To End All Wars

Book Description

The best-selling classic of the power of love and forgiveness in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Customer Reviews:

This is how Christianity is Supposed to Work.......2007-10-02

My wife and I had watched the movie a couple months ago (be warned: it is incredibly brutal) and been moved by the power of the story. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the book and the move are not the same story. In fact, other than the similarity of the major premise (a British officer in a Japanese POW camp during WW2), they had almost nothing in common.

However. . .

That was only disappointing insomuch as I kept waiting for certain events from the movie to show up. The movie had colored my expectations for the book, which meant I couldn't take the book on its own merits. Which is too bad, because, upon completing the book, I would say it is as powerful as the movie, perhaps even more so. But you have to let the book speak for itself. The story is truly miraculous, as this band of prisoners devolve into a wild bunch of animals at the hands of their captors, only to be transformed by the Spirit of Christ into a true Community of compassion and care. Somehow, in the midst of hell, these men found the power to love each other, to care for each other, to even forgive their Japanese tormentors. When people ask "Does Christianity work?", the story of this book says "absolutely!" And in a day and age of spiteful attacks, divisive language, polarized religions and selfish money-grubbing politicians and religious leaders, there is a real lesson here about what being a True Follower of Christ is all about.

Touching and profound!.......2007-06-10

This is one of the best books I've read so far... Though it may appear repetitive at times (there's really little else the author could write about beside what's happening in the POW camps along the Kwai), the reflection on the human condition and the supreme virtue of self-sacrifice in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is poignantly and profoundly written. The epilogue is a penetrating tour de force piece of criticism on the 'civilised' society the author returned to after the war. The reverse culture shock he experienced is a haunting reminder of how that still small voice can be so easily drowned out in the cacophony of modern society.

Inspiring, well told, and true story.......2007-01-10

It's a difficult, but true message. The author takes an unflinching look at the evil that men are capable of through his own personal experience in Japanese prison camps and carries you through the experience on to the brilliant hope on the other side of his own personal pain. The underlying truth you discover is the genuine potential to be found in one man's selfless, sacrificial care for another. It's an excellent read.

Hope Makes The Spirit Unbreakable.......2006-11-17

Formally published as "Miracle on the River Kwai" and renamed to coincide with a new movie. This book was written by Ernest Gordon a Scottish Army officer who served in the South Pacific During the war.

Back Story
During that time the Japanese advanced on Singapore, and Gordon and a few other officers try to escape on a chartered sailboat. After being captured at sea, he was incarcerated and sent to a work camp in Thailand, building the infamous railway of death, where nearly 80,000 prisoners lost their life in a little over a year. This railway and the Chungkai prison camp are the real back story to the Oscar winning film "Bridge On the River Kwai."

What the classic movie doesn't tell you is the horrific condition and constant death that the builders of the bridge met with on a daily basis.

The Book
The story is a recount of Ernest Gordon's experiences at the camp and his witness to that camps transformation from what he called "the worst that man could be" to the "best that man could be."

The book starts with Gordon laying in the hospital at Chungkai, called the "Death House" by the prisoners as there was very few he came back from the hospital. Gordon then flashes back to what led him here, and then continues from that point and tells of the camps transformation. Before Gordon wound up in the hospital the camp was very much "every man for himself" animal instinct and the law of the jungle dictated who lived and who died. During Gordon's stay at the hospital while he was suffering and near death with Beriberi, Tropical Ulcers, Malaria, and Amoebic Dysentery, he propped himself up, void of hope, and penned a last letter to his parents. That was his low point. He was nursed back to health by two other POW's Dinty Moore, and Dusty Miller. Both bartered for food and medicine, cleaned his ulcers, massaged his legs to reverse the atrophy and gave him encouragement to give him the hope he needed to recover. These two men became an inspiration to the rest of the camp, and like Ernest Gordon, many started to emulate their kindness willingness to help others. Dusty Miller a devote Christian also read the bible to Gordon which inspired him. Gordon then started to hold bible studies with other in the camp; they often shared bibles that men had smuggled in. This led to a spiritual revival of the camp, where men helped each other to survive. The camp changed from a group of individuals to a community that served each other with the same love that Christ had shown them in the bible. Many more survived the wrath of the Japanese as a result of the selfless acts of the camp members, in one part of the book one enlisted soldier, admits that he stole a shovel (which he didn't) just to save the lives of his co-prisoners, that soldier was immediately beaten to death, but his sacrifice as well as others, were what changed to mood of the camp.

The Legacy
This spiritual revival, not only led to many surviving the camp, but transcended into their life after the war. Gordon's epilogue was probably the best part of the book where he paints his perspective against the backdrop of the post-war error.

"We returned to a world divided by hatreds. We thought we had come home to a world at peace; instead we found a world already preparing for the next war. Having had as much reason to hate as anybody, we had overcome hatred."

"We had seen a vision of far horizons and caught a glimpse of the City of God in all its beauty and this vision seemed to be part of a different world."

Summary
Overall the book is very interesting, and is an intriguing story of suffering and hope. Gordon's style is very easy to read, almost like he's sitting next you telling the story. The descriptions of the people and the camp are genuine and I had no problem understanding and even "knowing" many of the characters in the book.

Editorial
It's one thing read about the word of God and the acts of Jesus, it's an entirely different think to witness it first hand as Gordon does and writes about with stunning detail. If found this to be an inspiring story of the grace of God that is given, by giving up selfishness. I have learned a lot about what true Christian's look like after reading this book. If you want my opinion, Christ looked a lot more like Dusty Miller and Ernest Gordon, than the face of modern evangelical minister today.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the how God's Grace can transform the most desperate situations

Moving.......2006-10-21

This is a story of ultimate forgiveness told firsthand by Ernest Gordon. The things he and his fellow prisoners of war experienced are near incomprehensible. ...and out of such despair comes the forever life-changing love they experience through Christ, Who is the example they start to follow in showing similar self-sacrificing love and kindness to their neighbors - even to their enemies.

I saw the movie before watching the book which may have been best, as I would've been disappointed had it been the other way around (ie. The book, as many books do, goes into more detail and describes other people encountered by Ernest. For time and format reason, the movie can't cover all of this.)

Also, the book is proof that such a powerful story can be told without foul language (which is present in the movie version).

Average customer rating:

A Moving Yet Horrific Story!
a great book
Flyboys Review
My review on Flyboys
a hidden secret for years...

Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
James Bradley
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

ASIN: 0316105848
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Book Description

FLYBOYS is the true story of eight young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima.Seven of these young men were captured by Japanese troops and taken prisoner.One was rescued by an American submarine and went on to become president. The reality of what happened to the seven prisoners has remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth. Not even the families of the airmen were informed what had happened to their sons. It has remained a mystery-until now. Critics called James Bradley's last book 'the best book on battle ever written.' FLYBOYS is even better: more ambitious, more powerful, and more moving. On the island of Chichi Jima those young men would face the ultimate test.Their story-a tale of courage and daring, of war and of death, of men and of hope-will make you proud, and it will break your heart.

