A banners-flying, trumpets-blaring homage to one George Thomas who began life as an illiterate peasant in Tipperary, became a brigand in India, and for a shining hour achieved sovereignty over an independent principality in the Punjab. Routing untold thousands of Sikhs, Mahrattas, Moslems and Rajputs who fled in terror at the sight of the ""yelling, taunting demon-like warrior,"" Thomas pillaged scores of native villages, gathering ""taxes"" and taking even their pots and pans to cast his artillery. Notwithstanding these rampages, Hennessy will vouch for his unblemished honor and chivalry especially toward luckless native damsels whom he repeatedly rescued from ""the glare of a pitiless sun and the passions of animalistic men."" Nor does Hennessy understand why the East India Company never attempted to forge an alliance with stalwart George who would have been only too glad to conquer the entire Punjab for the Crown had he been given the go-ahead. In the finest tradition of Clive, Colonel Blimp and other subjugators of brown-skinned native hordes. . . .