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The Jim Hollister Trilogy: Three Novels of Vietnam (The Jim Hollister Trilogy #3)
by Dennis FoleyFrom the author of A Requiem for Crows: A searing trilogy of the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a gutsy Long Range Patrol platoon leader. Enriched with a memorable cast of characters and details that only a Vietnam veteran could capture, the Jim Hollister Trilogy is a thrilling tribute to the courage and selfless dedication of the Army Rangers in Vietnam—and the profound costs of war. Long Range Patrol: Young and eager to prove himself, Ranger Lt. Jim Hollister leads his six-man reconnaissance team on risky missions, deep into enemy territory. The special volunteers who make up Long Range Patrols are tasked with setting up ambushes and conducting perilous night patrols, helicopter insertions, and fire support in the hottest of fights. No matter the danger, Hollister&’s band of heroes will do anything to keep their brothers alive. &“There are few novels about Vietnam, or any other war for that matter, that you can hand to someone and say, this is the way it was, this is what we were. Dennis Foley has written such a book&” (Chris Bunch and Allan Cole, authors of A Reckoning for Kings). Night Work: Back home in America, Capt. Jim Hollister often wakes up in the middle of the night in the grip of terrifying nightmares. But nothing—not even his long-suffering fiancée, Susan—can stop him from going back to Vietnam to serve his country. This time around, Hollister serves as operations officer for Juliet Company, a Ranger squad tasked with finding and eliminating Viet Cong forces slipping across the Cambodian border. Take Back the Night: In the increasingly divided Juliet Company, racial tensions are running high and morale is at an all-time low. New commander Captain Hollister&’s first order of business is to bring his company back to fighting shape. To survive hot LZs, sleepless nights, and a tireless enemy, the Rangers have to train hard and fight harder. As the US begins its withdrawal, Juliet Company is entrusted with gathering critical intelligence needed to save American lives. But the biggest threat to Hollister&’s men might just be from the chain of command.
The John Brunner Collection Volume Two: The Wrong End of Time, The Ladder in the Sky, and The Productions of Time
by John BrunnerThree fascinating sci-fi novels from the limitless imagination of the Hugo Award–winning author of the dystopian classic, Stand on Zanzibar. British novelist John Brunner remains “one of the most important science fiction authors . . . [who] held a mirror up to reflect our foibles” (SF Site). Brunner’s skillful and often frightening political and social commentary takes its place alongside the most iconic works of Arthur C. Clarke, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood, and George Orwell. The Wrong End of Time: In a near future, where a paranoid America has sealed itself off from the rest of the world by a vast and complicated defense system, a young Russian scientist infiltrates all defenses to convey terrifying news. At the outer reaches of the solar system, near Pluto, a superior form of intelligent life possesses technology that makes it immune to attack and strong enough to easily destroy planet Earth . . . The Ladder in the Sky: A starving youth, trapped in poverty with no hope of escape, is taken prisoner and offered up in an actual “deal with the devil”—servitude for a year and a day in return for helping a resistance group free their imprisoned planetary leader. When he returns to consciousness, he is told that the devil has taken up residence inside him. At first, he thinks nothing has changed and he can take advantage of the situation, but some upsetting surprises are in store for him . . . The Productions of Time: Murray Douglas has beaten his alcoholism, but he needs an acting job and can’t be selective. He ends up with an improv group at an isolated country estate, where every move is being recorded by unfamiliar technology, and each player’s weakness is constantly prodded and encouraged. Just what is this show? And who is it for?
