Search Results for 'Rudyard Kipling'

Such were the demands on many young men, not motivated by any political ideal, or heroic pressure, to fight for their king and country in 1914, but were driven by the sense of advtenture and excitement, that war often evokes in the hearts of young men, that they queued in their thousands to answer the call to arms. If unsuccessful, due to some physical deficiency (although medical check-ups were usually just a formality), family often used its influence to gain admission to the armed forces.

Familiar authors can still spring surprises. In my case, it was an author – Rudyard Kipling – whom I had not read for many years. Although Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, there are, perhaps, few authors whose reputation and popularity have suffered such an eclipse as that of the author of Kim, Captains Courageous, and Plain Tales from the Hills. The only book of his that continues to be popular is The Jungle Book, and that, I suppose, is largely to do with the very successful Disney film of a few years back.