Customer Reviews:

A Moving Yet Horrific Story!.......2007-10-19

This is a tremendously moving, yet horrific story.

It details the lives of a handful of very young U.S. Navy pilots in the Pacific during World War II, touching on their motiviations for joining the military and their greatest fears. Among them was George H. W. Bush, who won the Navy's Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in action in the Pacific airwar.

The centerpiece of this book is the suicidal U.S. Navy attacks on the Japanese island of Chichi Jima. Located less than 200 miles from Iwo Jima the island was the home to a vital Japanese radio relay station that controlled communications between Imperial Japan and Asia. The Americans attacks were a failure and more than half a dozen U.S. pilots went down over or near the island and were captured. Almost all were deliberately executed by the Japanese defenders. Two were beheaded, two were killed with bayonets, and another was beated to death by a brutual and drunken Japanese officer with a club.

The story is based on the secret courts-martial preceedings against the Japanese officers and soldiers involved in these executions. What makes it horrific is the apparently widespread practice among some Japanese officers of eating the flesh of their victims, a practice they learned in their war with China. The livers and other body parts of four of the U.S. flyboys were consumed by several Japanese officers on Chichi Jima. Prior to the publication of this book, the exact details of the deaths of these American flyboys had been kept from their families.

This is a tale of courage and horror, of war at its ugliest, and of reconciliation between former enemies.

a great book.......2007-06-28

I thought this was a great book. It details the interesting background of Japan, covers coditions that military men had to face, and provides vivid details of the daily activities of the Flyboys themselves. This is the first military type book I've read, and I plan to continue reading them and hope they read somewhat like this one. This has done nothing but increase my interest in war stories. I look forward to reading Flags of Our Fathers shortly.

Flyboys Review.......2007-06-13

"We scorched and broiled and baked to death more people in Tokyo on that night of March 9-10 then went up in vapor at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined." This is a quote of General Curtis LeMay talking about the firebombing of the Japanese city of Tokyo.

This book is about WWII in the pacific, mostly the Americans fight against the Japanese. It is a book about 8 American flyboys that are shot down over the Japanese island of Chichi Jima. They were held as Japanese POWs until their executions at the hands of the Japanese. The fates of these 8 men were classified and unknown by everyone, even their families, until now. The book takes place mostly from 1941 to 1945. These were the years that America was involved in WWII.

My favorite part of this book was when the Japanese were fire bombed and a lot of the city of Tokyo was destroyed. This was my favorite because all the troops were really excited about it. They all saw it as revenge for Pearl Harbor. This really let me get inside the soldiers heads and figure out how they felt.

The main theme of this book is war and how it affects people. All the violence in the pacific affected everyone. It affected the natives because their homes were being destroyed n the chaos. It affected the families of the flyboys because they were shot down and the families had to hear the bad news and were devastated.
This was an excellent book. It teaches a lot about the history of Japan and the war in the pacific. Most importantly however, it tells the tales of those 8 brave pilots that gave their lives for our country.

My review on Flyboys .......2007-06-05

I thought that this book was a great story. It had a good story line, and the whole book made sense with its flow. This book really intrigues me because I am into alot of the military or shooting books. I love to read a book with a lot of action in it. Truly a great book.

a hidden secret for years..........2007-04-26

what happened to some American flyboys on the island of Chichi Jima was kept top secret for years. James Bradley in a courageous book tells us what happened. Talk about destiny, one of the few pilots that was actually saved was a young George W. Bush. The brutality of war is never easy reading, here, torture, cannibalism and secret rituals will punch you in the gut. Bradley does a good job of presenting of both sides of the story as he tries to present an even handed account of culture differences and the atrocities of war.

Average customer rating:

off key
Great Book
Amazing
Complicated and overwrought
not a pleasant read

Spandau Phoenix: A Novel
Greg Iles
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451179803

Book Description

"A scorching read."--John Grisham

From the depths of World War II, a buried Nazi secret comes to terrifying life...

"An avalanche of action. . .an incredible web of intrigue."--Clive Cussler

Customer Reviews:

off key.......2007-07-14

I love every other book he has written. This one is completely different. I may not have liked it because it wasn't what I was expecting, but I could not finish it.

Great Book.......2007-01-25

I really enjoyed this book and would have given it a 5 rating, but it was about 100 pages too long. The book gives great insight not only to WW II but it also gives insight into Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall. There were a few characters that were not necessary to the story and plot line, but Mr. Iles kept my attention throughout the overlong book. It was my 1st novel by Mr. Iles but I will definately try another.

Amazing.......2007-01-05

Its amazing what you're willing to do to pass time in the desert. Reading was never something to interest me. However, after reading Spandau Phoenix I intend to read more of Iles's work.

WWII has always been an interesting subject for me and this book is just brilliant. It educates and entertains at the same time with a believable story. The book explores the conspiracy theory of deputy fuhrer Rudolph Hess of Nazi Germany and his flight to England. It defines a master plan made by the Fuhrer himself to ultimatly control all of Europe with the help of an unlikely allie. All this and more is revealed slowely as you turn pages and get more indepth of a new secret ploy ran by a ghost from the past.

Whith so many good things to say, I did find some things to fault. There tends to be to many characters to keep track of at times, some of which roles could have been eliminated completely. As another reviewer ponited out, at the end when the character in question is faced with the question, "why?". I expected Iles to explore the reasons from the point of view of a Nazi Character. It was a dissapointment. Then again it could be brilliance not to answer "why?". Whatever happened then, whatever reasons there were, maybe its best for the dead to bury the dead.

Complicated and overwrought.......2006-03-25

Having previously read Greg Iles's "Dead Sleep" which I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be both creepy and exciting, I approached this one with a lot of eagerness and interest.

After about page 70, I was starting to get frustrated by the way the novel unfolded, but decided to stay with it. Although I was pleased to finish it, I found the story line to be overly complicated, filled with too many characters and overwrought in its execution. Things were too loose and the story although at times a bit infeasible would be of much higher quality if tightened up a bit, with more focus and less switching from scene to scene.

The subject matter was very interesting and would have been handled in a more capable manner by the likes of Ken Follett, Nelson DeMille or Frederick Forsyth.

not a pleasant read.......2006-01-22

greg iles is one of my favourite author but this book is such a downer..
i tried reading it and fell asleep twice that in the end i gave up even before reaching page 100...
if jeffrey archer was to write this story i'm sure he would;ve done a good job...
the book was too long, it;s confusing and just plain boring..
i was really dissapointed as i am a HUGE fan of his books especially blood memory and sleep no more
wish it could've been better..really do

And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance

Average customer rating:

The Power of Positive Thought and the Power of Poetry
A classic
A light not his own
light unto the darkness
The Touch of a Master's Hand

And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance
Jacques Lusseyran
Manufacturer: Parabola Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0930407407
Release Date: 1998-04-01

Book Description

Selected as one of USA Today’s 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century, this astonishing autobiography tells the gripping, heroic story of the early life of Jacques Lusseyran, an inspiring individual who overcame the limitations of physical blindness by attending — literally — to the light within his own mind. Through faith in the connection between vivid inner sight and outer events, he became a leader in the French Resistance and survived the horrors at Buchenwald.

