Product Description
Burma has lived under military rule for nearly half a century. The results of its 1990 elections were never recognized by the ruling junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement, was denied her victory. She has been under housearrest ever since. Now an economic satellite and political dependent of the People's Republic of China, Burma is at a crossroads. Will it become another North Korea, will it succumb to China's political embrace or will the people prevail? Michael Charney's book -the first general history of modern Burma in over five decades - traces the highs and lows of Burma's history from its pre-colonial past to the "Saffron Revolution" of 2007. By exploring key themes such as the political division between lowland and highland Burma and monastic opposition to state control, the author explains the forces that have made the country what it is today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Seems like a good introduction
I hesitated to review this book as I do not feel qualified to judge its contents completely. However, having just read a second book with a similar focus (Steinberg's "Burma/Myanmar, what everyone needs to know") and seeing that the only other review was quite critical I decided to voice my opinion. Speaking as a non-expert I found this book quite good and would rate it with four or five stars. The author is a respected scholar and the publisher is a respected press. The writing is clear and easy to understand although it is dry and academic in style. (Some of us don't mind that at all.) It touches on many things in the colonial and post-colonial era and was quite informative in many ways. It cites sources well allowing one to confirm statements easily. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Product Description
A Scholarly work on the history of Burma, this book was written consulting English, Dutch, Portuguese and native Burmese sources. The scope of this work stretches from the earliest time till the first Burmese war in 1824. The book offers a chronology of the history from 500 AD up to 1885. Divided into 7 chapters on Burma before 1044 AD. Next is the chapter on the kingdom of pagan or the dynasty of the temple builders (1044-1287).Chapter 3 details the Shan dominion 1287-1531 and further on come the overseas discoveries, Arakan, the Toungoo Dynasty (1531-1752) and the Alaungpaya dynasty (1752-1824). The book has to illustrations and 5 maps in colour. Nearing the end of the book are genealogical tables of the various dynasties of the Burman kings. An Appendix at the end offers interesting notes on various aspects of Burmese life such as inscriptions, Shipping, Coastlines, Drink, Irrigation, Coronation, the Temples and their builders, fire arms etc - the book was first published in 1925. From the earliest time to 1824 (The beginning of English conquest) preface by R.C. Temple. ... Read more

Product Description
The Making of Modern Burma is a history of the country from the nineteenth to early twentieth century. In a sophisticated and much-needed account, the author argues that many aspects of contemporary Burmese society are the creations of the nineteenth century when Burma fought the British and tried to modernize the country. The book will be an important resource for students and policymakers as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state, as well as for historians interested in British colonial expansion during the period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A very important book about Burma
Historian Thant Myint-U has probably become more famous for his popular history of Burma The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma. However, I think The Making of Modern Burma is far more important by a long-shot. This is a more academic work, but it contains several key insights. The most important message is that, unlike many other colonial relationships in Southeast Asia, in 1886 the British essentially destroyed all of Burma's precolonial institutions. Before colonization, Burma had a fairly strong state (at least in the central part of the country). With independence, Burma lacked any institutions or sense of nation to fall back upon - no king or similar rallying point. The book focuses on the 19th century, but this is history that will change the way you look at the country today. It really is about the making of modern Burma.

The making of modern Burma
Very interesting concise history of Konboung Dynesty'd last days. The author did explore the in depth and wrote in a perspective usually failed to look into. As a knower of Burmese history and culture, I appreciate the Author's work very much.

essential for understanding Burma
This is a good history book.It provides the reader with a fairly broad background history of Burma (describing 'traditional' (ie 18th and early 19th century) society, culture, religion, politics, etc) , then narrates in a straight forward way what the author describes as the country formative transition to the modern world - the nineteenth and early centuries, when the region which we now know as Burma was created and annexed to the British Indian empire.

Its not only about Burma though - it also about how(as the author explains in his conclusions many medium sized non-western country, which remained independent until late in the nineteenth century, tried desperately to 'modernize'(Siam, Persia, Egypt are other obvious examples) and failed - and the consequences of this failure, which in Burma's case, echos still today

It also has lots of amusing stories, annecdotes etc.Its fairly focused however on its key theme, and one wishes at times for a better view of what was going on in the Shan states and other parts of what become 'modern Burma'.

Its a good read if youre interested in either Asian or British colonial history.

a certain perspective
This is a good history and the author obviously knows his stuff. The author's access to British records is exemplary and his knowledge of local sources and tradition is excellent. One problem - he does not see Burma's imperial domination of its neighbors as in any way problematic, while Britain's imperialism obviously is. This is contradictory and typically Burmese. If one is to look for sources of current problems, certainly Britain's inmperial rule is one of them, but so is Burma's refusal to acknowledge that it practiced - and continues to practice - the same sorts of policies over other militarily weaker peoples.

