Phoenix: Burma: The Longest War 1941-1945

Rating:
Summary: The best book on the subject!
Review: Here is one of the most precise book ever written on the whole campaign, starting with the drift to war in Burma and ends with the Japanese surrender. The book is loaded with tons of information on relatively small skirmishes to battles of epic proportions such as the Sieges of Imphal and Kohima, and there are many qoutes to go with the narrative. The book also covers Orde Wingate and his Chindits, Operation Thursday, and the lesser known participation of Chiang Kai Shek's Chinese forces.
This is a must have for history buffs and wargamers alike! I absolutely suggest you to read the whole thing, which may seem impossible at first, but once you have opened it you just can't put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Agree on all accounts but one.
Review: This excellent book is hard to put down but I am afraid that in going from a hardcover edition to a smaller paperback that the maps have become very hard to read. The letters are so small on some of the maps that they are nearly impossible to read. Hope the editors do something about it but I doubt it will happen. Minor flaw in a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Agree on all accounts but one.
Review: This excellent book is hard to put down but I am afraid that in going from a hardcover edition to a smaller paperback that the maps have become very hard to read. The letters are so small on some of the maps that they are nearly impossible to read. Hope the editors do something about it but I doubt it will happen. Minor flaw in a great read.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: This is about the best impartial account of the Burma campaign to date, with moving accounts of bravery, and graphic depictions of savagery and incomptence on both sides.

Miles ahead of the self serving, untruthful autobiography, Defeat into Victory (or is it Defeats spinned into dubious Victories?) by Slim, that overrated, pompous old fart of an ass.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive Account
Review: This is an outstanding book that must be considered the definitive single-volume account of the campaign in Burma in WWII. The author is a veteran of the campaign in the British Army where he was an intelligence officer. What is especially enjoyable about this book is that it includes many firsthand Japanese accounts in addition to Allied. The author speaks Japanese and drew upon official Japanese histories and personal interviews with participants. I have read several other books about this often forgotten Theater in WWII ( including Viscount Slim's "Defeat Into Victory" ), but this is the first book that includes Japanese sources. The author starts with the Japanese invasion of Burma and discusses the political situation in Burma prior to the invasion and how the Japanese used this to their favor. It includes the retreat of the British into India, their recovery, the British offensive in the Arakan, and Wingate and the birth of the Chindits. The author goes into great detail about Kohima-Imphal and this is where the Japanese perspective is so interesting. It follows with battles of North Burma and Stillwell, Mandalay/Meiktila and the race to Rangoon and the Japanese breakout of the 28th Army and then the surrender of Japanes forces. The book has good maps and it is not to difficult to follow forces on the battlefield. The most daunting task is trying to remember the Burmese and Indian names for places and trying to remember all the names of the Japanese sources and officers. But all this helps to add to the authenticity of the book. This book is a must read for anyone interested in WWII. It is well written, easy to read and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.