Rating: 
Summary: Real victories and no spin
Review: There's not a lot I can add to the many reviews that have deservedly heaped praise on this classic and inspiring memoir. The many details of just how an army is run and a war fought are truly fascinating. And then there's the matter of the author's character.
Slim's integrity is only too obvious. Defeats are not minimized, and incompetence and ill-preparedness not glossed over. He is generous with his praise, even for such famously difficult allies as Wingate and Vinegar Joe Stilwell, and his rare criticisms are measured in tone. He is also humble, rightly praising his men as the true architects of the final victory. What comes through the long narrative most strongly is the impression of a throughly balanced and decent man.
It's a pity but I can't say the same about TS Wing, whose drivelling diatribe of a review appears under the title of 'Defeats spun into victories.' The impression he creates, with his few brief words, is of a spiteful, ignorant, semi-literate oaf. And beyond his crude, coarse, mean-spirited tone is a truly staggering lack of interpretive ability and a grasp of the facts that is almost palsied in its shakiness. It would be easy but tedious to refute every single assertion that he makes. But take my word for it. Every single sentence in his lousy little screed is just plain WRONG.
"What are one to make of it" Mr Wing asks. From a sentence like that I make a fairly sure assumption that he is a pretentious, slack-jawed, lop-earred, ignorant bum. May I suggest he learns how to spell and write gramatically before he blesses us with any more of his musings? And as for 'down-under' - is that where he keeps his big, fat head?
Rating:
Summary: A fine book about leadership and strategy
Review: Available in paperback in Europe or from amazon.co.uk if anyone wants to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: A companion book to QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE
Review: Awhile ago, I read QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE, the wartime memoir by George MacDonald Fraser detailing his experiences as an infantryman with the 17th Division of the 14th Indian Army as the latter pursued the retreating Japanese through Burma during the closing months of WWII. He had nothing but high praise for the army commander, Field-Marshal William Slim. This prompted me to purchase and read Slim's own account of the time and place, DEFEAT INTO VICTORY. The two books are a perfect pair for anyone interested in the India-Burma Theater of the war - perspectives from both the top and bottom of the British Army's command structure.Slim's memoirs, first published in 1956 while he was serving as Governor General of Australia, begin with his assignment to command the 1st Burma Corps during it's desperate fighting retreat from Burma into India in 1942 after the Japanese captured Rangoon. Then later, as chief of the 14th Indian Army, he oversees the regrouping and rebuilding of the force that finally decimates the Japanese invaders at Imphal in northern India, and subsequently chases the fleeing enemy back south through Burma. One of Slim's most notable characteristics is his evident lack of an overbearing ego. Several times in his book, he makes reference to his mistakes, errors in planning or judgement, and his deficiencies as a military commander. (Imagine that other famous British Field-Marshal of the war, the prima donna Montgomery, admitting such!) Much to his credit, Slim apparently learned hard lessons as he went along, and emerged as the better man and general for it. This, combined with his great concern for his men's morale, health, training and supply, justifies the high regard in which he was held by "rankers" such as Fraser. Churchill was wrong when he remarked, "I cannot believe that a man with a name like Slim can be much good." The author's history of the Burma war is comprehensive - perhaps excessively so for the casual reader such as myself. His narrative includes the movement of troops as far down as battalion level, which is way more than I needed to know. Because of this, I might have awarded 4 stars instead of 5 had I been less mindful of the contribution Slim's memoir makes to the history of an almost forgotten theater of the global conflict. A keener student of the Burma campaigns is certain to appreciate these details more than I did. Finally, there is the Field-Marshal's dry British wit, which shows all too infrequently. For example, when discussing his opposite number in the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Kawabe, Slim writes: "I did, however, manage to get a photograph alleged to be that of Kawabe. It showed what might have been a typical western caricature of a Japanese; the bullet head, the thick glasses, and prominent teeth were all there... When I needed cheering I looked at it and assured myself that, whichever of us was the cleverer general, even I was, at any rate, the better looking."
Rating:
Summary: Defeat Into Victory
Review: Best find of the year. Superbly written. In a modern era of weak character and questionable integrity, this text revitalizes leadership based on core values. Highly recommend to anyone who is or wants to be a leader.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good and honest appraisal of General Slim's Burma war.
Review: British General William Slim commanded English/Indian forces
during most of the "forgotten" war in Burma from 1942 to 1945.
Slim is now regarded as the finest English general of the Second
World War (yes, better than "Monty"). In this book, written
some time after the war ended, Slim tells the reader about the
early mistakes which lead to the near total defeat
of the English army in Burma in 1942. -----
Slim's efforts to rebuild his army and then take the offensive against
the Japanese comprise the majority of the book and it makes for a very interesting story. Considering that the terrain over which most
of the fighting occured was even worse than Vietnam, I learned a great deal.
Contrasting his experiances in Burma with the U.S. war in Vietnam is a good thought
experiment. ----
Of most interest to military historians and people interested in the Second World
War. As to personal matters the book is almost completely devoid of details. Slim
was very much the English Gentleman and all the interesting personal details of his
life you will have to find elsewhere. ----
P.S. It contains an interesting side note about the father of the Burmese
Nobel Peace Prize winner: Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father fought against the British
in conjunction with the Japanese but later turned against the Japanese when he discovered that they were just going to be new imperial masters, even worse than
the English.