opens up new perspectives on Burma
I really enjoyed this book. I'm familiar with Asian history, and have read bits and pieces about Burma, most recently various articles in the press about the political situtation there today. But this book, as the first 'new history' of the country in a long time, forces us to think about Burma today in a very different light. What it does most of all is open up Burma's almost unknown recent past, the 'kingdom' of Burma that was lost a hundred years ago, and then examines the ways in which that loss has been felt ever since. Far from being an isolated hermit kingdom, Burma in the nineteenth century was an ambitious, modernizing state. The mystery of why the British then sought not only to annex this state but to turn it upside down, is a central theme of this book. Also, its full of great stories and anecdotes for anyone interested in British colonial history. I hope this book will help educate people who are concerned about the troubles in that country, but dont really have the historical background to really analyse the situation properly. If you're worried that it will be too academic, its not, its a fairly easy and often entertaining read. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (19)

The River of Lost Footsteps: A personal Histroty of Burma
This is one of the best historical books I have ever read in my life. As a matter of fact. I purchased two books. Before completing the first one I gave it to my friend who like me was also born in Rangoon.

During 1942 when I was five my parents had left me to study in India with my grandfather but three times I had visted my parents in Rangoon during my vacations before I came to America for further studies. While I was still in Iowa, during 1964 my parents, my brothers, and my sisters had come back to India but no one knew the real reason why general Ne Win deported so many of them from Burma. My initial reason was to determine what was his real motive. Searching through various pages I landed on 296 which has the the real reason. Briefly, his coal business in Rangoon had turned sour when he could not compete with some coal merchants from India. Thus, for him revenge was the only answer and he accompished it after comimg to power.

I strongly recommend this book to those who are born in Burma or those who have roots in Burma. Thant Myint-U has done extensive search to write this book for those who are curious about Burma and those who are there seeking democracy. My hats off to those students who had given up their lives seeking freedom for their country, those around the world who are supporting that cause for Burma, and Aung San Suu Kyi who is optimistic about getting democracy in her country.

Rashmi

A scholarly history of how Burma has been ruled and fought over for centuries
Thant Myint-U is the grandson of former U.N. Secretary General U Thant, and he, like his grandfather, is a diplomat with the U.N.This book is a scholarly, dispassionate, informative review of the history of Burma from ancient days (its founding by an ancestor of the Buddha from the Shakya clan) to its modern (if you can call it that) days as a military dictatorship.It might be called realpolitik in its outlook, and indeed, the author's final word is to call for a lifting of sanctions and an end to isolation, which he feels would bring modernity and new ideas into the country, accompanied by a weakening of the junta's control.It's very convincing.However, the end felt a bit bland to me; he deals with the democracy movement and Aung San Suu Kyi herselfin a flat, emotionless way.Buddhism as a cultural force is similarly given little mention.Perhaps this is the author's route to be acceptable to even the Generals of Myanmar.But one could also make the case for strong, multilateral sanctions by all parties; clearly, the author sees this as unrealistic, and really doesn't mention it.What seems absolutely necessary (and this the author does mention) is that any new investment in Burma must come with strong ethical principles, to supportsocial institutions that can build community.Overall, a very thoughtful book that should be considered foundational for anyone interested in Burmese history, culture and politics.

The best historical analysis of Burma the golden
Post colonial Burma hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons.During colonial times Burma has more recognition, though shamefully it was treated as a part of India from full colonization until 1935.Even little Sri Lanka always had a separate government quite divorced from the Indian administration.

This book is part ancient history, part modern history and also semi autobiographical weaving in the author's own involvement through his Burmese UN Secretary General grandfather U Thant, and his lineage to the last king of Burma Thibaw, leading to U Thant's relationship to Burma's last popular Prime Minister U Nu and rise as secretary general of the UN.

What were the mistakes and events that made Burma a modern basket case for a military dictatorship given it was a land full of potential in agriculture and natural resources with a theoretical head start under British imperialism?Surprisingly the author does not blame the British except in a subtle way, starting with Randolph Churchill to whom the takeover of Burma was an electoral ploy with disastrous consequences for its history.

This book is quite gripping and describes the entity that is Burma from its very beginnings to its peoples and diverse regions.I don't think the book pays enough attention to the relationship Burma had to Sri Lanka.Southern Buddhism more likely came to Burma from Ceylon rather than South India along with a number of cultural influences placed in South India.This aside, the book charts the rise of militaristic kings who were the bane of neighboring states like Thailand.The capitulation of Burma to the British in 1885 is both shameful and tragic and brought the country under Indian rule.Burma was probably treated as a backwater of the Indian empire and lost significant territory to Bengal.As a relatively successful colonial enterprise, it was a target for Japanese conquest and the country was bombed and taken over by the Japanese leaving the British shocked, stampeding back to India.Independence brought a withdrawl from the commonwealth and a slippery slope to civil war and chaos.

The writing is exciting and very moving highlighting many interesting details like a little known British Botanist Frank Kingdon Ward and how Rangood was Bombed around 1942.There is really good pace, adventure, analysis and profiling of politicians like U San and a final appraisal of the bleakness and how to cure it.Myint-U is very diplomatic at dealing with the culprits of the woes of Burma from the British to General Ne-Win who established the military government.His proposed solutions are intelligent and realistic.

