Dear Mr. Cornwell, Just wanted to relate a brief account of an interesting surprise I had while out shopping for a birthday present. My nephew had his birthday coming up and I dropped into the local Barnes & Noble to find an Andre’Rieu DVD set for him. As is my want, I checked out the new book arrivals and swung by the marked down books to see if anything interesting was available in hardcover at reduced price. There were a number of interesting books but one in particular caught my eye. It was Sword of Honor edited by Mike Ashley. A collection of battle stories, courage and victory (as the cover described). There were short stories from authors Joseph Conrad to John Jakes. I knew I would buy it. And then I caught in small print that you had written the introduction. Even better. I have yet to read the book as I’m now absorbed in an Alex Rutherford novel. But I couldn’t resist reading your introduction in the meantime. It’s marvellous, more like an essay on your craft if I may say so. Your thoughts and feelings concerning writing about war are much appreciated. I feel that much of what you say is implicit in your writings, especially in the Sharpe Saga. I think back to Sharpe’s Waterloo when the infantry was required to maintain the squares to ward off French cavalry and had to just stand there and take it as solid shot ripped thru them. One can never say enough about the valor of the common soldier. But I do appreciate your putting it all together. Especially when you related your experience in the Falkland Islands. War is indeed terrible, but when it brings out the best in many men while the rules go out the window it is something worth writing about. For my part, I’d just like to say that I agree with what you wrote there. David M. Dunaj