William Slim (1891–1970)

The account of Field Marshal Bill Slim's 14th army's retreat from and then defeat of the Japanese in Burma in WWII. It is an interesting story overall, but this is a General's point of view, and most of the book discusses logistics, political problems, and strategic goals. It is quite dry and relatively anecdote poor. The author has the racist views of the Japanese that were common at the time among the allied forces. He also discusses the behavioral traits of the various ethnic groups under his command including, Indians, Gorkhas, Chinese, Sikhs, British, and Burmans, especially in a vignette describing an incident where he came under fire while among enlisted men and imagined how they would each react to his being wounded. There is a sad comment that I had never heard, about how General MacArthur, in an action typical of his narcissism, refused to let the Brits move to save their prisoners of war until after he had ceremoniously accepted the Japanese surrender in Japan. The several day postponement almost certainly led to the death of some prisoners. I would recommend this to you if you have a special interest in this particular story or theatre of war, but not otherwise.… (mehr)

I may be too much a fan of this anthology, but considering the author and the genre it is a classic! William Joseph Slim became the Governor General of Australia following a military career in which he rose to the rank of field Marshal following his successful command of the Burmese Front from 1942 to 45. A careful and successful soldier he proved himself both a master of defence and offence in war.
If you read this you will discover that he was a writer of considerable talent, publishing works under the name of "Anthony Mills".
This book ranges from his memoir of the Mesopotamian Campaign of WWI, a valuable essay, "Aid to the Civil" a description of the minefield created by being called on to quell a riot in the then Indian Empire in the 1930's. It gives the reader a more sympathetic view of riot control that a good deal of current media coverage. the rest of the book has a humorous piece and descriptions of the East African Campaign of 1940 and the Allied occupation of Iran during 1941. His much longer work, "Defeat into Victory", covering his time as a soldier in Burma is less broad in nature though a classic of military History. the pair are a wonderful addition to any library containing materials dealing with the professional soldier.… (mehr)