This is a must read for political historians and colonial buffs about the politics of the golden land.Can't recommend it too heavily for SE Asians and interested parties from India and Sri Lanka.

Fascinating History of Burma.
This personal history brought back tears and laughter, as I was born in Burma 76 years ago and spent my childhood there until we were bombed in 1941 and my family returned to India.The account is both personal and historical, well-written and fascinating.

"Fascinating" seems like a cliche
It seems like a real cliche to say that this book is fascinating, yet that is the word that best sums up my experience reading it. Before I picked up this book I knew virtually nothing about the history of Burma. I have traveled a fair bit in SE Asia and have spent a lot of time reading the history of Thailand in particular. The overview short history of SE Asia that I read some time back completely ignored Burma which seemed totally inexplicable to me. This book goes to great lengths to explain the history of Burma from the beginning. Much of the book deals with the 19th century and the eventual British take over, ousting of the monarchy, and subsequent events. While there is definitely a good bit of personal history and familial anecdotes are included I didn't think they took away from the history of the country as it is laid out.

And the book has changed my personal opinion about sanctions and Burma policy as it has evolved over the last few decades. As much as those of us in the West would like the countries of SE Asia to be functional Western style democracies I am not sure it is fair to expect such systems to develop and evolve overnight given the starting points these places have to work with. While democratic ideals are certainly a goal to which we would want all countries and people to aspire I think we forget that Western countries' democracies have taken hundreds of years to reach the point the have achieved. To expect SE Asian countries, with little to no democratic historical contexts or institutions, to become democrat in a short period of time is not realistic. The author lays out in the final chapter how it will take some time for Burma to become a real democracy. And it rang true with me when I read it. And let's also not forget that current Western democracies aren't all they are cracked up to be either as they more and more exist for the enrichment of the already rich at the expense of the rest of us.

This neighborhood is full of countries where corruption is rife, economic and human rights are regularly abused, and the vast majority of people are barely eking out a life with little prospect of economic mobility. How do we help these people move themselves forward? Does sanctions on the Burmese government, which has itself sought isolation anyway, do anything to advance the cause of Burmese freedom? Or do they stand a better chance of a better life if we engage with them, visit them, trade with them, and try to bring them into the "family of nations"? We are always quick to punish, but is there much evidence that this punishment brings about the sorts of changes we are hoping for? ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1883, this is a comprehensive history of Burma, drawing on both Burmese written records and the narratives of European travellers and residents prior to the end of the 19th century. ... Read more

Product Description
The Burmese army took political power in Burma in 1962 and has ruled the country ever since. The persistence of this government—even in the face of long-term nonviolent opposition led by activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991—has puzzled scholars. In a book relevant to current debates about democratization, Mary P. Callahan seeks to explain the extraordinary durability of the Burmese military regime. In her view, the origins of army rule are to be found in the relationship between war and state formation.

Burma’s colonial past had seen a large imbalance between the military and civil sectors. That imbalance was accentuated soon after formal independence by one of the earliest and most persistent covert Cold War conflicts, involving CIA–funded Kuomintang incursions across the Burmese border into the People’s Republic of China. Because this raised concerns in Rangoon about the possibility of a showdown with Communist China, the Burmese Army received even more autonomy and funding to protect the integrity of the new nation-state.

The military transformed itself during the late 1940s and the 1950s from a group of anticolonial guerrilla bands into the professional force that seized power in 1962. The army edged out all other state and social institutions in the competition for national power. Making Enemies draws upon Callahan’s interviews with former military officers and her archival work in Burmese libraries and halls of power. Callahan’s unparalleled access allows her to correct existing explanations of Burmese authoritarianism and to supply new information about the coups of 1958 and 1962. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Only Reliable History of Burma
If you read nothing else in this book, read the author's introduction. She tells her story of collecting the information contained in the book from the Burman national library. Callahan really helped me to understand what the mindset of the Burman militaristic government is and how it came to power. This is the best history of Burma. ... Read more

Product Description
In 2006, Mac McClelland arrived as a volunteer in Thailand and found herself unexpectedly living with associates of a US-designated terrorist organization battling Burma's dictatorship. Her staggering story explores the world's longest-running war through her housemates, refugees who risk their lives documenting their government's secret ethnic-cleansing campaign. Intensely engaging and extraordinarily researched, For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question is an intimate account of McClelland's time among Burmese rebels--whose country, she discovers, shares surprising historical and contemporary entanglements with her own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Couldn't Put It Down ! Inspiring, Informative, and Compelling !
From the very first page, the author captures your attention and takes you on an adventure with her. Ms. McClelland certainly has a unique way with words and she continuously educates, surprises, entertains, and enlightens you. Extremely thorough in her historical research and vividly descriptive in sharing her personal interactions and experiences. I did not want this book to end. It left me definitely wanting more. I was so moved and inspired, I felt like packing a bag and volunteering in Burma much like she had. This is a must read book for everyone who cares about human suffering, peace, social justice, economic equality, and human rights.