Customer Reviews:

The Power of Positive Thought and the Power of Poetry.......2007-08-24

This is the autobiography of a blind hero of the French Resistance during WWII. Lusseyran lost his eyesight as a young boy through an accident at school, caused by a bully. But instead of sinking helplessly into darkness he gradually developed his other senses to extraordinary capacity.
When seventeen,while interviewing volunteers, willing to join the Resistance, he perceived colors when they answered questions. These colors revealed to him whether they could be trusted or not. Once, however,his friends disagreed with his recommendation. They all were taken prisoner and sent to the Concentration Camp.It was there, that the 18 year old found his second calling: Poetry. Reciting poetry by heart, he assembled the prisoners daily. The imagery had life-sustaining quality for them and a moment of renewal to all that participated. His experiences and observations there, later led him to choose to study philosophy and literature at the Sorbonne.He lectured at the various American universities until his death.
recommended additional reading by Lusseyran: "Against the Pollution of the I"

A classic.......2006-10-10

A classic study in overcoming adversity and finding hope in hopeless situations. If it were a work of fiction, we would doubt the author's credebility - but this is not fiction, this is the real life of an ordinary individual made extraordinary by the light of his saviour. It is an inspirational book and adventure action novel all in one. Rarely do we find a hero so authentic and humble as Mr. Lusseyran - and only he could share the story because only he has access to that light so necessary for the complete telling.

A light not his own.......2005-09-30

I enjoyed Lusseyran's story as a blind person who came up with a way to cope without sight. I can't imagine his life if he had remained sighted as he used his blindness to such advantage.
My favorite part is the history teachers role in the resistance. True education!

light unto the darkness.......2004-06-30

"in 1935 in a lycee in Paris..our work was divided into two equal parts: the world of today and the world of yesterday, the dreams of the ancients and the dreams of the modern man. I can't believe that was a bad thing. At least we were not in danger of falling into absurdity, so common nowadays, of confusing the era of Sputniks and Polaris rockets with the era of Genesis".

It is hard for me to categorize this book; it is a spiritual book, illuminating one man's relationship with the Spirit; it is a profound meditation on the nature of truth, morality and friendship, and it is a priceless analysis of human nature. Blindness was no impediment to Lusseyran - on the contrary, he learnt to use his senses with an uncanny precision to represent facts by creating visual imagery, to identify the motives that drive people and countries and to establish contact with the transcendental essence of all Being. "People were not at all what they were said to be, and never the same for more than two minutes at a stretch. Some were, of course, but that was a bad sign, a sign that they did not want to understand or be alive, that they were somehow caught in the glue of some indecent passion. ... It is strange that when laws men make are so ticklish in matters concerning the body, they never set limits to nakedness or contact by voice. Evidently they leave out of account the fact that the voice can go further than hands or eyes in licit or illicit touch."

This book is very valuable for its insights on the nature of blindness and sensory-emotional reorganization that accompanies it. "Blindness works like dope, a fact we have to reckon with. ...Like drugs, blindness heightens certain sensations, giving sudden and often disturbing sharpness to the senses of hearing and touch. But, most of all, like a drug, it develops inner as against outer experience, and sometimes to excess" (p.49).

I just cannot help myself from quoting from this book, it is so full of unforgettable passages. This is from the time he was caught, as a member of the Resistance, by the Gestapo: (p. 245): "One small piece of advice. IN a spot like this, do not go too far afield for help. Either it is right near you, in your heart, or it is nowhere. It is not a question of character, it is a question of reality. If you try to be strong, you will be weak. If you try to understand, you will go crazy. No, reality is not your charaqcter which, for its part, is only a by-product - I can't define it, a collection of elements. Reality is Here and Now. It is the life you are living in the moment. Don't be afraid to lose your soul there, for God is in it."

As you can see, this book was written by a remarkable man, who could "see" life and truth and humaneness better than many of his fellow men. Now, when our times in some ways resemble the late 30ies and we again seem to be descending into the darkness of ignorance, when the world is run by corrupt, greedy and cynical men who value their comfort above and beyond the dignity of their souls and happiness of their fellow men, Lusseyran's book provides a ray of light and a courage. I salute this amazing man.

The Touch of a Master's Hand.......2004-02-15

I found Jacques Lusseyran in 1969 when he became my teacher and advisor in the graduate program of French at the University of Hawaii. He also became one of my dearest friends. I lost him two short years later when he and his wife were killed on a lonely French country road in a car wreck. The terrible irony of having survived the Nazi occupation of France, as well as his betrayal, capture, torture and the final years in Buchenwald becomes self-evident as one reads this book. But more than the irony, this book portrays Jacques' great capacity for joy and hope and faith.
He taught me to have faith and hope, in God and in others, as well as in myself and in those gifts which each of us possess. I have shed many tears because I lost him. I loved him and his wife, both for what they taught me and what they gave me: joy in life and living; faith that even in the worst of human pain and suffering there is still always hope.
I have also shed many tears since then of gratitude for those two brief years of my life. And I continue our conversations about all things good and joyful through reading And There Was Light. Jacques Lusseyran and his life have changed my life and I rejoice and am grateful.

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Escape from a Siberian Labour Camp and His 3-Year Trek to Freedom

Average customer rating:

Don't even think of buying this junk
a wild ride
Amazing
As Far as my Feet will Carry me
This book was excellent, I couldn't put it down.

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Escape from a Siberian Labour Camp and His 3-Year Trek to Freedom
Josef M. Bauer
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Two Survived

ASIN: 0786712074

Book Description

Originally published in 1955, As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me has seen international success ever since. It has been translated into fifteen languages, sold more than 12 million copies, and is the basis for an award-winning German entry at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Recounting an incredible real-life adventure, it tracks the destiny of German soldier Clemens Forrell who, in the aftermath of WWII, was sentenced to twenty-five years of forced labor in a lead mine in the barren eastern reaches of Siberia. Subjected to the brutality of the camp and the climate, Forrell dreamed continuously of escape—and then daringly effected it. From East Cape across the vast trackless wastes of Siberia, for thousands of miles and three years, with fear as his most intimate companion, Forrell fled treachery and endured some of the most inhospitable conditions on earth. In a long series of taped interviews with esteemed German author Josef M. Bauer, Forrell unfolded his remarkable story of survival. Bauer not only reconstructs Forrell’s arduous journey to the Iranian frontier and freedom; he also poignantly evokes the emotional content of Forrell’s brave quest—emerging as an affecting portrait of a man who strove and triumphed against all odds.