---- Colin Glassey
Rating:
Summary: Very good and honest appraisal of General Slim's Burma war.
Review: British General William Slim commanded English/Indian forcesduring most of the "forgotten" war in Burma from 1942 to 1945.Slim is now regarded as the finest English general of the Second World War (yes, better than "Monty"). In this book, written some time after the war ended, Slim tells the reader about the early mistakes which lead to the near total defeat of the English army in Burma in 1942. ----- Slim's efforts to rebuild his army and then take the offensive against the Japanese comprise the majority of the book and it makes for a very interesting story. Considering that the terrain over which most of the fighting occured was even worse than Vietnam, I learned a great deal. Contrasting his experiances in Burma with the U.S. war in Vietnam is a good thought experiment. ---- Of most interest to military historians and people interested in the Second World War. As to personal matters the book is almost completely devoid of details. Slim was very much the English Gentleman and all the interesting personal details of his life you will have to find elsewhere. ---- P.S. It contains an interesting side note about the father of the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner: Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father fought against the British in conjunction with the Japanese but later turned against the Japanese when he discovered that they were just going to be new imperial masters, even worse than the English. ---- Colin Glassey
Rating:
Summary: The finest memoir by a General Officer
Review: Defeat into Victory is simply the finest memoir by a GO that I have ever read, and one of the best ever. Slim manages to avoid any sense of self-justification, and instead clearly analyzes both his accomplishments as 14 Army Commander, and his shortcomings. For those interested in the Burma theater, I also recommend The Road Past Mandalay, by John Masters, who served as a staff officer and brigade commander during the British campaigns there.
Rating:
Summary: The finest memoir by a General Officer
Review: Defeat into Victory is simply the finest memoir by a GO that I have ever read, and one of the best ever. Slim manages to avoid any sense of self-justification, and instead clearly analyzes both his accomplishments as 14 Army Commander, and his shortcomings. For those interested in the Burma theater, I also recommend The Road Past Mandalay, by John Masters, who served as a staff officer and brigade commander during the British campaigns there.
Rating:
Summary: A great book by a great general. Simple as that.
Review: Field Marshal Viscount Slim was one of Britain's greatest generals. He must surely rank as the best British Army Commander of World War 2 and would be in with a shot that the title of Best Allied Army Commander. His memoirs should therefore be essential reading. It is a significant bonus the Slim's memoirs are among the finest memoirs ever written by a soldier. Slim's achievements were impressive. He took a beaten and demoralised army (a true multi-ethnic Imperial army) and within two years turned it into a force that could take on the very best army units the Japanese could put in the field and beat them at their own game. He did this in some of the most difficult terrain on the planet, while languishing towards the bottom of the list of priorities when it came to handing out any kind of logistical support. He was also, by all acccounts, a genuinely nice person. He is also obscurely famous for being interviewed getting off a plane during the 1960s when Parliament was in the process of decriminalising homosexuality in Britain, when journalists were looking for views on what was then a very contentious issue. His response? "Good idea, very fair. I certainly don't mind it being legal. Just so long as it isn't compulsory." His memoirs do not disappoint. He covers the planning and execution of the Burma campaign in exhausting detail and provides valuable insight into what went on at 14th Army HQ. He provides interesting glimpses of the other big names in the area too - Wingate, Stillwell, Mountbatten but never descends into gossip. He is invariably generous in his praise and tactful and constructive in his criticism. The book is refreshingly free of self-justification and rewriting of history, not something that could be said of the memoirs of some other generals. Slim (probably understandably) harboured a great animus against the Japanese and this comes through in the book. He is... decidedly uncomplimentary. However, this can be contrasted with his generous and unpatronising praise of the various colonial troops under his command and his extreme irritation at the casual racism to which they were subjected by some newcomers. Defeat into Victory is valuable on a great number of levels. Anyone interested in World War 2 in general or the Burma campaign in specific should, of course, read it. It should also be required reading for anyone who expects to command men in uniform, at whatever level. The book is full of priceless, gemlike insights into military leadership and motivation. Forget "Infantry Attacks", if there's one book to carry in your pack across deserts, over mountains and through rice paddies, this is it. Quite aside from the human aspects and frontline command, it is also valuable for drawing attention to the unglamourous but essential area of logistics (without which the British victory would have been impossible). It's also a wonderful memoir in its own right. Look, just read it. Buy it, read it, treasure it. Seriously.
Rating:
Summary: 6
Review: Field-Marshal Slim's memoir of the Burma campaign is one of thefinest generals reports from the Second World War. He outlines thebitter and decisive British defeat by the Japanese in 1942, the slow, painful rebuilding of the British-Indian-African Army and its collaboration with the Chinese and Americans in a see-saw campaign against the Japanese in 1943, the decisive battle of Imphal in 1944 and the crushing victories of 1945. In the mountainous and jungle terrain of the Burma-India theater Slim pioneered in the use of airpower for logistical support and the development of airbridges built around air fields. In many ways this under-supported and often neglected theater fought the most modern campaign of the second world war. Slim is a revealing and deliberate author-teacher who intended this book both as a report on a great campaign and as a series of lessons for future students of the art of war. The opening hundred pages are a little slow and the place names are never easy but the book is well worth reading for anyone who would seek to understand leadership and victory in warfare.
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