|
The Burma Road : The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II | 
| Author: Donovan Webster
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $8.02
You Save: $5.93 (43%)
New (8) Used (11) from $6.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 1186859
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ASIN: B0009309A4
Publication Date: September 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The extraordinary story of the
China-Burma-Indiatheater of operations during World War II As the Imperial Japanese Army swept across China and South Asia at World War II's outset -- closing all of China's seaports -- more than 200,000 Chinese laborers embarked on a seemingly impossible task: to cut a 700-mile overland route -- which would be called the Burma Road -- from the southeast Chinese city of Kunming to Lashio, Burma. But with the fall of Burma in early 1942, the road was severed, and it became the task of American General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell to reopen it, while keeping China supplied by air-lift from India and simultaneously driving the Japanese out of Burma as the first step of the Allied offensive toward Japan. In gripping prose, Donovan Webster follows the adventures of the American "Hump" pilots who flew hair-raising missions to make food-drops in China; tells the true story that inspired the famous film The Bridge on the River Kwai; and recounts the grueling jungle operations of Merrill's Marauders and the British Chindit Brigades. Interspersed with portraits of the American General Stilwell, the exceedingly eccentric British General Orde Wingate, and the mercurial Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, The Burma Road vividly recreates the sprawling, sometimes hilarious, often harrowing, and still largely unknown stories of one of the greatest chapters of World War II.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Incredible book - and it's all true! August 16, 2008
The Road to Burma was an unexpected treat for me; a gift from my son who lives and teaches in Myanmar. Much of the story was so incredible that it seemed like it could have been written by Dean Koontz or Tolkein. In this regard, there were:
*8-foot tigers who stalked the Japanese troops
*Kachin tribesmen who terrorized Japanese soldiers by slipping
out of the jungle to cut their throats and slice off their
ears (which the Japanese believed would prevent them from
getting into heaven)
*Orde Wingate, the beloved British commander who held staff
meetings in the nude and starved his troops to "toughen them
up." The colorful Wingate took command after surviving a suicide
attempt, which involved cutting his own throat.
*Eric Sevareid, the young reporter whose plane unexpectedly crash-
landed somewhere between Japanese troops and cannibal headhunters.
*Vinegar Joe Stilwell, who walked across Burma through its steamy
jungles, just 10-20 ahead of the Japanese troops pursuing him.
It's all amazingly true and incredibly well-written!
 Exciting Enough, but Exceedingly Light and Inaccurate in Many Places May 23, 2008
Burma Road is really not a book about the Burma Road. It is a general and light overview of the entire Burma War. It's focus is primarily centred around the American contribution. But the great problem with this book is that the general reader would assume by its contents that America and all its actions in this war were the central actors in this Theatre.
The million-person Anglo-Indian Army -- which cleared all of India in almost all of the major battles of this war is clearly underexplained. In this sense, altough a worthy effort, merely reinforces popular American mythology of how they "won" in this theatre of the war -- and does nothing to advance a higher understanding of how a Japanese Army of 300,000 (more than double that encountered by the American's on Okinawa) was defeated.
If Donovan had started with the premise that this book was to be about the Burma Road and its place in the Burma War (as I assumed from the title of the book), then most of the battle detail is strong and certainly interesting. But in fact Webster tries to paint from a pallette describing the entire war in Burma, but emphasises overwhelmingly the American contribution. While the battles leading up to the capture of Mytkiyina were brutal and certainly exciting, they are mere sideshows compared to those of Imphal, Kohima, Shaggy, Myktiela and the battle of the Pegu Yomas at the end of the war.
The action and descriptions fly a little too fast and furious for my liking as well. Orde Wingate is described as the "most controversial officer in the British Army" -- which outside of the people who knew him was clearly not the case -- he was a minor oddball Colonel (and sometimes Major) until Slim and later Churchill picked him for greater things.
There is an almost 1950s narrative history feel about his book. All battles are "hell," all moves by the allies "brilliant" and the Japanese (perhaps the finest light infantry in the world) just a bunch of ham- fisted Banzai-charging fanatics. The situation of the Chindit defence of Blackpool was "perfectly" positioned -- which as any reader of history at this time knows be exactly the opposite of reality (see Michael Calvert's "Prisoners of Hope").
Some of the narrative is factually incorrect. We have Webster numbering Japanese troops in a division to 1000 men. We have him describing Mountbatten as the leader of the "highly successful raid on Dieppe"???
He states that the war in Asia started on December 10th?? (Actually it started on the 08th). He states that, even as the Japanese were advancing into Burma, they were losing much tonnage as a result of the Flying Tigers (AVG) flying over the South China Sea and bombing shipping headed for Burma. Much later in the war the 23rd Fighter Group made raids over Hanoi, but at the beginning stages of the Burma battle the AVG never sunk a single ship.( I think that he is mixing up the missions of the AVG with the latter, much larger 10th and 14th USAAF units that certainly did wreek havoc over SE Asia). A reference to Brian Cull's "Bloody Shambles" - a history of air operations over Burma -- would have sorted him out on this point, but its not in the bibliography. In addition the massive Royal Airforce which included airmen and women for all over the commonwealth is not even mentioned.
This theatre was even more complicated that others, but the intracies of this are not explained at all. In fact the Burma Road itself would have been a excellent vehicle to compare, contrast and describe the wranglings over strategy and command splitting that went on in this front. A person reading this book would be forgiven if they thought that Stillwell was Supreme Theatre Commander or even subordinate to anyone outside the US Chain of command. He in fact reported to Archie Wavell (though he did break the chain of command quite frequently).
