My interest in football at its highest is only ever tepid, but I don't think this is the reason I had never heard of this battalion, I think it's because they have been generally forgotten, which is a great pity. This was a fascinating book, charting the story of one of the few Scottish 'pals' battalions during the Great War. This one had at its core a large contingent from Heart of Midlothian football club, along with players and supporters from many other East of Scotland clubs. Unfortunately like many pals battalions they suffered 70% casualties on the first day of the battle of the Somme, so it made very sad reading. Alexander is to be commended for the voluminous research he conducted over many years, reconstructing the original nominal roll of the battalion, and discovering what happened to all the men. ( )