Customer Reviews:

Don't even think of buying this junk.......2007-09-22

I was very, very dissapointed with this book. After having read the amazing story of Theodor Kröger (a German who survived not only the Tsarist prisons but also the communist gulags) I wanted more of this and so I ordered this book. But what I got was a kind of telegram-style book with so much ommisions in the story, that you wonder why did somebody write it at all. If you can't get the story right, then don't tell it. Also, this is supposed to be a non-fiction story, but the dialogues between the lead character and his captors and/or fellow-prisoners are put on paper like they were held yesterday. If you're looking for a Papillon story, you better look somewhere else. I didn't even finish the book, it was a waste of my time.

a wild ride.......2007-07-26

I found this book to be inspiring and motivational. It is the amazing tale of a daring escape and a treacherous journey across the frozen Siberian north. They only thing that disappointed me was that the ending was anti-climactic in my opinion. Just a simply amazing book, there is a reason why it has been translated in to 15 languages and sold more then 12 millon copies.

Amazing .......2007-05-07

All the superlatives belong to this tale: remarkable, daring, unbelievable, amazing, incredible, beyond belief, extraordinary. That a person could 1. escape from a Soviet labor camp, 2. in the dead of winter, 3. from the farthest eastern point of Siberia, 4. after suffering from hunger and brutal treatment for three years, and still 5. make it home to Germany safely after another three years is a story for all lovers of survival dramas. The author expertly and faithfully chronicles Josef Bauer's account without glossing over the details of what it took to survive. I didn't come to like Mr. Bauer from this telling, however, I did feel a deep respect for his perseverance and stamina. Two other books of escape and survival that I recommend even more highly are: The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz and We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance by David Howarth.

As Far as my Feet will Carry me.......2007-01-29

Incredible story of survival and the will to live.

This book was excellent, I couldn't put it down........2006-04-28

As for the other half negative reviews, like it being for a young reader, don't pay any attention to that. Obviously those reviews are written by people that can't look or think beyond their own egos nor actually try to imagine what it must have been like, what the permanent affects were after such an altering event, and obvious emotional scars that must have continued on and on... After I finished the book, I re-read the preface and understood why there seemed to be pieces "I" wanted answers to, but understood why they weren't there.

I recommend this book to anyone of all ages. It's absolutely an amazing account of someone accomplishing a journey home with EVERYTHING against him and the beckoning door of death at every turn. How he survived? It's beyond me....

Now, I will hunt for the DVD....if anyone knows where I can find the DVD, please find a way of letting me know. Thanks!

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom

Average customer rating:

The Long Walk-Rawicz
The Long Walk
Thrilling adventure, lousy history
A Maze Ing
Escape from the Soviet Union

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
Slavomir Rawicz
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1558216340

Amazon.com

Cavalry officer Slavomir Rawicz was captured by the Red Army in 1939 during the German-Soviet partition of Poland and was sent to the Siberian Gulag along with other captive Poles, Finns, Ukranians, Czechs, Greeks, and even a few English, French, and American unfortunates who had been caught up in the fighting. A year later, he and six comrades from various countries escaped from a labor camp in Yakutsk and made their way, on foot, thousands of miles south to British India, where Rawicz reenlisted in the Polish army and fought against the Germans. The Long Walk recounts that adventure, which is surely one of the most curious treks in history.

Book Description

The harrowing true tale of escaped Soviet prisoners¿ desperate march out of Siberia, through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India.

Customer Reviews:

The Long Walk-Rawicz.......2007-10-12

How much of this adventure is indisputable fact? And how much is recalled in the mind of a man mostly crazed by thirst and hunger and thus distorted by the nigtmares suffered on the journey? I give literary license to the author and say it was a fantastic adventure. Shame on the doubters!

The Long Walk.......2007-10-11

I am an avid reader, and this is by far one of the most fascinating books I have read. It shows the strength and willpower of a human's will to survive in the most horrific condtions. A must read.

Thrilling adventure, lousy history.......2007-09-26

I would have admired this book without reservation if it were represented as a work of fiction, but since its supposed to be a true story, I can't be as positive. Even without the information about the author uncovered by the BBC, which pretty much ends the debate regarding the veracity of this account, I would have questioned the authenticity of this story anyway.

I can believe most of the horrible things described about the author's arrest, interrogation, transport, and incarceration in a work camp (though the forced march seems less plausible, but we should never underestimate the cruelty of the gulag camp system). If anything, the way he describes the work camps sounds too tame in light of what we know about the gulag. He describes a work camp without criminals (most gulag inmates were classed as criminals, not politicals) and with very relaxed boundaries between the commandant and the inmates. This sounds more like Hogan's Stalag 13 than a real gulag. (read Anne Applebaum's remarkable book on the gulag.)

What seems most implausible to me is the novelistic quality of the book. First, there are the supporting characters - in true hollywood fashion, each of whom has a characteristic that distinguishes him or her from the others - toothless guy, the gentle giant, the wisecracker, and most implausibly, a beautiful young escapee who miraculously crosses their path amid the vast wastes of Siberia. Next, there's the dialogue (always recalled by the author verbatim), which reads more like a hollywood script than actual conversation between people (e.g., each of the wisecracker's quips is recalled verbatim). Finally, there's level of detail that no memory could recall, such as who found what kind of snake on which day.

Read this book side by side with real stories of survival, accounts of undisputed veracity (omit those written by journalists or authors who kept a notebook during their travels). Next to a book like Herzog's Annapurna or Worsley's book on the Endurance, the Long Walk reads like a very good novel, but not a true account of survival.

Frankly, I'm surprised that so many people have accepted its authenticity over the last several decades. Credit should go to the journalist who wrote the book with the help of the "author." The true story I would like to read is how a journalist and a Polish camp survivor cooked up this tale and sold it to the public. The author's tells us that he donated his time to good causes. I have to wonder if he was trying to ease his sense of guilt or rationalize his long involvement in this hoax.

A Maze Ing.......2007-09-11

What an amazing life. I was expecting another "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" or "Gulag Archipelago." But this story is different -- there is very little bitterness, very little savoring-of-the-details. Instead, it is cleanly told and incredibly true. It is a simple book, not much complexity, just human nature laid bare. Amazing.

Escape from the Soviet Union.......2007-09-05

There is some debate as to whether or not this story is true, but it is not at all improbable. Sentenced to 25 years in the Soviet gulag system, Polish cavalry-officer Rawicz was determined to escape from the remote Siberian labor-camp, somewhere north of Lake Baikal. The brutality Rawicz experienced at the hands of the communist government is typical of such accounts from this era. It reminds one of the memoirs of Alexander Solzhenitzyn.
Rawicz assembled a group of six other prisoners: two more Polish soldiers, a Latvian, a Lithuanian, a Yugoslavian, and ...an American! They made their break in early 1941, during a winter storm. Along the way, a teenage Polish girl also joined the party. The resulting narrative (if it is all true) is a harsh tale of survival as they trekked across some of the most rugged and dangerous terrain on Earth: frozen pine-forests, open plains, the Gobi Desert, and the mountains of Tibet.
Sadly, only half the party made it to the objective, which was India. Had they been less hasty in their trek once free of Soviet territory, the entire party could have survived. Had they planned more, traveled with caravans, and learned some basic survival skills, they could have brought everyone out.
The crossed Siberia, Mongolia, north China, and Tibet, cut off from all civilization and news of events abroad. They passed through lands where life was largely unchanged in a thousand years, and oblivious to the titanic events of World War II. Had Rawicz's party stopped in Lhasa, they surely would have met the famed mountaineers Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschneider (read "Seven Years In Tibet").
The most sceptical account, is a sighting of the "Yeti", while in the Himalayas. Did they really see some as yet unclassified primate? Who is to say?
Regardless, the story is profoundly fascinating...I hope its all true! The only improvement to the tale: what happened to the survivors after they left India? Unfortunately, thats where the story ends.

