The Bottom Five

Five boyhood chums come of age, as the sun begins to set on the British Empire. Along with hundreds of thousands of their countrymen, they eagerly volunteer to fight in the ¿War To End All Wars, ¿ but soon discover that they are at the mercy of the British high command¿s antiquated tactics. The year is 1911 in the South of England. Five schoolmates wangle an invitation to a lord¿s estate and unwittingly set off a chain of events that will seal their fate in the coming World War. - From the disastrous Battle of Ypres to the butchery of The Somme. . . - From the inner sanctum of a secret Army operation to embroilment with a spy and Winston Churchill¿s ¿backroom boys¿. . . - From the doldrums of trench warfare to the unearthing of a German plot against America. . . Throughout it all, someone behind the scenes appears to be pulling strings, as these lads struggle to survive in a world of war and political intrigue. Will they survive? Or, will they be among the millions sacrificed on the altar of aristocratic pride? They are the unsung heroes of World War I. They are The Bottom Five.

Benson S. Forbes is the pen name for co-authors and married couple John Benson and Shari S. Forbes of Sherwood, Oregon. Benson grew up in England worked for the British Ministry of Defense before immigrating to the U.S. Forbes, a native of Rush County, Kansas, is an award-winning writer and editor. The Bottom Five is their first novel, first published in 2003. Other novels include Mad Cows Come Back To Bite, published in 2004, and Cracking Heads, published in 2007. The couple currently divides their time between their home in Redlands, California and their home in the country near Sherwood, Oregon where they continue to collaborate on writing works of fiction.