An Unforgettable Story in a Fresh, Unique Voice
Who else writes like this? I can't remember the last time something sounded so fresh and immediate. Reading this book was like being on the phone with my smart, cool friend who just came back from the refugee camp, and hearing her unvarnished stories, raw and genuine ("I'm a queen dork." The Junta "sucks." Or this, my favorite footnote: "?!"). Which is not to say it's in the least bit juvenile or gratuitous, but that in Mac's capable hands, even the longest stretches of political history percolate along, the way your favorite professor made even the dry stuff come alive.

But what made it a page turner for me was getting to know the refugees. The people, and Mac's interactions with them, provide the warm counterbalance to the relentlessly horrific story of modern Burma. I was dying to learn what happens to them, and to the refugee camps, and Burma.

Just an utterly unforgettable book.

Alternately wrenching, hilarious, and thought-provoking
I live in the Twin Cities in MN, where numerous refugees from Southeast Asia live.While the Hmong from neighboring Laos, the ethnic Lao, Vietnamese, and Khmer from Cambodia have received a great deal of attention from scholars and at least some community members, the Karen are still a mystery to most, including myself.As I read McClelland's account, I was struck with the similarities between the Hmong and the Karen--marginalized mountain people considered outside the bounds of civilization by mainstream society, converted in significant numbers to Christianity, some siding with a Western power to their detriment, and tragically divided amongst themselves.Both continue to operate resistance movements in Thailand and have "mystically" inspired individuals carrying on the fight. Thailand once again plays the corrupt villain in this story, expediently abandoning their former allies ("After decades of complicity, cooperation and sanctuary, Thailand has told the KNU [Karen National Union], which has long been largely based there, to get out and go back where it came from"); Western countries don't seem to understand or care about the situation in Burma (though Condoleeza Rice finally eased restrictions that kept many Karen out of the US), and the UN refuses to try to exert any meaningful influence.McClelland does a fine job of alternating between devastating statistics, horrific descriptions of torture and genocide, personal accounts of her work with a small band of Karen "terrorists," and thoughtful reflections on what it all means and what, if anything, can be done about it.As others have noted, hers is a more gritty, journalistic, less formal approach that serves her story very well and certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. A sense of mourning and outrage--sometimes simply rage--justifiably simmer beneath a good deal of the narrative.McClelland's shuffling between stories about the men she comes to know so well and the broader story about the Karen people also keeps the story from bogging down and, as previously noted, keeps one from being too mired in the absolutely depressing details of the Karen people's suffering (as well as that of the Shan, the Kachin, and others) and the Burmese government's complete and utter depravity.While not for the faint of heart, this book is an excellent starting point for anyone trying to make up for the inexcusable ignorance about Burma shared by most Westerners. By the time McClelland is riding to the bus station to leave her newfound friends for the infinitely safer environment of the US, you may want to weep with her.You will certainly be reminded of the many freedoms and safeties we so blithely take for granted, and may well be haunted by the sheer precariousness of life in places like Burma.

Brutally Awesome
This was an incredibly informative book that vividly reveals the plight of the Karen refugees in Thailand and the situation in Burma. As enjoyable as it is disturbing. I can't decide who to give the book to next, so I might have to buy some extra copies to pass out. The line-by-line writing is great and reads as if Mac was telling you this story over drinks in a bar. She chooses perfect details to bring the people and places alive. I could smell the sweat and curry, and feel the heat and mosquitoes.
The balance of history, stats, and personal narrative are expertly done. Just when I couldn't take an account of the Burma situation any longer, you'd switch back to the narrative and make me laugh/cry. Mac's personal narrative helps illustrate the refugees without going off on personal tangents that distract from the main issues.

Compelling eye-opening read
This is an eye-opening account into the current life of Burma refugees and I found appealing the raw style "For us Surrender is Out of the Question" is written in.The extensively researched historical details and McClelland's candid personal stories make the book genuine and authentic. The deeply affecting stories and people I cannot forget.It is unusual to find such a compelling read and history lesson in one book. ... Read more

Product Description
Charting the whole Burma war, this book flows like a novel from the high command to the sharp end setting out a myriad of facts and considerations in a clear and coherent narrative. Ranging far beyond pure military history the story is multi-layered, combining objective analysis with a sensitive account of human reaction in the face of bitter, cruel warfare, disease and an inhospitable terrain. Military events are painstakingly detailed, and set in their political and cultural context. Equal attention is paid to both sides of the conflict and the insights made into Japanese plans and responses make the book uniquely informative, exciting and moving.

'If one had to select one book about the Burma War, this fine work is the best' Dekho, magazine of the Burma Star Association

'There will be few more thorough chronicles of World War Two's most dreaded front than Louis Allen's Burma: The Longest War' The Listener ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

WILL REMAIN THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT
"Wow... what a fantastic narrative. This is definitely one of the best narratives from WWII and certainly maybe the last word on the Burma Campaign. Here is where the Anglo-Indian army takes on the Japanese main force of 300,000 soldiers and over the span 4 years, including a decisive year-long campaign, destroys Japanese armed power in SE Asia.