The Joshua Inheritance
by Mark Whitcombe-PowerLondon 1945, VE Day. And for Edward Fairfax, a strange sense of anti-climax. Newly commissioned and eager to join the fighting, it seems the war has passed him by. A sense of mystery too. 'Operation Joshua', behind enemy lines, has been a disaster. His father is blamed and threatened with court martial, yet no-one will tell Edward the truth. A sense also of impending violence. A chance meeting with the beautiful Carole Romm will cast long shadowsinto his future. As the war in Europe ends, another begins in Palestine. The birth of the State of Israel is to be marked by bitterness and bloodshed. Edward will se action, not on the battlefields of Europe as he had dreamed, but in a harsh land where the enemy is unseen, and where Jewish and Arab extremists have only one thing in common: hatred of the British Empire.
The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559 Mirror Lake Internment Camp, 1942 (My Name is America)
by Barry DenenbergFor almost 11 months in the internment camp, 12-year-old Ben Uchida keeps a journal and he writes, "It never seemed to matter before, but now my face was the face of the enemy".
The Journal of Scott Pendelton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 (My Name is America)
by Walter Dean MyersEach harrowing day of battle in France convinces 17-year-old Scott Pendleton Collins that he may not survive. In desperation, he records his thoughts, fears, and hopes in a journal he has carried since his first days as a soldier in Basic Training at Fort Dix.
The Journal of an Army Surgeon during the Peninsular War (The\spellmount Library Of Military History)
by Charles BoutflowerThis ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. A rarity amongst Peninsular accounts, are those that come from the medical services of the British army, Boutflower's journal was printed sixty years after his death but remains even now fresh and interesting. His duty was to patch, tend and mend the fighting men of the 40th Regiment of Foot, during the fierce fighting against the French. His journal principally focuses on the campaigns under the Duke of Wellington that stretched from 1809 to 1814, although his service had drawn him to South America and the West Indies beforehand. He was promoted to the staff of Sir Rowland "Daddy" Hill as surgeon in 1812, but not before he had seen and described the butchery of the battle of Albuera. Also present at the battle of Salamanca his narrative, in spite of some erratic spelling, contemporaneous, vital and gripping. A valuable and memorable work. Author - Charles Boutflower - (1782 - 1844) Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1911, Manchester, by Refuge Printing Dept Original - 196 pages.
The Journal of the C. I. V. in South Africa: The Boer War Record of the London Volunteers by Their Commanding Officer
by Major General W H MacKinnon“London men at war against the BoersThe turn of the 19th century to 20th was a time of popularity for the military volunteer movement in the British Empire. When the Anglo-Boer War broke out the City Imperial Volunteers quickly filled its ranks with the men of the City of London anxious to serve their country in South Africa. The venture was supported by the Lord Mayor and the popularity of London's effort had widespread appeal. All manner of men hurried to join the C. I. V's ranks and many of them were professionals from the city's law firms and financial institutions, artists, writers or gentlemen of private means. The author of The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers was one of their number. This book is comprised of the journal entries of the officer commanding the regiment and it follows the C. I. V's wartime experiences from recruitment to its return home. The C. I. V was well regarded on campaign and earned the praise of peers and senior officers alike. This book delivers its information in the sober manner one might expect of its author in the circumstances, but is nevertheless essential source material about each part of the unit-the infantry, mounted infantry, cyclists, medical staff etc. Included as an appendix is a substantial honour role that will be of special interest to genealogists.”-Print ed.