We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance

Average customer rating:

You will not want to put this one down!
Decent read but not an epic one
we die alone
Well Written niche of WW2
A Norwegian Saboteurs's Story

We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
David Howarth
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558219730

Amazon.com

If this story of espionage and survival were a novel, readers might dismiss the Shackleton-like exploits of its hero as too fantastic to be taken seriously. But respected historian David Howarth confirmed the details of Jan Baalsrud's riveting tale. It begins in the spring of 1943, with Norway occupied by the Nazis and the Allies desperate to open the northern sea lanes to Russia. Baalsrud and three compatriots plan to smuggle themselves into their homeland by boat, spend the summer recruiting and training resistance fighters, and launch a surprise attack on a German air base. But he's betrayed shortly after landfall, and a quick fight leaves Baalsrud alone and trapped on a freezing island above the Arctic Circle. He's poorly clothed (one foot is entirely bare), has a head start of only a few hundred yards on his Nazi pursuers, and leaves a trail of blood as he crosses the snow. How he avoids capture and ultimately escapes--revealing that much spoils nothing in this white-knuckle narrative--is astonishing stuff. Baalsrud's feats make the travails in Jon Krakauer's Mt. Everest classic Into Thin Air look like child's play. In an introduction, Stephen Ambrose calls We Die Alone a rare reading experience: "a book that I absolutely cannot put down until I've finished it and one that I can never forget." This amazing book will disappoint no one. --John J. Miller

Book Description

One of the most exciting escape narratives to emerge from the challenges and miseries of World War II chronicles Jan Baalsrud’s escape from Nazi-occupied arctic Norway.

Customer Reviews:

You will not want to put this one down!.......2007-10-06

A harrowing tale of survival and the unconquerable will of an extraordinary soldier, We Die Alone assumes its rightful place among the greatest WWII survival stories ever told. Jan Baalsrud's exploits are testament to the capacity of the human spirit to survive while facing nearly impossible odds. Baalsrud repeatedly defies death as he braves the harsh Norwegian winter while eluding capture and certain torture and execution at the hands of the Nazis occupying Norway in 1943.

But this is not just a tale of one man's exceptional courage and endurance but of the loyalty of many proud Norwegians who resist the Nazi occupation and who ultimately assist Baalsrud in his efforts to escape and evade across the brutal, frozen Norwegian tundra. While adjectives such as 'incredible', 'unbelievable', and 'amazing' are readily applied to Baalsrud's stubborn refusal to die, it is without question the devotion of these compassionate Norwegian villagers that perhaps deserves our deepest admiration. Whether to simply defy the Nazi occupiers or whether out of compassion for a remarkable countryman, these people repeatedly extend themselves, in some cases, even beyond the limits of human endurance to save Baalsrud's life.

'Audacious' best describes the mission undertaken by the British-trained commandos as they enter Norwegian waters near Tromso at the book's outset. When betrayed by one of the supposed partisans assigned to help secure their landing, the commando team is quickly rounded up and those still alive executed. The lone survivor, Baalsrud, remains at large and makes his way by alternately swimming, hiking, and skiing across the treacherous rock, snow and ice of the Norwegian arctic wilderness.

Although Baalsrud, through a combination of good fortune, pluck, and feats of practically superhuman endurance, evades capture as he seeks refuge in neutral Sweden, he very nearly succumbs to exposure. Again, it is not without the aid of his brave countrymen that he manages to elude the Nazis while eventually making his way to a tiny village, Furuflaten, roughly 25 miles from the Swedish border. It is near there that Baalsrud faces down death yet again for 27 days in an icy, snow-covered 'grave' on a plateau in the mountains of northern Norway. If not for the aid of the inhabitants of Furuflaten he would have certainly died while quite literally entombed in ice and snow.

This is not the first time we witness Baalsrud's uncanny ability to fend off doubt and mental resignation in his struggle to stay alive - nor the last. As the days tick by and as his resolve begins to weaken, he reaches deep and summons additional reserves of both mental and physical strength. He sort of chips away at his despair by treating himself to bits of food and an occasional swallow of brandy. Most astonishing perhaps, he endures and even seems to gain energy by continually reminding himself of the loyalty and even love of those of his countrymen who have dedicated themselves to saving his life. It becomes apparent that he is willing himself to live partly in order to not let his protectors down.

In We Die Alone we are witness to feats of endurance which are beyond our ability to comprehend. When we see Baalsrud perform a type of crude surgery with a pocketknife on his gangrenous feet and lower legs we finally grasp the depth of this man's desire to live. And when he is eventually transported by Lapps on the final leg of his journey to Sweden strapped to a reindeer-driven sled we cannot help but cheer his final triumph over death.

Baalsrud's story is perhaps all the more remarkable because of the risk Norwegians faced at the hands of the Nazis during the occupation. If found aiding and abetting a fugitive a Norwegian could be summarily executed. Nevertheless, ordinary Norwegians took extraordinary risks to save Jan Baalsrud.

We Die Alone is testament to Norwegians' pride in their country and to the inner strength and fortitude of this unique race of people. Indeed, these qualities ensured that the German occupiers would find a worthy adversary in the Norwegian resistance movement. When we read about the actions of the Norwegian resistance in saving Baalsrud's life we are not surprised to learn that the Nazi occupation eventually required some 400,000 troops.

You will not want to put this one down!

Decent read but not an epic one.......2007-09-07

I enjoyed the story but it did take me longer to finish than I would have wanted. The local citizens who helped him were the real heros. He just sort of went along for the ride. The locals left him up in the mountains a few times by himself without the ability to move. They basically left him to die and by shear chance he didn't. After a while they felt so bad for him they came to the conclusion that he had suffered enough and at that point risked their lives to get him over the mountain range, out of enemy territory, and into the hands of the allies. He lived to tell the tale but I'm not overly impressed with his actions.

we die alone.......2007-07-19

Husband is history buff - hasn't read it yet - but I am sure he will get a lot out of it and be able to discuss it with his friend who is also a history buff on ww11

Well Written niche of WW2.......2007-02-12

Story about a Norwegian named Jan who goes back to Norway in 1943 to protest the German occupation as an agent of sabatoge and organize resistance. Things go awry and he is forced to rely on the people there for help in getting thru to neutral Sweeden as the sole survivor of his group. It is very well written and a great story. Every bit of what Jan went thru, and it was unbelievable, seemed to be there. The writer some how transformed himself into Jan, it was so real. It may be tedious to some, but to others who are truly interested in what happened and what Jan and his helpers when thru; it was hard to put this book down. People who enjoy psychology and moderate to heavy deep thinkers would enjoy this especially. There is some action as well, but much of it dwells on how Jan gets thru day to day on the edge of death, sick and crippled and waiting for his saviors, and what his saviors go thru as well. Little piece of WW2 for those hungry for something different about that war, like me. Next Up, 'Seven Days in January'.