This book should be recommended to anyone with a taste for good historical narratives sheer adventure and a lesson on how to write good narratives. Allen was one of the few British authors who speaks and reads Japanese fluently and also who faught in the campaign. He has been the guest of numerous Japanese veterans organisations and over many drinks, late into the night he interviewed these soldiers as to their interpretation of crucial events of the campaign. His results are truly astounding -- Mutaguchi for example, did not know the extent or the purpose of the initial Chindit operation -- but it had the unintended effect of convincing him that Japanese forces could penetrate long distances in jungle with meagre to non-existent supply lines, thus prompting him to push the Imphal Campaign up the chain of command until he eventually got his way and ended up destroying more Japanese soldiers than in any other battle of WWII.

Apparently the collapse of the Sittang River British isolating the better part of a British Division, was not known by the Japanese at the time or even after the war. This analysis from the Japanese side provides real human faces to both sides in this conflict and explains the motivations of both forces in a way rarely seen in most Far-east War and Pacific narratives. It is also an appreciation of the smartness and capability of the Japanese infantryman conveyed by a person who actually faught them.This stands in contrast to the appalling command the Japanese army put up with in this theatre. Mutaguchi was the bete noir of the piece, but the incompetence extended to staff and divisional commanders - who were either too passive in gaining their objectives, or truly fanatical to the point of gross negligence. There were of course a lot of exceptions and sympathetic commanders are named and usually sacked by Mutaguchi until he was mercifully released from command and sent back to teach in Japan.

The politics of the region and the role of the Indian National Army is described. It's actions being rather tragically employed in the battle and destroyed rather easily, ironically by their Indian brothers in the Indo-British Army.

Allan's Japanese translations are perfect and this book is as critical of the British as of the Japanese. It is a wonderful narrative or a very long and large campaign in horrific geographical dimensions that is now sadly... mostly "forgotten."

BurmaStar
Louis Allen, who was there, has captured the completeness of the longest war, the three year non-stop struggle for Burma, magnificently. This largely forgotten war, which saved the Indian sub-continent from Japanese dominance, has been well described, mostly in fragments, based on their personal experiences, by several authors but none has undertaken a complete description that encompasses both the Allied and the Japanese perspectives and Allen's work does this brilliantly.
Based on many interviews with both Allied and Japanese personnel this book captures the struggle from the initial defeat through the retreat into India to the final overthrow of the Japanese military in this large, often beautiful, and unfortunately, today mostly closed ,country.
Fought over widely varied terrain and with a savagery akin to that of the German-Russian experience this book is a tribute to the bravery of military personnel from a wide variety of backgrounds. On the Allied side soldiers from Britain, China, America, India, Nepal( Goorkas), Eastand West Africa and Burma were motivatedby excellent leadership to stop and then defeat the Japanese.
Interestingly it was to prove to be both the proudest moment and the swansong of the world's largest volunteer army---the British Indian Army. In the Burmese campaigns this army, with its mixture of races and religions form today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma truly came into its own only to be broken up two year later.
One must not forget the part played by the logistics services. Both the Allied and the Japanese forces were low in priority for equipment and at the end of a long supply chain. Much of the Allied success was due to a superior supply capability, and in particular, the concept of aerial supply was perfected in the ejection of the Japanese army from Burma.
This book is an excellent read for any student of military history if only to ensure that we never forget the Kohima Memorial inscription.

"When you go home,
Tell them of us and say.
For your tomorrow
We gave our today."

Agree on all accounts but one.
This excellent book is hard to put down but I am afraid that in going from a hardcover edition to a smaller paperback that the maps have become very hard to read.The letters are so small on some of the maps that they are nearly impossible to read.Hope the editors do something about it but I doubt it will happen.Minor flaw in a great read.

Definitive Account
This is an outstanding book that must be considered the definitive single-volume account of the campaign in Burma in WWII. The author is a veteran of the campaign in the British Army where he was an intelligence officer. What is especially enjoyable about this book is that it includes many firsthand Japanese accounts in addition to Allied. The author speaks Japanese and drew upon official Japanese histories and personal interviews with participants. I have read several other books about this often forgotten Theater in WWII ( including Viscount Slim's "Defeat Into Victory" ), but this is the first book that includes Japanese sources. The author starts with the Japanese invasion of Burma and discusses the political situation in Burma prior to the invasion and how the Japanese used this to their favor. It includes the retreat of the British into India, their recovery, the British offensive in the Arakan, and Wingate and the birth of the Chindits. The author goes into great detail about Kohima-Imphal and this is where the Japanese perspective is so interesting. It follows with battles of North Burma and Stillwell, Mandalay/Meiktila and the race to Rangoon and the Japanese breakout of the 28th Army and then the surrender of Japanes forces.The book has good maps and it is not to difficult to follow forces on the battlefield. The most daunting task is trying to remember the Burmese and Indian names for places and trying to remember all the names of the Japanese sources and officers. But all this helps to add to the authenticity of the book.This book is a must read for anyone interested in WWII. It is well written, easy to read and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