The Journal of the Civil War Era, Volume 1, #1 (Spring #2011)
by William A. BlairThe University of North Carolina Press and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at the Pennsylvania State University are pleased to announce the launch of The Journal of the Civil War Era. William Blair, of the Pennsylvania State University, serves as founding editor.<P><P> The journal takes advantage of the flowering of research on the many issues raised by the sectional crisis, war, Reconstruction, and memory of the conflict, while bringing fresh understanding to the struggles that defined the period, and by extension, the course of American history in the nineteenth century.<P> The Journal of the Civil War Era aims to create a space where scholars across the many subfields that animate nineteenth-century history can enter into conversation with each other.<P> Table of Contents for this issue, Volume One, Number One:<P><P> Editor's Note<P> William Blair<P> Welcome to the New Journal<P><P> Articles<P><P> Edward L. Ayers and Scott Nesbit<P> Seeing Emancipation: Scale and Freedom in the American South<P><P> Melinda Lawson<P> Imagining Slavery: Representations of the Peculiar Institution on the Northern Stage, 1776-1860<P><P> LeeAnn Whites<P> Forty Shirts and a Wagonload of Wheat: Women, the Domestic Supply Line, and the Civil War on the Western Border<P><P> Review Essay<P> Douglas R. Egerton<P> Rethinking Atlantic Historiography in a Post-Colonial Era: The Civil War in a Global Perspective<P><P> Book Reviews<P> Books Received<P> Professional Notes<P> Aaron Sheehan-Dean<P> The Nineteenth-Century U.S. History Job Market, 2000-2009
The Journal of the Civil War Era, Volume 1, #2, (Summer #2011)
by William A. BlairThe University Of North Carolina Press And The George And Ann Richards Civil War Era Center At The Pennsylvania State University Are Pleased To Publish The Journal Of The Civil War Era. William Blair, Of The Pennsylvania State University, Serves As Founding Editor.<P><P> Table Of Contents For This Issue, Volume One, Number Two:<P> Volume 1, Number 2 June 2011<P> Table Of Contents<P> Articles<P><P> A. Kristen Foster<P> "We Are Men!": Frederick Douglass And The Fault Lines Of Gendered Citizenship<P><P> Kathryn S. Meier<P> "No Place For The Sick": Nature's War On Civil War Soldier: Mental And Physical Health In The 1862 Peninsula And Shenandoah Valley Campaigns<P><P> Brandi C. Brimmer<P> "Her Claim For Pension Is Lawful And Just": Representing Black Union Widows In Late-Nineteenth Century North Carolina<P><P> Review Essay<P> Frank Towers<P> Partisans, New History, And Modernization: The Historiography Of The Civil War's Causes, 1861-2011<P><P> Book Reviews<P> Books Received<P> Professional Notes<P> Daniel E. Sutherland<P> The Seven O'Clock Lecture<P><P> Notes On Contributors<P> The Journal Of The Civil War Era Takes Advantage Of The Flowering Of Research On The Many Issues Raised By The Sectional Crisis, War, Reconstruction, And Memory Of The Conflict, While Bringing Fresh Understanding To The Struggles That Defined The Period, And By Extension, The Course Of American History In The Nineteenth Century.
The Journalist: Life and Loss in America's Secret War
by Jerry A. Rose Lucy Rose FischerJerry Rose, a young journalist and photographer in Vietnam, exposed the secret beginnings of America&’s Vietnam War in the early 1960s. Putting his life in danger, he interviewed Vietnamese villagers in a countryside riddled by a war of terror and intimidation and embedded himself with soldiers on the ground, experiences that he distilled into the first major article to be written about American troops fighting in Vietnam. His writing was acclaimed as &“war reporting that ranks with the best of Ernest Hemingway and Ernie Pyle,&” and in the years to follow, Time, The New York Times, The Reporter, New Republic, and The Saturday Evening Post regularly published his stories and photographs. In spring 1965, Jerry&’s friend and former doctor, Phan Huy Quat, became the new Prime Minister of Vietnam, and he invited Jerry to become an advisor to his government. Jerry agreed, hoping to use his deep knowledge of the country to help Vietnam. In September 1965, while on a trip to investigate corruption in the provinces of Vietnam, he died in a plane crash in Vietnam, leaving behind a treasure trove of journals, letters, stories, and a partially completed novel. The Journalist is the result of his sister, Lucy Rose Fischer, taking those writings and crafting a memoir in &“collaboration&” with her late brother—giving the term &“ghostwritten&” a whole new meaning.
