Rating: Summary: Primary Source for History of treatment of POWs. Review: "The Railway Man", by Eric Lomax, W.W. Norton, 1995. This is a well written and well edited book, telling the personal story of Eric Lomax, who was Prisoner of War held by the Japanese during World War II. The author's personal accounting of torture, beating and maltreatment of POWs by the Japanese is a cool condemnation in black type on white paper of the inhuman treatment common in the Pacific. Lomax's almost causal recounting of how he was tortured makes that section even more difficult to read.The title, "The Railway Man", comes from the author's life long obsession with the railroads and locomotives. His observations of railroads and locomotives makes some of the more vivid writing in his autobiography. His personal journey from hatred of the Japanese translator, who participated in prisoners' torture, to forgiveness of that person, marks one of the highlights of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who believes the Japanese acted in a civilized manner in the war they started in the Pacific.
Rating: Summary: Primary Source for History of treatment of POWs. Review: "The Railway Man", by Eric Lomax, W.W. Norton, 1995. This is a well written and well edited book, telling the personal story of Eric Lomax, who was Prisoner of War held by the Japanese during World War II. The author's personal accounting of torture, beating and maltreatment of POWs by the Japanese is a cool condemnation in black type on white paper of the inhuman treatment common in the Pacific. Lomax's almost causal recounting of how he was tortured makes that section even more difficult to read. The title, "The Railway Man", comes from the author's life long obsession with the railroads and locomotives. His observations of railroads and locomotives makes some of the more vivid writing in his autobiography. His personal journey from hatred of the Japanese translator, who participated in prisoners' torture, to forgiveness of that person, marks one of the highlights of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who believes the Japanese acted in a civilized manner in the war they started in the Pacific.
Rating: Summary: bravissimo for mr lomax Review: A rare and wonderful work, full of paradox and hope. I was reminded of Hannah Arendt's commentary on the banality of human evil, but here it was turned around -- Eric Lomax expressed a profound goodness of character in his decision, yet the background of his life appeared perfectly ordinary. Mr Lomax discusses an overwhelmingly positive act, but to appreciate the act's depth, the author must also describe his treatment as a Japanese war prisoner in WWII (the Japanese conduct in that war must stand at the most evil and depraved level of human behavior, yet the Japanese have never formally expressed sorrow or apology for this behavior and have, instead, come to be seen as victims in that war). Mr Lomax obviously struggled deeply before making his final decision, yet he suggests it was his only possible choice. I have given this book to a Catholic priest as a parting gift, when he asked for a book which I thought best represented the teachings of Christ.
Rating: Summary: A brutal story with a redeeming moral Review: A wonderful read. It read better than most "page turner" novels. With a clear consise style, Lomax illustrates deep truths- The horrible brutality of the Japanese prison camps, the agonizing will to survive, and the amazing capacity to forgive the most heinous of wrongs. Read this book
Rating: Summary: Honest straight language makes this book painfully real. Review: AS always WWII for one who dadn't directly experience it, looms myth-like in clearness of intent. Perhaps without extraordinary language the story shines brighter in it's testinment to our humanity. The authors objects are aways clear that he didn't undertake this voyage for a noble reason but for a precious gift of understanding oneself. I stayed up all night, granted I don't sleep well, this book make me glad of the insomnia
Rating: Summary: Time for the hating to stop Review: For me, what makes this story so special is that I bought it, not out of choice, but because I had to study it as part of an English course. Of all the other books I own, none have affected me in the way that Eric Lomax's has. None have been written with such painful honesty. None have made me so simultaneously ashamed and proud to be a human being, and none have made me cry like I did during the final pages of 'The Railway Man'. It is a testament not only to human endurance, but also to the spirit of men, many of whom died in unspeakable conditions, and to Eric Lomax, who was 'lucky' enough to survive the torture on the Burma- Siam railway, and the torture of its memories years later. Read this book and you will have nothing to complain about for the rest of your life.
Rating: Summary: the real River Kwai Review: I first heard about Mr. Lomax in the "Guidepost" magazine, and was eleven when I read this "the Railway Man". And I must say, it's a painful read. After reading an eye-witness account of the treatment of the prisonners, "Bridge to the River Kwai" seems so...tame. This is the real stuff. It's graphic, like when he drescribes the brutal treatment at the hands of the captors, the endless interrogations, being swarmed over by red ants when they were put in cages, and about the man who tortured him all those years. Then he talks about going back to England, marrying, and then the jolt of his former torturer being alive. And that they met up again, and how he forgave. I'm surprised it's out of print, and I still think it should be more widely read. The story may be gut-wrenching (in more ways than one), but when he survived it all, one can't help but wonder how, when so many have died along the way.
Rating: Summary: the real River Kwai Review: I first heard about Mr. Lomax in the "Guidepost" magazine, and was eleven when I read this "the Railway Man". And I must say, it's a painful read. After reading an eye-witness account of the treatment of the prisonners, "Bridge to the River Kwai" seems so...tame. This is the real stuff. It's graphic, like when he drescribes the brutal treatment at the hands of the captors, the endless interrogations, being swarmed over by red ants when they were put in cages, and about the man who tortured him all those years. Then he talks about going back to England, marrying, and then the jolt of his former torturer being alive. And that they met up again, and how he forgave. I'm surprised it's out of print, and I still think it should be more widely read. The story may be gut-wrenching (in more ways than one), but when he survived it all, one can't help but wonder how, when so many have died along the way.
Rating: Summary: the real River Kwai Review: I first heard about Mr. Lomax in the "Guidepost" magazine, and was eleven when I read this "the Railway Man". And I must say, it's a painful read. After reading an eye-witness account of the treatment of the prisonners, "Bridge to the River Kwai" seems so...tame. This is the real stuff. It's graphic, like when he drescribes the brutal treatment at the hands of the captors, the endless interrogations, being swarmed over by red ants when they were put in cages, and about the man who tortured him all those years. Then he talks about going back to England, marrying, and then the jolt of his former torturer being alive. And that they met up again, and how he forgave. I'm surprised it's out of print, and I still think it should be more widely read. The story may be gut-wrenching (in more ways than one), but when he survived it all, one can't help but wonder how, when so many have died along the way.
Rating: Summary: Humility and Heroism Review: Lomax is a common man has survived and overcome the most brutal of human sufferings. He shows that in all of us is the capacity for greatness. His language is to the point with a tone of a man that is reluctantly telling his story more for our own need to understand the POW experience than for any personal aggrandizement. As others have commented, there is a real gutcheck here. It is a true emotional rollercoaster and worth it.
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