Definitive Account
This is an outstanding book that must be considered the definitive single-volume account of the campaign in Burma in WWII. The author is a veteran of the campaign in the British Army where he was an intelligence officer. What is especially enjoyable about this book is that it includes many firsthand Japanese accounts in addition to Allied. The author speaks Japanese and drew upon official Japanese histories and personal interviews with participants. I have read several other books about this often forgotten Theater in WWII ( including Viscount Slim's "Defeat Into Victory" ), but this is the first book that includes Japanese sources. The author starts with the Japanese invasion of Burma and discusses the political situation in Burma prior to the invasion and how the Japanese used this to their favor. It includes the retreat of the British into India, their recovery, the British offensive in the Arakan, and Wingate and the birth of the Chindits. The author goes into great detail about Kohima-Imphal and this is where the Japanese perspective is so interesting. It follows with battles of North Burma and Stillwell, Mandalay/Meiktila and the race to Rangoon and the Japanese breakout of the 28th Army and then the surrender of Japanes forces.The book has good maps and it is not to difficult to follow forces on the battlefield. The most daunting task is trying to remember the Burmese and Indian names for places and trying to remember all the names of the Japanese sources and officers. But all this helps to add to the authenticity of the book.This book is a must read for anyone interested in WWII. It is well written, easy to read and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
After careful re-reading and analysis of original Old Burmese and other primary sources, the author discovered that four out of the five events considered to be the most important in the history of early Burma, and believed to have been historically accurate, are actually late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century inventions of colonial historians caught in their own intellectual and political world. Only one of these is a genuine indigenous Burmese myth, but it too has been embellished by modern historians. The author discusses each of these five myths and concludes with an assessment of the current situation in Burma in the context of the new myths springing up today, thereby bringing the thirteenth century into the twentieth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting --but the bulk is for scholars only.
Although this work is clearly intended for readers with a level of Burma scholarship much higher than mine, and I cannot judge it properly, in the absence of any other reviews, I hope to provide a description of the book so that other potential buyers may judge its worth to them personally more fully.

The author is a Burma historian who argues that several key events in Burmese history as it is traditionally told in the English language lack evidence. He argues that these events have been created or substantially reworked to serve the views and interpretive framework of several early European scholars of Burmese history, including G.H. Luce in particular. Although the arguments appear well done, unless one has a substantial knowledge of early Burmese history, and is familiar with the events discussed, this work is difficult to follow. (I have a strong background in Chinese history but not in Burmese history.)

Therefore for the average reader, this work is difficult to follow throughout and discusses events at a level higher than many who might at first have an interest in the work.

In the concluding chapter however, things pick up substantially as the author begins to argue that the same myth-making apparatus is being used to interpret and provide a framework for modern events including the 1962 coup, the career and life of Aung San and the events of the life of Aung San Su Kyi, his daughter and Nobel prize-winner.

For many, despite the in-depth analysis shown in the bulk of the book, unless one is familiar with early Burmese history, it might be just as well to simply read this concluding chapter. An interesting read, but with a limited audience. ... Read more

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Seventy minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese forces launched the invasion that in five months rolled unstoppably across the whole of Burma. In March 1944 the Japanese commander stood on the border to India, his eyes bright with the vision of marching in triumph into Delhi. What followed was the ten-week long siege of the border town of Imphal and the biggest defeat the Japanese Army ever suffered. Then the Allied forces turned on their ruthless enemy and drove him southward to the sea even more rapidly than he had advanced in 1942. By mid-June 1945 the Japanese Army in Burma was completely disorganized and destroyed. Of the 300,000 Japanese soldiers who swaggered into Burma, only 118,000 ever returned home.

It is surprising how little the Burma Campaign is known in Canada, and even more surprising how little is known of Canadians involvement in it. In the air Canadians flew fighter planes that conquered Japan's Oscars, Zekes and Zeroes and manned the bombers that broke the back of the River Kwae Railway. Two RCAF pilots salvaged the wreckage of a light plane and used it to rescue British soldiers wounded two hundred miles behind enemy lines. A Canadian was in charge of the mules for one of the Wingate's Chindit columns. It was a Canadian pilot who discovered the Japanese fleet steaming toward Ceylon. A Canadian doctor laboured day and night to save the wounded in the flight from Burma and in the siege of Imphal and ended up as personal surgeon to the last Viceroy of India. The Burma Campaign was almost completely supplied by air and Canadian crews flew more than one third of those supply missions.

Canadians were awarded more than 150 decorations for merit and bravery in Burma, including one Victoria Cross. Approximately 8000 Canadians served there and 500 of these gave their lives in the Burma Campaign. For Your Tomorrow tells the story of the Campaign and of the Canadians who fought in it.