The Journey of Little Gandhi: A Novel
by Elias Khoury"Los Angeles has Joan Didion and Raymond Chandler, and Istanbul, Orhan Pamuk. The beautiful, resilient city of Beirut belongs to Khoury."--Laila Lalami, Los Angeles TimesFrom the author of Gate of the Sun and "one of the most innovative novelists in the Arab World" (The Washington Post Book World) comes the many-layered story of Little Gandhi, or Abd Al-Karim, a shoe shine in a city fractured by war. Shot down in the street, Gandhi's story is recounted by an aging and garrulous prostitute named Alice. Ingeniously embedding stories within stories, Little Gandhi becomes the story of a city, Beirut, in the grip of civil war. Once again, as John Leonard wrote in Harper's Magazine, Elias Khoury "fills in the blank spaces on the Middle Eastern map in our Western heads."
The Journeys End Battalion: The 9th East Surrey in the Great War
by Michael LucasR.C. Sherriff, author of Journeys End, the most famous play of the Great War, saw all his front line service with the 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. This intense experience profoundly affected his writing and, through his play, it continues to have a powerful influence on our understanding of the conflict. Yet the story of his battalion has never been told in full until now. In The Journeys End Battalion, Michael Lucas gives a vivid account of its history. Using official and unofficial sources, diaries, letters, and British and German wartime records, he describes the individuals who served in it and the operations they took part in. He identifies the inspiration for Journeys End and considers how Sherriff delved into his experiences and those of his fellow soldiers in order to create his drama. So not only does the book shed new light on the wartime career of R.C. Sherriff, but it is a valuable record of the operation of a British battalion on the Western Front during the Great War.
The Joy Machine (Star Trek: The Original Series #80)
by James GunnTimshel was once the vacation spot of the galaxy, full of culture, natural beauty, and friendly, hospitable inhabitants. But now Timshel has cut itself off from the universe. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Concerned, the Federation has sent agents to investigate, but none have returned. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship EnterpriseTM are shocked to discover the truth: the people of Timshel have succumbed to an insidious new technology that guarantees every citizen total pleasure, a soul-destroying ecstasy that has enslaved their entire civilization. Kirk and Spock have faced many threats before, but now they face the most seductive menace of all: perfect happiness. And the rest of the Federation may soon fall under the irresistible control of the Joy Machine.
The Joy of Hex: Modern Spells Without All the Bullsh*t
by Nina KahnCalling all witches and badass b*tches!It's time to shake what the divine goddess gave you and live a life of bold intentions, powerful magick, and supernatural fun! Whether you're a baby witch, an experienced witch, or somewhere in between, this kickass collection of rituals and spells will inspire and invigorate your personal practice. Channel the mystical energies within and around you as you learn to manifest your dreams and open doors to exciting new possibilities. No matter what it is you're after (money, love, friendship, or inner peace), The Joy of Hex has you covered. Inside you'll find:-More than 35 rituals and spells to help you live your best life-The lowdown on witchy tools like crystals, wands, athames, altars, oils, herbs, and more!-Positivity and empowerment as you learn to trust yourself and use your intuition-Mystical and magickal rituals that soothe the soul and make life sparkle -A path to conquering the goals that matter most to you-A chance to connect to Earth's natural cycles like the goddess you areUnleash a glitter bomb of feminine power onto the world and make happy happen with Nina Kahn's The Joy of Hex, the friendly user's guide to the best spells in the cosmos.
The Joyous Patriot: The Life and Letters of Sir Ralph Verney
by David VerneyRalph Verney was born in 1879. His grandfather, Sir Harry Verne, had married as his second wife, Parthenope, Sister of Florence Nightingale, who was Ralph's Godmother. In 1900 he joined the Riffle Brigade and was sent to South Africa where the Boer War was then in progress. A dutiful son, he wrote regularly to his parents, describing every detail of his daily life. Fortunately these letters have survived and have now been edited for publication by Ralph's own son, David. Quite apart from the intrinsic interest of what the letters actually say, they have another rarer quality, in that they lay bare the standards by which a young man of aristocratic birth was then guided. Old-fashioned they may sound, but not a few still regret their passing. In 1907 Ralph became ADC to Lord Chelmsford, then Governor of Queensland, and two years later falls in love and marries Nita Walker, daughter of a distinguished Australian banker and politician. Now some of Nita's letters enliven the correspondence and soon a baby is on the way. So too is the First World War and Ralph finds himself back with his regiment in France, where he has what must, ironically, be regarded as the good fortune of the wounded. At the end of his first volume we leave him on the road to recovery and to India where he will shortly rejoin Lord Chelmsford.