A Norwegian Saboteurs's Story.......2007-01-12

This book starts off with a real Hollywood type beginning, a crew of Norwegians saboteurs attempting to implant themselves back into Nazi occupied Norway after receiving training in England. As the team is landing, the Germans capture or kill the whole team, except one escapee, Jan Baalsrud. Jan performs heroics to escape the initial ambush, scaling icy cliffs, while wounded and barefoot, swimming bays to elude German search parties. Jan's goal is to survive and escape to Sweden
A non-fiction book can not twist stories the way Hollywood can. In this case the action is at the beginning. The remainder of the story is really the story of a frostbitten crippled man being stored in remote huts and ice caves, enduring the cold, while Norwegian patriots are scheming to provide him with food, transportation and safe passage to Sweden. The story of this hero's endurance becomes a little tedious. I did not find it a story of the ultimate endurance, but it is well worth reading. The lifestyle and landscape of small isolated fishing villages in Northern Norway during World War II is very interesting. The fact that Jan Baalrud was often stored with a sledge and some meager provisions in an ice cave for a week or two while his destiny was being planned by Nature's storms, German search parties and local villagers.

Germany's Black Holocaust, 1890-1945: The Untold Truth!

Average customer rating:

Creating a New Holocaust Curriculum
Fantasy not truth
Important topic but not well - presented.
A Major Contribution
A Long Overdue Revelation

Germany's Black Holocaust, 1890-1945: The Untold Truth!
Firpo W. Carr
Manufacturer: Scholar Technological Institute of Research, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0963129341

Book Description

In the 1890s Blacks were tortured in German concentration camps in Southwest Africa (now called Namibia) when Adolph Hitler was only a child. Colonial German doctors conducted unspeakable medical experiments on these emaciated helpless Africans decades before such atrocities were ever visited upon the Jews.

Thousands of Africans were massacred. Regrettably, historians neglected to properly register the slaughter—that is, to lift it from the footnote in history that it had been relegated to—until now.

In an attempt to give the incidents their rightful recognition in the historical context of the Holocaust, Dr. Firpo W. Carr has authored a new book entitled, Germany's Black Holocaust: 1890-1945. In it, he reveals the startling hidden history of Black victims of the Holocaust. The mayhem and carnage date back to the turn of the 20th century, many years before there were ever any other unfortunate victims—Jew or Gentile—of the Holocaust.

Carr conducted three incredibly revealing interviews with: (1) a Black female Holocaust victim; (2) the Black commanding officer who liberated 8,000 Black men from a concentration camp; and (3) an African American medic from the all-Black medical unit that was responsible for retrieving thousands of dead bodies from Dachau. (White medical units were spared the gruesome task.)

"Kay," the Black female Holocaust survivor, laments: "You cannot possibly comprehend the anger I have in me because of being experimented on in Dachau, and being called `nigger girl' and `blacky' while growing up."

Testimonials from the Black commanding officer and African American medic are memorialized, for the first time ever, in Carr's book. The research is based on voluminous documentation, and more.

If you are like most people, you simply have never heard the unbelievable story of Black victims of the Holocaust. You are invited to read about the human spirit's triump over events that occurred during this horrible piece of hidden history.

Customer Reviews:

Creating a New Holocaust Curriculum.......2007-08-06

This book is superb, and is an excellent resource for teachers, in particular. Teachers are required to teach about the holocaust at least twice a year (January and April). The information from this book can be inserted into the curriculum at these times.

There are many ways to do this in interdisciplinary thematic units on the Holocaust. English, History, Social Studies, Black Studies, Black History and Creative Writing teachers can all collaborate to produce based on this information during either Black History month or in January when the Holocaust is typically taught.

School libraries can also purchase this book, so that it is available for students to use for book reports. It can even be used as the basis for teaching students to write and produce plays based on the content of the book. Finally, the books content can be used for exercises in conducting research on various aspects of the topic on the Internet.

Again, it is a great resource!!

Fantasy not truth.......2007-05-15

There are so many false statements and outright lies. This is just a lump of anti-semitic filth. Who ever heard of a German tiger-shark tank? What German tank regiment in 1944 had 135 tanks? German tanks with 10-12 men? There is no documentation, only write what you like. Most sources are anonymous or crack pots who are listed here. German General Rommel was sent to North Africa to take back the WW1 German colonies! What utter nonsense. The author has little knowledge of history. Perhaps the author wants to jump on the law suit band wagon.

Important topic but not well - presented........2006-09-06

This information is extremely important and mostly unknown except to historians. The problem is that the author jumps around across time, continents and topics. If one were to stick to the atrocities committed by colonial Germany in Namibia alone, it would have been enough to fill a book . Unfortunately, the author rather chose to cover this topic as well as: 1) The fate of Black citizens in Nazi Germany, 2)The Black experience in Nazi death camps, 3) The treatment of Black GI's in World War II and 4) The Tuskegee Airmen ! He might have been able to cover all of this if these topics were organized into chapters or even time periods but alas they are not. As such the book is very difficult to follow and digest. One can feel the enthusiasm of the author as he tries to convey important facts but it is much too much to assimilate. It deserves a re-write with more facts, less emotion and a more organized approach. All of these stories must be told but not in one book.

A Major Contribution.......2006-02-07

This book tells about the largely unknown victims of Hitler's holocaust, Blacks. It also explains in clear language a major reason for the holocaust (especially pages 102-1310). In one word, a central factor was Darwinism. As support for his conclusion, Dr. Carr quotes from the Holocaust Memorial Museum report (page 196-213) which makes it clear how important Darwinism was as a causative factor. Eugenics was not then regarded as a pseudoscience, but was fully accepted by most all scientists. The Nazis just applied the then orthodox science to government, and went far beyond the United States. That Blacks were regarded as inferior by Darwinists is obvious (just look at modern pictures of our primitive ancestors on the cover of National Geographic, Time and other popular magazines. They typically look very much like African Americans, rarely like Swedes). Carr does a good job exposing the racism in Darwinism eugenics and the harm it has caused historically. He includes many case histories. Carr's book makes a major contribution to the area but much more needs to be done in this field.

A Long Overdue Revelation.......2003-12-10

With the release of more and more information concerning the African American contribution to past military actions involving the United States, one issue that has been overlooked by many is the issue of the Black involvement in the Holocaust. Not only from a point of view of the liberation of the Nazi death camps by Black U. S. soldiers, but the deaths of Black German citizens in some of those same camps.

A new work released earlier in 2003 might turn out to be a major point of discussion among historians in the New Year and beyond. "Germany's Black Holocaust 1890-1945: The Untold Truth!" by Firpo W. Carr, PhD is going to keep you turning the pages with interest, curiosity, and wonder (2003, STIR Inc. Publishing, 254 pages).