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Through festering jungle and across burning plains to high mountains and lazy rivers, the Burma campaign of the Second World War involved the longest retreat in British history, and the longest advance; long-range penetration miles behind enemy lines, vicious hand-to-hand fighting, and the horrors of forced labour. The Figureheads of the campgain were singular characters like Slim, Mountbatten, Stilwell and Wingate. While its ranks were dominated by ordinary soldiers gathered 'like a whirlpool from the ends of the earth': from Britain, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West, East and South Africa, but overwhelmingly, from India. Jon Latimer draws these disparate strands together in a gripping narrative that encompasses everything from the widest political developments to detailed tactical operations. His focus is the experiences of thousands of ordinary people whose lives were transformed by this south-east Asian maelstrom, many of whom feel that they were forgotten. Burma ensures that none of them are. ... Read more

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Excellent historical text
Although the country itself is larger than France, the Burma campaign of World War Two has remained poorly documented. Like the Russian front for Germany in Europe, Burma proved to be a step too far for the invading Japanese force, but not before inflicting terrible casualties and destruction on the country.

Written as a narrative, Latimer outlines the basics of the war in Burma, from Imperial British roots, through to Japan's eventual surrender, but lets the men who actually fought there fill in the details. Using diary entries and interviews, Latimer paints a picture of the incredible horror, boredom and occasional humour of war, and the awful conditions endured by soldiers. For example, a soldier in the town of Phek described the natives carrying a headless Japanese body "...like a trussed pig, jolting and swaying." The victim had raided the village, but then fallen sick with dysentery. Such was the nature of war, the British would pay the natives in salt for any enemy equipment or heads. Another British quote describes how the heat caused severe sweat rashes, which became infected and bled.

The conflict is often thought of as a war between the Japanese and British, but huge numbers of natives and immigrants, speaking over 120 languages, fought on both sides of the conflict, for any number of reasons. Natives were often forced into labour for both sides. The Japanese struggled to build a railway link from Thailand to northern Burma, as preparation for an invasion of India. The British had suffered heavy defeats, but the rugged and unforgiving Burmese landscape aided their struggle to slow the Japanese advance, which eventually slowed to a bogged down stalemate. The Japanese were never defeated in Burma, but neither were they fully victorious.

Latimer presents a human side in this book, which is shocking and real, even sixty years after the war. His style is easy to read, unlike many academic texts. The detail of the various battles and personalities of the war in Burma is backed up with highly detailed maps, a number of photos, and almost 200 pages of footnotes and bibliography. ... Read more

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A major contribution to the literature on Burmese history and politics, this book traces the rich and tragic history of the Mon people of Burma and Thailand, from the pre?colonial era to the present day. ... Read more

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Late in 1940, the young men of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment stepped off the trucks at Camp Bowie in Brownwood, Texas, ready to complete the training they would need for active duty in World War II. Many of them had grown up together in Jacksboro, Texas, and almost all of them were eager to face any challenge. Just over a year later, these carefree young Texans would be confronted by horrors they could never have imagined.

The battalion was en route to bolster the Allied defense of the Philippines when they received news of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Soon, they found themselves ashore on Java, with orders to assist the Dutch, British, and Australian defense of the island against imminent Japanese invasion. When war came to Java in March 1942, the Japanese forces overwhelmed the numerically inferior Allied defenders in little more than a week.

For more than three years, the Texans, along with the sailors and marines who survived the sinking of the USS Houston, were prisoners of the Imperial Japanese Army. Beginning in late 1942, these prisoners-of-war were shipped to Burma to accelerate completion of the Burma-Thailand railway. These men labored alongside other Allied prisoners and Asian conscript laborers to build more than 260 miles of railroad for their Japanese taskmasters. They suffered abscessed wounds, near-starvation, daily beatings, and debilitating disease, and 89 of the original 534 Texans taken prisoner died in the infested, malarial jungles. The survivors received a hero's welcome from Gov. Coke Stevenson, who declared October 29, 1945, as "Lost Battalion Day" when they finally returned to Texas.

Kelly E. Crager consulted official documentary sources of the National Archives and the U.S. Army and mined the personal memoirs and oral history interviews of the "Lost Battalion" members. He focuses on the treatment the men received in their captivity and surmises that a main factor in the battalion's comparatively high survival rate (84 percent of the 2nd Battalion) was the comradery of the Texans and their commitment to care for each other.

This narrative is grueling, yet ultimately inspiring. Hell under the Rising Sun will be a valuable addition to the collections of World War II historians and interested general readers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Adds a new dimension to the story
I agree with the other reviewer that there is a certain "something" missing from this narrative and that the story would have been enriched if the author had not relied solely on secondary sources.Having said that, this book fills in a lot of the gaps in the story of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery and their experience as the "Lost Battalion."The details on their pre-war experiences after being federalized and the story covering their journey across the Pacific and into combat on Java is well detailed.This is a story that deserves to better known and I appreciate the author doing his part.