The Judas Field: A Novel of the Civil War
by Howard BahrThe author of The Black Flower “re-creates [a] seminal moment in American history with prose that is vivid, unflinching, and often incantatory” (TheWashington Post Book World). A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year and Winner of the Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction Cass Wakefield left the bloodshed of the Civil War behind him twenty years ago and intends to live out the rest of his quiet days in his hometown in Mississippi. But when a childhood friend asks him to travel with her to Tennessee, he has no choice but to go along. Alison Sansing has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and wants to recover the bodies of her brother and father before she dies. Cass fought alongside Alison’s loved ones in the disastrous Battle of Franklin and helped to bury them where they fell. Joined by two of his former comrades-in-arms, Cass guides Alison through the heart of the still-devastated South. Along the way, memories of the war emerge with overwhelming vividness, thrusting Cass back into the terror and exhilaration of the battlefield. At their journey’s end, the group faces a painful reckoning between a past that refuses to die and a present still waiting to be born. “A beautifully wrought novel that deserves a wide audience,” The Judas Field is the “eloquent and fearless” final chapter in a Civil War trilogy that began with The Black Flower and The Year of Jubilo (Los Angeles Times).
The Judgement of Eve: Post-Holocaust Stories Book 2 (Gateway Essentials #106)
by Edgar PangbornEve: she was the true descendant of the first Woman - still craving the knowledge of life in the new world after the holocaust. Claudius: Only he remembered the world before the One-Day War. Would this memory help him find the truth? Ethan: He had the heart of a lion. But to conquer Eve he needed the heart of a man. Kenneth: He had confronted both the lady and the tiger. Now he would have to face the judgment of Eve.
The Judging Eye: Book 1 of the Aspect-Emperor (Aspect-emperor #1)
by R. Scott Bakker'"The Judging Eye" is an incredibly smart and smart ass title to a book that deceives in being Bakker's most straight forward read. How Bakker continues to move Kellhus in mysterious ways is something I can't wait to witness more of' - BookSpotCentral'Exquisitely intelligent and beautifully written...this is fantasy with muscle and brains, rife with intrigue and admirable depth of character, set in a world laden with history and detail.' - Steve Erikson, author of Gardens of the MoonA score of years after he first walked into the histories of Men, Anasûrimbor Kellhus rules all the Three Seas, the first true Aspect-Emperor in a thousand years.Wielding more power than even the greatest sorcerer, Kellhus now leads a holy war deep into the wastes of the Ancient North, intent on destroying the stronghold of Golgotterath and preventing the Second Apocalypse.Meanwhile his wife and consort, Esmenet, struggles to rule not only his vast empire, but their murderous children as well. And Achamian, who lives as a Wizard in embittered exile, undertakes a mad quest to uncover the origins of the Dûnyain.But Achamian, of all people, should know that one must be very careful what one seeks . . .First he was the Prince of Nothing, then the Warrior-Prophet. Now Anasurimbor Kellhus is the Aspect-Emperor. But is he a living god . . . or a demon from hell?Books by R Scott Baker:Prince of Nothing TrilogyThe Darkness That Comes BeforeThe Warrior-ProphetThe Thousandfold ThoughtAspect-EmperorThe Judging EyeThe White Luck WarriorThe Great OrdealThe Unholy ConsultNovelsNeuropathDisciple of the DogLight, Time, and Gravity
The Jukebox Queen of Malta
