the Netherlands and lower Rhine. This first-hand account is told with wry humor and an engaging lack of melodrama.