It has long been an established fact that there were other peoples and nationalities and political prisoners who were held in camps such as Dachau. However, there have been two things missing from some of the discussions: 1) How many of these individuals were of African/German-African backgrounds, and; 2) How did the Nazis treat Black U.S. Military personnel as Prisoners Of War.

Carr set out to fulfill a quest, which, in turn, filled a rather large hole in the historical issues involved in the Holocaust: What of the impact and suffering extracted by the Nazi war machine on other peoples--especially peoples of color--who were rounded up and imprisoned by German authorities during World War II? Carr, based upon his research, noted that some 8,000 Blacks were liberated from the death camps--some of the liberating forces were Black US soldiers.

Carr scanned the historical records available to him in various Holocaust museums, visited Germany and other parts of the world, and talked with those who are still alive, including Black soldiers who helped to liberate some of the death camps, who had previously NOT been interviewed, on the record, by US or other World War II participants. What may be of particular interest are Carr's inclusion of some of the WW II Nazi propaganda photos, along with history of the famed 761 Tank Battalion and their involvement in the Battle of the Bulge.

Amazon.com

"Found worms in my oatmeal this morning. I shouldn't have objected because they had been sterilized in the cooking and I was getting fresh meat with my breakfast.... I'm still losing weight and so are most of us..."

Ruth Marie Straub, an Army nurse, wrote those words in her diary on March 15, 1942, just over three months after the Japanese first bombed the U.S. military base in Manila. She and her colleagues had evacuated the city and established, in the Philippine jungle, hospitals for the skyrocketing numbers of casualties. In the face of the advancing Japanese Army, the nurses and other military personnel continued to retreat, first to the Bataan Peninsula, and then to Corregidor, a rocky island in Manila Bay. Straub was one of the lucky ones; she was evacuated with a handful of other nurses in April 1942. Her remaining colleagues, meanwhile, surrendered with the rest of the U.S. forces in May and were taken to STIC--Santo Tomas Internment Camp, where they were to spend nearly three years in captivity.

We Band of Angels tells the stories of these courageous women, tagged by the American media as "The Angels of Bataan and Corregidor." Utilizing a wide range of sources, including diaries, letters, and personal interviews with surviving "Angels," Elizabeth M. Norman has compiled a harrowing narrative about the experiences of these women--from the country-club atmosphere of prewar Manila; to the jungle hospitals where patients slept on bamboo cots in the open air; to the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor, where they choked on dust and worked while the bombs rained down above them; to the STIC, where per-person rations were cut to 900 calories a day and the women resorted to frying weeds in cold cream for food. The story Nelson tells is compelling but slightly flawed: like many biographers, Nelson has a deep affection and respect for her subjects, which causes her to soften rough edges. At the same time, however, Nelson argues that these women were not heroes--nor were they angels (in the acknowledgments, Nelson notes that she didn't want the word angels in the title, but the publishers had their way). Perhaps because Nelson is a nurse herself, she is trying to stress that her profession is noble and that these women were, in a sense, just fulfilling their duties.

Nursing is noble, of course, but it is clear that these women were something special. Amazingly, all of the Angels of Bataan, some 99 in number, survived their ordeal--and clearly helped hundreds of the other sufferers survive. We Band of Angels deserves a space on the bookshelves of anyone interested in World War II. --C.B. Delaney

Book Description

Hailed by The New York Times Book Review as a "grippingly told" story of "power and relevance," here is the true, untold account of the first American women to prove their mettle under combat conditions. Later, during three years of brutal captivity at the hands of the Japanese, they also demonstrated their ability to survive. Filled with the thoughts and impressions of the women who lived it, "every page of this history is fascinating" (The Washington Post).

We Band of Angels

In the fall of 1941, the Philippines was a gardenia-scented paradise for the American Army and Navy nurses stationed there. War was a distant rumor, life a routine of easy shifts and evenings of dinner and dancing under the stars. On December 8 all that changed, as Japanese bombs rained on American bases in Luzon, and the women's paradise became a fiery hell. Caught in the raging battle, the nurses set up field hospitals in the jungles of Bataan and the tunnels of Corregidor, where they saw the most devastating injuries of war, and suffered the terrors of shells and shrapnel.

But the worst was yet to come. As Bataan and Corregidor fell, a few nurses escaped, but most were herded into internment camps enduring three years of fear and starvation. Once liberated, they returned to an America that at first celebrated them, but later refused to honor their leaders with the medals they clearly deserved. Here, in letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts, is the story of what really happened during those dark days, woven together in a compelling saga of women in war.

Customer Reviews:

We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese.......2007-10-12

This is a good history of the nurses imprisoned at the start of World War II. I purchased this book and "All THis Hell" at the same time They are both good books but tell almost the same story.

A Great Book.......2007-08-04

This is a well written true story about some great Americans, the Army and Navy nurses trapped in the Philippines at the start of World War II. They suffered through very difficult times treating wounded soldiers in Bataan and Corregidor. After the surrender of the American military in the Philippines, they then endured three years in captivity by the Japanese. The author, Elizabeth Norman, has done an excellent job documenting the events of the time and the personal experiences of these women. It's an excellent Book!

Great Nursing History.......2007-01-29

If you're interested in nursing or military history, this book is a real delight! The pictures add to the narratives and the reader can get a feel for what these women endured. These nurses were ultra-dedicated to each other, their patients, and their country. I recommend this book highly.

Wonderful book.......2006-06-23

The only reason I picked this book up was because it was a required read for a nursing class - I'm so glad that it was. I had a great-uncle that passed away on the Bataan Death March - so this book really hit close to home. I am now an Army Nurse and share this book with those who come in under me. It's a great read and I highly recommend it!

Nurses are angels!.......2006-03-09

This book is excellent! It brings the reader into the minds and lives of the nurses who were trapped on Bataan during WWII. Besides being a moving story, it has great lessons that can be applied to life today. I think the greatest thing I took from this book, being a nurse myself, was that patients come first. These nurses cared so much for their patients that they sacrificed everything to care for them. It was very touching; a must read for anyone.

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya

Average customer rating:

Interesting and worth reading but clearly not objective at all.
Take with several LARGE pinches of salt
Good and Depressing
An important story interred in academic prose
Compelling

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya
Caroline Elkins
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Kenya | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805080015
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Amazon.com

Forty years after Kenyan independence from Britain, the words "Mau Mau" still conjure images of crazed savages hacking up hapless white settlers with machetes. The British Colonial Office, struggling to preserve its far-flung empire of dependencies after World War II, spread hysteria about Kenya's Mau Mau independence movement by depicting its supporters among the Kikuyu people as irrational terrorists and monsters. Caroline Elkins, a historian at Harvard University, has done a masterful job setting the record straight in her epic investigation, Imperial Reckoning. After years of research in London and Kenya, including interviews with hundreds of Kenyans, settlers, and former British officials, Elkins has written the first book about the eight-year British war against the Mau Mau.