by Nicholas RinaldiThe Jukebox Queen of Malta is an exquisite and enchanting novel of love and war set on an island perilously balanced between what is real and what is not. It's 1942 and Rocco Raven, an intrepid auto mechanic turned corporal from Brooklyn, has arrived in Malta, a Mediterranean island of Neolithic caves, Copper Age temples, and fortresses. The island is under siege, full of smoke and rubble, caught in the magnesium glare of German and Italian bombs. But nothing is as it seems on Malta. Rocco's living quarters are a brothel; his commanding officer has a genius for turning the war's misfortunes into personal profit; and the Maltese people, astonishingly, testify to the resiliency of the human spirit. When Rocco meets the beautiful and ethereal Melita, who delivers the jukeboxes her cousin builds out of shattered debris, they are drawn to each other by an immediate passion. And, it is their full-blown affair that at once liberates and imprisons Rocco on the island. In this mesmerizing novel, music and bombs, war and romance, the jukebox and the gun exist in arresting counterpoint in a story that is a profound and deeply moving exploration of the redemptive powers of love.
The Junak King: Life as a British POW, 1941-45
by Sydney LitherlandSydney Litherland, at the age of 20, was called up in February 1940. After having been evacuated from Greece, he was among the 30,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers taken prisoner by the Germans at the fall of Crete in June 1941. This book documents in fascinating and historically important detail their daily life as POWs in Germany and encapsulates the experiences of tens of thousands of ordinary POWs. The German airborne invasion of Crete and the surrender by the British is still the subject of controversy. Sydney gives here his own first-hand account of the event. This is not an account of heroic escapes and derring-do by dashing officers, but of the day-to-day endurance of the other ranks, mostly very young men, separated from their officers and expected to do hard manual labour in working camps. What is revealed is a different kind of courage: a quiet resilience and dogged determination not just to endure, but to triumph. Supporting each other, they never lose hope of eventual victory or let an opportunity slip to make life more difficult for their captors. This is an enthralling record of their triumphs and tragedies over four long years.
The Jungle (The Oregon Files #8)
by Clive Cussler Jack Du BrulClive Cussler's tales of the Oregon and its crew have made fans of hundreds of thousands of readers. And in this latest adventure, a devastating weapon of unbelievable power is sought by a man of unstoppable greed and ambition...<P> Jungles come in many forms. There are the steamy rain forests of the Burmese highlands. There are the lies and betrayals of the world of covert operations. And there are the dark and twisted thoughts of a man bent on near-global domination. To pull off their latest mission, Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon must survive them all. A devastating new weapon unleashed in thirteenth-century China... a daring rescue in the snowbound mountains along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border... a woman gone missing in the jungles of northern Thailand and Myanmar... for Cabrillo and his crew, all of these events will come together-leading to the greatest threat against U. S. security that the world has ever known.
The Jungle Journal: Prisoners of the Japanese in Java 1942-45
by Frank Williams Ronald WilliamsThis is the story of a young Royal Artillery officer, Lieutenant Ronald Williams, who was held as a prisoner of war in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies from 1942–45. It is a true account of the alternate horror and banality of daily life, and the humour that helped the men survive the beatings, deprivation and death of comrades. Told through the diary and papers of Williams and others, Jungle Journal includes many cartoons and poems produced by the prisoners, as well as extracts from the original Jungle Journal, a newspaper created by the men under the noses of their guards. Ronald Williams was the ‘editor’ of this potentially fatal ‘publication’. Jungle Journal describes the survival of hope even in desperate straits, and is a testament to those men whose courage and fortitude were tested to the limit under the tropical sun.
