Rogue Heroes is available in the U.S. now on Epix. It’s worth running down. Based on Ben McIntyre’s outstanding narrative history of the founding of the British Special Air Service (SAS).
The casting is spot-on, especially the guy who plays Paddy Mayne. This is the work of Steven Knight, who brought us Taboo and Peaky Blinders. As with Peaky, Knight hits with a deliberately anachronistic rock soundtrack (mixed with appropriate period music). AC/DC’s If You Want Blood over an opening montage of the War in North Africa? Yeah, it works. It just does.
Knight has a special affinity for semi-mad, maladjusted, alcoholic men — who just happen to be the kind of men called for when the balloon goes up and the shit hits the fan.

It’s not all bad boys. Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blonde) portrays Eve Mansour, a French intelligence operative in Cairo.
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Samuel K. Dolan has staked out his piece of Frontier Partisan territory in the Southwest Borderlands in the early part of the 20th Century. He was gracious enough to send me a copy of his latest work, The Line Riders — and it’s excellent.
This is Frontier Partisan history done at a very high level — deeply researched, and delivered with the vivid storytelling this era deserves.
I love the material culture of the period — I sort of think of it as “Peak Frontier Partisan,” which may seem paradoxical, given that it was well past Turner’s “closing” of the American Frontier. But as Dolan so vividly illustrates, the early 20th century “liquor war” along the Border was the wildest of Wild Wests. And there’s plenty of Continuity & Persistence here — the border is still a wild frontier: As of today, the governor of Texas is deploying gunboats…
Dolan is deeply steeped in the lore and the landscape, which gives the work immediacy and power. Really good stuff.
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Stumbled across another YouTube channel that has a lot to offer to Frontier Partisans.
Canadiana is a documentary web series on the hunt for the most incredible stories in Canadian history. Featuring playful animations and scenic footage, the series follows host Adam Bunch as he travels across the country, exploring the tales that have made Canada the unique place it is today. From scandalous love triangles to secret experiments, from rebels and freedom fighters to pirates and assassins, we uncover the fascinating and the unexpected. This isn’t the history you learned in school.
And this one especially for Lane Batot:
Rick Schwertfeger says
Darn, I just saw The Line Riders at Front Street Books in Alpine, Texas, last week – as in pre-your recommendation. But I’ll get it now!
JimC says
You’ll dig it.
Clint Richards says
You, good sir, have fine taste in book stores! Front Street Books is an awesome little bookstore and a place I made sure to visit every time I was in Alpine. In fact, I think it might be the last of my Alpine haunts that is still open, since Plaine and Big Bend Brewing apparently have shuttered up. Is the Panda Buffett still open?
Rick+Schwertfeger says
Wonderful bookstore, indeed! It took great discipline to get out of there with just one book! And I, too, was very disappointed when Big Bend Brewing shut down. I even was buying their beer where it was available in Austin where I live. But they’re closed, and I haven’t heard anything about them making another attempt.
Internet search indicates Panda Buffet is still open. My wife and I haven’t eaten there yet. Reata is good, but a bit pricey. Holland Hotel’s restaurant is good also, and not quite as pricey. There’s a “new” restaurant on the way out of town heading west on U.S. 90, Spicewood, that was quite good. It, too, is a bit pricey. Three years ago I had lunch at Penny’s Diner, and it was pretty good. We went there last week, and the place has declined alot. Not recommended now.
Thom Eley says
Those partisans in the truck; someone is going to have a hell of a job cleaning that machinegun.
Paul McNamee says
Looking forward to the catching those Canadiana videos.
I loved the Tragically Hip (the first four albums, anyway.) I had no idea at the time what half their lyrics were about. But, it turns out, they were often delving into Canadian history. (though a bit more on the modern side)
https://www.cbc.ca/music/read/the-true-tragic-and-inspiring-canadian-stories-behind-gord-downie-s-best-lyrics-1.4998661
JimC says
I had no idea…