The West has won only one guerilla war in the period since World War II - the struggle with "Communist terrorists" in Malaysia. It became a textbook example of how to fight a guerilla war, based on political as much as military means. "The Malayan Emergency" deals with the campaign fought by British Commonwealth and other security forces in Malaysia against Communist insurgents between 1948 and 1960, and also the security action in North Borneo during the period of confrontation with Indonesia from 1962 to 1966. Both campaigns provided invaluable experience in the development of anti-guerilla tactics, and the theme of the book is therefore relevant to the conduct of similar actions which have been fought against insurgent elements since then. The book has been written with the full co-operation of various departments of the UK Ministry of Defence, and much of the material within it has until recently remained classified. Robert Jackson also discusses one aspect of the war which has never been properly covered - the role of air power, not for carpet bombing as in Vietnam, but for close support. This was especially important when Britain faced Indonesian forces in Borneo.