The Jungle Survival Manual 1939-1945: Instructions on Warfare, Terrain, Endurance and the Dangers of the Tropics
by Alan JeffreysThe army guide that taught WWII soldiers how to survive in the jungles and swamps of the tropics.During the Second World War, Allied soldiers fought to survive not only encounters with the enemy but the landscape they found themselves in. Being posted to Southeast Asia and the Pacific to fight the Japanese meant soldiers had to learn to survive in the tropics, fighting and living in endless steamy jungle and perilous swamps. In this alien environment, men had to be able to take care of themselves rather than relying on their unit to supply their needs, something that did not come naturally to the many soldiers born and raised in cities.To help them, the British and US armies produced a number of official training manuals and guides explaining how to identify and fight the Japanese and avoid their deadly punji traps, as well as “jungle lore”: How to find and cook plants that were safe to eat Which animals and insects could kill them How to identify and treat tropical illnesses and diseases How to avoid the dangers of polluted water and cannibalsThe Jungle Survival Manual brings together the official manuals and information that enabled the Allies to fight in Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Indochina, Singapore, and the Pacific Islands—and win the war.Includes diagrams and drawings reproduced from the original guides.
The Jungle War Against the Japanese: From the Veterans Fighting in Asia, 1941–1945
by Tim HeathThe jungle war against the Japanese was arguably one of the worst terrors that could be inflicted upon a young soldier who had never been away from home before, let alone be faced with a brutal, sadistic and uncompromising enemy in an alien environment. Based on the accounts of three culturally different veterans, Tim Heath investigates the war against the Japanese, primarily in the jungles of Asia during the Second World War. From the first jungle forays, through to the defeats, the victories, the massacre of indigenous populations, the war crimes and the final elements of the war in the jungle which led to ultimate victory over the Japanese, this volume is a unique attempt at telling the story from a fresh perspective. The way in which the individuals who have contributed to this volume speak might imply a sanitized view toward the act of killing in times of war. Yet to truly understand this mind-set one has to relive their experiences of that claustrophobic hell. The book examines the factors which initially made the Japanese such brutally efficient exponents of warfare in jungle terrain, the natural hazards encountered in the jungle environment, the techniques that the British had to master in order to become at least equal to their enemy and what it was like to have to live and fight knowing your enemy was never far away from you. It was a war where methods and tactics had to be developed through hard experience along with strong leadership, which was initially lacking on the part of the British. The rule became a simple one: the jungle is neutral. It favours neither friend nor foe. It favours only he who is prepared to adapt to it the best and utilize it to his best advantage. You cannot fight the jungle itself; if you do you will almost certainly die trying.
The Jungle, Japanese and the British Commonwealth Armies at War, 1941-45: Fighting Methods, Doctrine and Training for Jungle Warfare (Military History and Policy)
by Tim MoremanThis book focuses on the British Commonwealth armies in SE Asia and the SW Pacific during the Second World War, which, following the disastrous Malayan and Burma campaigns, had to hurriedly re-train, re-equip and re-organise their demoralised troops to fight a conventional jungle war against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). British, Indian and Australian troops faced formidable problems conducting operations across inaccessible, rugged and jungle-covered mountains on the borders of Burma, in New Guinea and on the islands of the SW Pacific. Yet within a remarkably short time they adapted to the exigencies of conventional jungle warfare and later inflicted shattering defeats on the Japanese. This study will trace how the military effectiveness of the Australian Army and the last great imperial British Army in SE Asia was so dramatically transformed, with particular attention to the two key factors of tactical doctrine and specialised training in jungle warfare. It will closely examine how lessons were learnt and passed on between the British, Indian and Australian armies. The book will also briefly cover the various changes in military organisation, medical support and equipment introduced by the military authorities in SE Asia and Australia, as well as covering the techniques evolved to deliver effective air support to ground troops. To demonstrate the importance of these changes, the battlefield performance of imperial troops in such contrasting operations as the First Arakan Campaign, fighting along the Kokoda Trail and the defeat of the IJA at Imphal and Kohima will be described in detail.