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Title: The Burma Road : The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II by Donovan Webster ISBN: 0-374-11740-3 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 13 October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.11 (9 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: A good read but lacking so much
Comment: Having read the reviews below it seems rather churlish to pour a dose of cold water on them. But I feel I must take odds with some of the more gushing phrases ladled out below. Certainly Mr Webster's book is very readable and well written, but to say that it well researched is another matter. While it is indeed commendable that Mr Webster visited Burma, the book does not deal with the 'Burma Road' at all, nor the full story of China-Burma-India, but rather with the 'Ledo' or 'Stilwell Road' built by the Americans during the Burma campaign of 1942-45. The Burma Road ran from Rangoon to Lashio and was used to send American lend-lease materials through British-run Burma to Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist regime in China in the period 1937-41. It was built at astonshing cost in human life by Chinese coolie labour and is indeed an incredible tale, but one that Mr Webster completely overlooks. When the Japanese invaded Burma in 1942 they cut this important lifeline and General 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell, as commander of American forces in theatre and Chief of Staff to the Chinese Army, persuaded the American government - which was desperate to keep China in the war - to build a road from Ledo in Assam through to link up with the old Burma Road.
Mr Webster fails completely to explain the political background to this decision or the problems it caused. These were threefold. Firstly, British and American strategic objectives diverged entirely: while the Americans were desperate to aid China, the British were reluctant to support a land campaign through Burma since prime minster Winston Churchill's focus was on the seaborne recapture of Singapore, in an effort to restore British imperial prestige. Second, north-east India was hopelessly undeveloped and the logistical task of moving resources even as far as Ledo seemed insuperable to the British High Command in India, which had other priorities and other problems. Finally there was another American force already operating in the form of the airlift over 'the Hump', and subsequently Claire Chennault's Fourteenth Air Force in China itself. Chennault believed air power alone was necessary to support China and defeat the Japanese, and he and Stilwell remained at loggerheads over the relative merits of land and air supply to the end. More fundamental than any of these points, however, is the simple fact that Stilwell was a minor cog in a much bigger wheel. American forces in theatre never amounted to more than 15 per cent and of these, combat forces were less than one per cent.
If this were indeed the story of the China-Burma-India Theater, and not merely the Stilwell Road, Mr Webster would have described in greater detail the story of 'the Hump' - an epic in itself. He would not have reduced the 600,000 men of the Anglo-Indian Fourteenth Army to mere bit-part players; nor were Wingate and the Chindits as important strategically as XV Corps and its operations in opening up Arakan to provide air support to Fourteenth Army's subsequent reconquest. Nor would Mr Webster have consigned the role of the engineers, signallers, medics and transportation corps troops, which included a majority of African-Americans, to the background - it is their story more than anyone's. And while everyone has heard of Merrill's Marauders, how many people have heard of the 464th Anti-Aircraft Battalion who were, in fact, the first American combat troops to enter Burma? Yet their history is not in the rather thin bibliography. Thus the dichotomy between the title and the book's contents is very disappointing. Nathan N. Prefer's 'Vinegar Joe's War' is perhaps more useful as history, even within the limited terms of the Stilwell Road.
As for the Stilwell Road itself, if the British were wrong to underestimate the can-do spirit, drive and ingenuity of the Americans in building a road through some of the worst terrain in the world, the Americans overestimated its significance: within months of its opening it was made redundant, as the original Burma Road was reopened in May 1945 following the Anglo-Indian recapture of Rangoon. And both British and American strategic hopes were dashed soon afterwards: within four years of Japan's defeat, the British had left Burma forever and Chiang was on his way to exile in Taiwan, leaving the prize of China to Communism. Certainly the book is worth reading, but as a start point to the subject, not the last word on it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent...
Comment: Donovan Webster has written a real page-turner. The Burma Road is as good as anything written by the late, great Stephen Ambrose. Webster tells the often-overlooked story of the China-Burma-India theater of World War II and the efforts of the Allies to keep the Burma Road open and to retake those areas captured by the Japanese. It sure helps that one of the main figures involved in the CBI was General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell. Stilwell is a fascinating character and deserving of much more widespread recognition than he ever achieved, although it is likely he would have despised any media attention. Webster's research is impeccable and his prose is crisp and intelligent. This is truly a top-notch book and will certainly please any history buff, especially those interested in WW II.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent read
Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed Webster's book. Compared with Louis Allen's Burma: The Longest War, 1941-1945, Webster's book is somewhat condensed but it provides an excellent picture of CBI for those interested in a good but not overly detailed look at the theatre. Webster is an excellent writer and kept my interest throughout. While I would recommend this book highly, there were certain aspects of the book that irked me.
First, I would rate the maps as merely acceptable. For instance, Chapter 1 begins on Page 13 and ends on Page 45 and covers the allied retreat from Burma (including Stillwell's famous "Walkout"), yet the map depicting the retreat does not appear until Page 43. There were also numerous times when Webster referred to a town and yet the town is not shown on any of the maps. I would like to see more books such as Bill Sloan's Given Up for Dead which place a primary map inside the cover. Having a map inside the cover makes it very easy to refer to the map throughout the reading.
I was also irked by numerous spelling errors in the book. For instance, on Page 241, Sloan refers to Lieutenant General Reyna Mutaguchi by name three times in the first paragraph and yet spells the name "Mutaguchji" the third time. On another occasion I recall that "unit" was misspelled "init" although I did not note the page.
A timeline would also have been helpful. This criticism is certainly not unique to Webster's book as most World War II books lack timelines. If any WW II authors or editors happen to catch this, please consider the use of timelines to go with more detailed maps.
Despite the maps not being great and the spelling errors, Webster's The Burma Road is an excellent read. It peaked my interest in the CBI to the point that I plan to purchase Allen's longer work on the subject.
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