Most importantly, Webster seems to have talked with a lot of people about his subject. But by the paltry bibiography he has clearly not mastered the literature of his study: how anyone could write a book on the Burma War and not cite Louis Allan's "Burma: The Longest War" is beyond me. He also uses compendium Secondary Sources such as Chinnery's "March or Die" and Rooney's "Burma Victory." The latter is again an overview book and extremely prejudicial in favour of Orde Wingate,but does not included any original reasearch on the war. Most of the information on Stillwell was gleaned from Barbara Tuchman's tour de force "Stillwell and the American Experience in China" -- which gives you a better feel for the man, the campaign and the politics of this theatre.
The one area I give Webster his due, is that he sorts out the niave American interpretation of the Chindits and Stillwell's opinion that "limey's do not fight" -- Webster explains excruciating Chindit battle for Moguang, who, unlike their American cousins, fought for four months, many times with no direct support. From 1200 fighters Brig. Michael Calvert emerged with almost 50 effectives at the end of the battle.
The clearing of the Hunkwang valley was only a sideshow. In the end the British cleared all of lower Burma from offensives launched out of the Akyab corridor and the Imphal plain -- all with traditional army units. They cut Burma in half and forced the Japanese to withdraw from Northern Burma before utterly destroying the Japanese in the brilliant battle of Myktiela. This does not mean the honour or sacrifices of those who fought the Northern campaigns is any less than those of others -- it does however seem to vindicate British strategy.
Do not get me wrong. I liked the book, but this description of the Burma War is only a very small exciting part of a very, very large war that dwarfs many of the personalities and events in this book. It is an exciting series of battles and personalities. But in sum the American contribution was local, and contributed little in the defeat of Japan in Burma. That it was glorious is beyond quesion.
They Also Served-and Fought May 16, 2008
"The Burma Road" is about the Allied campaign in the China-Burma-India theatre during WW2. The main character is General Joseph (Vinegar Joe) Stillwell, the area commander. BR is quite well researched and gives a solid account of brutal jungle fighting and the battle just to survive the harsh South Asian environment. The Japanese side of the conflict is notably included. They suffered too. This reviewer was disheartened to read that wounded men unable to march and fight were simply abandoned in the boonies. For their part, the Japanese executed wounded comrades to preclude their becoming POWs. One fact which becomes starkly evident is how starkly overextended Japan became. Why on earth did that nation even invade Burma and India? What strategic advantage could she have gained? If author Webster explained that, this reader missed it. There are two weak points to BR: 1) The MAPS are inadequate. They are not well placed and many towns mentioned in the text don't appear on the maps. For that matter, many locations also did not appear in the World Atlas this reader used to follow the action. That Atlas seems essential to most military tales. Publishers routinely skimp on space for maps. 2) The "Road" is not essential to the story. There was a Burma Road but the fighting took place in jungle-far from any solid surface. A most interesting aspect of BR is the swirl of the personalities surrounding Stillwell in the CBI theatre. We meet Brits LTG Orde Wingate and Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten. The Americans include Major Frank Merrill ("Merrill's Marauders") and MG Claire Chennault, CO of the Flying Tigers. Stillwell's main bete noire was Chinese leader Chaing Kai-Shek (aka "The Peanut"). With friends like these, one wonders how we won the War. The bottom line is that "The Burma Road" is a solid and easily recommended military history. The CBI theatre is hardly an over-reported. The all too common shortfall of those maps calls for a reduction in rank to 4 stars. When will publishers learn to print a few more pages to place a geographical face on the action?
A Very Good Book About A Much Undertold Story January 11, 2008
The China-Burma-India Theater was a crucial element of the war against Japan during WWII. It has been little discussed. Donovan Webster has done a good job of starting to rectify that.
This area has always been of interest to me primarily because my father served in the CBI Theater. He was never one to talk about his war experiences, but after reading this book, it seems like I have a bit better idea about some of what he may have faced.
As with any soldiers serving during wartime, those in the CBI faced numerous difficult conditions including disease, death, injuries, lack of sufficient supplies, etc. The author helps bring that to life a bit in his treatment of this subject.
I would certainly recommend 'The Burma Road' for anyone who is interested in American history, WWII, the military, and particularly those who have had loved ones who served in China-Burma-India during World War II.
 The story is epic, but not the book. June 22, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
If you have read nothing about the China-Burma-India theater in World War II, Webster's "The Burma Road" is a quick reading introduction. Caution is recommended as Webster's effort to keep the book accessible while recounting the events in the enormous and complex CBI theater often leaves him wrong-footed.
It is a bad sign when one goes a mere 29 pages in before encountering a factual error. The first attack Japanese attack on the Philippines was made on December 8, 1941 roughly 12 after the attack on Pearl Harbor and can be seen as following "only hours" after the attack at Pearl Harbor. However, the date given by Webster is December 10 and, international date line or not, December 10 is not "only hours" after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
While Siam may have been "increasingly called Thailand since 1936", the name of the country was changed officially in 1939. Thus, by 1941, referring to "west-central Siam" is a complete misnomer since the country was by then called Thailand and the reference should be clearly to "west-central Thailand".
The heart of this book is the story of "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, his command of the theater and his overcoming of its many difficulties. Webster is good at recounting the challenges faced by Stilwell as the last in line for any material or forces needed. But, the relationship of Stilwell to Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese government was very complicated. Webster is clearly a Stilwell partisan, as are many, but this work does not come close to Tuchman's "Stilwell and the American Experience in China" which remains the book to read on this period.
Finally, for the editors and publishers. a book does not need a table of contents, but in a military history, leaving out the list of maps is a grievous error. Moreover, towns mentioned in the text really should be indicated on the maps.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
