Customer Reviews
A Very Good Read - By: , 23 Nov 2004 
If when sitting down to read this book you do so with little knowledge of the campaign, but recall that your now deceased Grandfather, veteran of Operation Market Garden, treated his pals with the Burma Star with a larger than usual degree of respect, & want to find out why, then this book is a very good place to start.
It provides a very good overview of the entire campaign, from the retreatin 1942 through to the final victory against the Japsin '45.
The author successfully mixes (and explains) broad military theory with the accounts of the men that fought. Most of the records come from the Imperial War Museum's collection of personal memoirs & as such, present a valuable & insightful perspective.
Thompson manages to assess the Chindit operations, & therein the strengths & weaknesses of Orde Wingate, succinctly, weaving them neatlyin to the narrative & as such putting themin perspective.
If you are looking for an easy to read, broad overview of the warin Burma this book, like most IWM volumes, is a very good place to start.
Only one criticism comes to mind, & that is that the maps could be better, but this should not stop you purchasing this book.
Great Read - By: , 09 Jun 2004 My Father wasin the Royal Berkshire Regiment as a cook seargent & bren gunner, he saw a lot of action, it is hard for me to imagine what those guys went through for us. If you have an interestin tha far east campaign, then this book tells it how it was. It is also one of the only books that have decent material on the Royal Berks & has a lot of pictures.