She concludes that the war, one of the bloodiest and most protracted decolonization struggles of the past century, was anything but the "civilizing mission" portrayed by British propagandists and settlers. Instead, Britain engaged in an amazingly brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing that seemed to border on outright genocide. While only 32 white settlers were killed by Mau Mau insurgents, Elkins reports that tens of thousands of Kenyans were slaughtered, perhaps up to 300,000. The British also interned the entire 1.5 million population of Kikuyu, the colony's largest ethnic group, in barbed-wire villages, forced-labour reserves where famine and disease ran rampant, and prison camps that Elkins describes as the Kenyan "Gulag." The Kikuyu were subjected to unimaginable torture, or "screening," as British officials called it, which included being whipped, beaten, sodomized, castrated, burned, and forced to eat feces and drink urine. British officials later destroyed almost all official records of the campaign. Elkins infuses her account with the riveting stories of individual Kikuyu detainees, settlers, British officials, and soldiers. This is a stunning narrative that finally sheds light on a misunderstood war for which no one has yet been held officially accountable. --Alex Roslin

Book Description

As part of the Allied forces, thousands of Kenyans fought alongside the British in World War II. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler, the British colonial government detained nearly the entire population of Kenyas largest ethnic minority, the Kikuyusome one and a half million people. The compelling story of the system of prisons and work camps where thousands met their deaths was the victim of a determined effort by the British to destroy all official records of their attempts to stop the Mau Mau uprising. Caroline Elkins spent a decade in London, Nairobi, and the Kenyan countryside interviewing hundreds of survivors of the camps and the British and African loyalists who detained them. The result is an unforgettable account of the unraveling of the British colonial empire in Kenyaa pivotal moment in twentieth- century history with chilling parallels to Americas own imperial project.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and worth reading but clearly not objective at all........2007-05-14

An earlier reviewer mentions Ruark's books, "Something of Value," and "Uhuru." "Horn of the Hunter," is another good East Africa piece, although it does not go so much into the Mau Mau Emergency. I would definitely recommend reading Ruark's works to get the other extreme of the East Africa/Mau Mau issue.

Clearly, Elkins is biased in favor of Mau Mau & the Kikuyus in general, probably with reasons of her own. There clearly was some outrageous stuff going on in Kenya during the 1950s-60s, and still probably is.

There can be little doubt the British were out of line, to put it mildy and so were the Mau Mau, also to put it mildly.

This book has a great footnote section where anyone who is really interested in the facts can go for further reading. In all, this is an interesting book, though written in a very dry & tawdry style. It is certainly biased far in favor of Mau Mau and against the British and should be looked on as such.

Elkins would have made a far more powerful impression on this reader if she had at least attempted some journalistic objectivity.

Take with several LARGE pinches of salt.......2007-01-18

The book is very biased towards the Mau Mau side first of all.

Second she has relied heavily on oral textimonies which she fails to question the validity of. Some of these testimonies are laugh out loud ridiculous. She may have noted that testimonies like this have been through out of African and European courts for being made up in order to secure financial compensation. Elkins rubbishes similar statements made by European and Black loyalists.

Elkins also ignores or defends Mau Mau atrocities.

Lastly she asserts that 300,000 people died during the course of the emergency, the only evidence for this is the difference between two censuses. Colonial census were notoriously inaccurate and the main reason the British managed to hide any atrocities they did commit was because they were comitted small scale. 300,000 deaths would have been impossible to keep a secret. Anderson claims around 30,000 Mau Mau died during the course of the rebellion which is closer to the truth.

Good and Depressing.......2007-01-04

This book is very well researched and written. It's also very depressing. The story needs to be told. Excellent for understanding post WWII British imperialism.

An important story interred in academic prose.......2006-08-21

Imperial Reckoning is a curiously disappointing book. It exposes us to a shockingly brutal and little known side of late empire British imperialism with overwhelming documentation, but in such flat prose that the horror and indignation proper to such events is leached away in a numbingly endless drizzzle of facts. This book seems a huge body of tragic facts in search of an organizing narrative. So much so that its chapters could be read in any random order without changing the book's overall readability. Historical tragedies, as much as heroic triumphs turn on random quirks of fortune and clashes of strong personalities, but in academic literature they seem to float on a sluggish tide of inevitable events, usually seen in retrospect and shrouded in a sanctified flotsam of documentation.

Professor Elkins gives some capsule vignettes of the principal colonial administrators, but the central player of this historical drama, Jomo Kenyatta--the colony's most famous political prisoner and later to become Kenya's first president, is presumed so familiar to the reader as to warrant almost no further space. Though he is mentioned repeatedly, we learn only enough about him (16 years in Britain, studied at the London School of Economics, wrote a controversial book, organized a pan-African conference) to make us wonder why he's barely a footnote participant in the story. Little of the temper of the colonial times seems to surface except allegations of an extreme and virtually universal British racism. The Mau Mau terror which inspired this ghastly holocaust seems in this account have been a mere handful of assassinations--so wildly disproportionate to the response that one feels uneasily suspicious. Were the colonials really that murderously bigoted or is Ms. Elkins reluctant to portray a real threat of native terror?

It's a book one wishes had been written by Adam Hochschild (King Leopold's Ghost, Bury the Chains). There's a shocking story buried here that needs to get out. My curiosity is aroused, I want to know more, but I'll have to read a different book. I haven't the tolerance for tedium to finish this one.

Compelling.......2006-07-25

This magnificent book shows how the Brits, using methods of immense savagery, broke the Mau Mau terrorist movement in the 1950s, only to lose the entire colony of Kenya partly in response to the brutishness of their own counterterrorism.
Even though the author is an academic, and doesn't write with the verve and polish of a William Manchester, this book is gripping reading. Elkins lets the facts tell the story, and she certainly has the facts. She seems to have read every relevant document and talked with practically everybody still living who participated in the Kenyan gulag as either a victim or a perpetrator. In her acknowledgements she notes that she learned both Kiswahil and the rudiments of Kikuyu to help her with her interviews (she also had an African translator). Indeed, her book would have been impossible without the Africans' contributions.
One of the other reviewers here complains that Elkins didn't read Robert Ruark's pro-settler "Something of Value" or "Uhuru." But Ruark, an American who probably didn't talk to any Africans in Kenya except his askaris and houseboys, was a naive sucker for the settlers' racist world view. Far more tough-minded than Ruark, Elkins talked to plenty of settlers as well as Africans. The sheer accretion of facts and anecdotes, with almost every sentence footnoted, makes for an overwhelmingly persuasive case.
It is a horrific story of a system that Stalin outdid in duration and magnitude, but not in relative cruelty. Pound for pound the Brits' imprisonment of the Kikuyus, rife as it was with mutilating torture, random executions, systematic rape, enforced relocations and treachery, and massacres, was about as brutal as it gets.
And we owe it to Elkins for bringing these facts, only occasionally referenced in journalism and earlier history books, fully into the light. This is a groundbreaking, iconoclastic work that sheds a new, highly unflattering light on British imperialism. It's tough to think of Manchester's hero biographee, Churchill, in quite the same way.

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