Flashman by George Macdonald-Fraser (1986, Paperback, Reissue)

i read this book many years ago and actually wore my copy out! fraser is brilliant. i've learned more about history from reading this series than i did in school. the footnotes are great and his allusion to other sources are very informative. fraser's assessment of the afgan outlook is as fresh (and true) today as it was 150 years ago.
a great read and he moves a plot along quickly. his cadence and sense of narative rivals the best writers of the last century.
as a footnote of my own, if you can plow through "tom brown's school days" it's a good way to start. if the book is too much, by all means find the movie of the same name and you can see harry flachman in his formative years!