Tim I. GurungAyo Gorkhali: A History of the Gurkhas

I read first the introduction part of the book sitting pleasantly. Unknowingly I read 4 chapters continuously. It's really a nice book. Also it imparts very good knowledge of history.

Very well written.

This is an over-the-top, shallow account of the Gorkha people as soldiers in various battles. The book is neither journalistic, nor academic in nature. It doesn’t even have a single reference or source!! It is full of vague attributions like, “Many believe”, “It is said”, “According to many books”. The book provides no context to any of the wars being described. It is full of tedious detail about the number of Gorkha soldiers in each battle, how many died or survived without making any broader point, making the read really frustrating and futile. It’s a horrible piece of scholarship and doesn’t seem to be researched properly. Don’t read this book, you won’t be any wiser after it and would have have wasted your time.

It's ok

“Ayo Gorkhali:” The True Story of the Gurkhas by Tim I. Gurung. (Blacksmith Books) ISBN 978-988-79639-0-5“Ayo Gorkhali” – “The Gurkhas are upon you!” – is the feared battle cry of the Gurkhas, that legendry force of military men from Nepal who have served both the British and Indian armed forces with unswerving dedication and loyalty for more than two hundred years.Who has not heard of the Gurkhas? Who is not aware of their unequalled reputation for valour, for stealth and their silent lethal ability with the kukri, their ceremonial but practical, not to mention deadly, scimitar like knife? Yet who, outside of the military and their own ranks knows anything about them in depth?The answer is pitifully few. The main reason for this being that other than glamour and guts stuff pitifully little has been written – at least in English – about them, not least, perhaps because the only people with an in depth understanding of the Gurkha mindset and motivation, not to mention their origins, their history and their place in the present are the Gurkhas themselves and Gurkhas generally are not sufficiently fluent in written English to produce a publishable English language book.Tim I. Gurung is the exception. Recruited into the Gurkhas in 1980 at the age of 17 he served 13 years and left the Force aged 30 with the rank of corporal. He is the author of numerous fascinating works of fiction, largely based on the Nepalese community in Hong Kong and with “Ayo Gorkhali,” his first work of nonfiction, he opens wide a doorway into the fascinating world of the Gurkhas for all who care to explore.“Ayo Gorkhali” is a thoroughly researched masterly piece of writing, easy to read and grasp but yet presenting an in depth history of the Gurkhas, the men, their families, their actions and their place within the British and Indian armed services from the origins of the Force in 1815 to the present time. For anyone with an interest in military history or for anyone who wonders what makes a Gurkha tic “Ayo Gorkhali” has to be a must read.D. A. Barker

This was a present therefore I cannot comment here.