Good Story - Not Quite Up to Par
I've probably read 50 - 60 books, mostly autobiographies, about POWS of World War II. Some are self-published, some are best-sellers, some are excellently written and some struggle. The story of our young men and what they had to endure, mostly at the hands of the Japanese is inspiring. Hell Under the Rising Sun had an interesting quirk to it, the fact that this was a Texas National Guard artillery unit, many of them had grown up together, got called up and then were captured almost before they even got into the war. I'm glad Kelly Crager elected to do this story. I feel, however, the book lacks SOMETHING although it's hard to figure out. There's a lot of redundancy, telling the reader the same thing several times such as "this camp is worse than the last one". After we've been told that once, we don't need to keep being reminded.I caught myself skipping over much of it. I never felt I really got "close" to the men the story was about. I think it might have helped if Mr Crager had been able to interview any remaining survivors himself to get a better feel. I also felt as if Mr Crager dwelt a little too much on the popular belief today that veterans never recover from their service during war time. The things these men went through was horrendous but research has actually proven that almost all returned to long, active, productive lives. I would have l liked to have more of that aspect pointed out. Also, and the most disturbing, I don't think I've ever read a book about POWs where there wasn't some mention of their faith in God.In the nearly 60 books I have in my library on this subject, I believe the men's religious faith is mentioned in all of them. That was such a part of the lives of families in the 1930's and 40's that I wonder why it wasn't even mentioned among the Texas boys or was it something not deemed necessary to include by the writer, the editor or whomever at least once or twice. Reading through the book I suspect this was a dissertation for an advance degree rather than an urgency to tell the story of the men. It was somewhat well researched (note the pages and pages of notes and bibliography but with no interviews by Mr Crager himself), awkward to read but I'm still glad Mr Crager put the words to paper. It did leave me with an urge to edit though! I would recommend it to anyone who had a friend or family member in the 131st Field Artillery Regiment or the USS Houston, you need to know all you can. ... Read more

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‘No ordinary travel guide…a must read.’—WanderlustWhat is the truth about life in Burma? Elena Jotow and Nicholas Ganz’s candid guide to this troubled but beautifulcountry offers a refreshing, often trenchant insight into its turbulenthistory and present struggles as well as its most impressive sights andthe remarkable warmth of the Burmese people. For travelers, would-be travelers, and anyone curious to know more about thiswonderful country and the vitality of the people’s resistance to thecurrent regime, this book is required reading.

• Unrivaled insight into this guarded, largely unexplored country
• Over 250 photographs
• Maps of the relevant divisions and states
• History, the regions, ethnic peoples and key historic and cultural spots

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The book challenges the orthodox argument that rural populations which abandoned self-sufficiency to become single commodity producers, and were supposedly very vulnerable to the commodity price collapse of the 1930s Depression, did not suffer as much as has been supposed. It shows how the effects of the depression were complicated, varying between regions, between different kinds of economic actors, and over time, and shows how the 'victims' of the depression were not passive, working imaginatively to mitigate their circumstances. ... Read more

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Air-dropped supplies were a vital part of the Allied campaign in Burma during World War II. The transportation ofmunitions, food and medical supplies was undertaken in the most difficult situations, both on the land where the air bases were often situated in remote tropical jungle terrain and in the air when hazardous flying conditions were met in the steamy airs above the carpet of forest treetops.

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The men who were to become 177 Squadron RAF assembled in India in early 1943, not knowing their destination - or their fates. Soon after they were flying repeatedly by day and by night over Burma and Siam, frequently in abominable weather, destroying Japanese transportation and infrastructure, playing an important role in the eventual Allied victory. 'Silently into the midst of things' was an appropriate motto for the 177 Squadron. Equipped with twin-engined, cannon and rocket firing Bristol Beaufighters, the pilots flew just above the jungle or the plains - too low to be detected by radar - and were often unseen and unheard until the moment of attack. No wonder the Japanese called them 'Whispering Death' ... using the squadron's Operations Record Book, his own memories and those of his colleagues, Atholl Sutherland Brown has meticulously recreated the triumphs and disasters of a group of unknown heroes - the air and ground crews of the 177 Squadron. ... Read more

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Whispering success
The Burma theatre is perhaps unjustly overlooked by many reading about WWII most probably because of the mass of material available on the Pacific and European theatres.Fortunately, among those masses, there are gems like this book that make valuable contributions to recording the history of the forgotten theatre.

After the war the author worked as a geologist so the opening to the book is a very informative description of the topography of Burma.Coupled with the type of flying 177 Squadron did over Burma, very low and fast, and the reader gets the impression that the author is an authority on the Burmese landscape!

The book follows the history of 177 from inception to disbandment.Equipped with Bristol Beaufighters, the author and his colleagues flew ground attack sorties day and night at very low level.The author draws on his memories, the squadron operations book and the memoirs/writings of his squadron mates to paint a vivid picture of life in 177.The drawing together of these records is the most valuable service the author has done.While my only (minor) complaint about the book is the poor quality of some of the reproduced photos (understandable that the originals might be poor given the humidity etc in Burma), the writing does more than enough to paint a picture of what these men faced on operations.

Told with some humour and an eye for detail, perhaps the last word should be left to the last words from the book:
"What enemy projectiles could not accomplish, Time's arrows have done.This is why we want to tell our story while we can."

We owe these men a great debt[...] ... Read more