George MacDonald Fraser, who has written many successful fiction books based on well researched history quite often starring his very British Flashman character, writes a chronicle of his own personal experiences in the final stages of WWII fighting the Japanese as a 19 year old member of a rifle company that is composed of a handful of men run by a sergeant and a corporal. Fraser, who just recently passed away, writes of his first hand experiences in a very descriptive personal way, capturing the various English dialects of his fellow citizen soldiers expressing all their frustrations of life in harsh conditions in the jungle dealing with swamps, leaches, mosquitoes, questionable orders but generally good leadership although sometimes well questioned by the troops. Fraser gives you an excellent description of what it was like in the field, mixed with the real humor from the men who bonded close together, although having their differences with occasional culture clashes; they generally endure their punishment with a delightful sarcasm. And Fraser gives you the full flavor of the different troops in the field such as the courageous Gurkha soldiers, Indians and native tribesmen that fight with the British while also interacting with the tribes inhabiting the Burma jungles often caught between the two sides. Fraser does not write a political correct book and he is quite clear about that, which makes the book a realistic read, he echoes what the troops in the field really felt and he makes no bones how they felt about their enemy. An excellent picture of very young and veteran soldiers in the field that gives you the feel for the tremendous challenges and conditions they faced.

Well-written account of fighting in Burma. There is a lot of honesty about war in this book - he doesn't sugarcoat either side. An honest book about a tough fight in a brutal war.

My father was a Ranger ( Mars Task Force), who fought alongside the British and Chinese in this forgotten part of WW2. He is presently reading this book. He did enjoy the introduction and called it true to life. I will supply a more in depth review after he finishes the book. It will be a while as he is caring for my mother.

This is an outstanding true story of the Burma war, with none of the malarky that passes for reporting these days. The author does not excuse or whitewash "Jap", as he calls him, and does not engage in soul-searching about tactics used to defeat a brutal enemy. When compared to the all-out determination of the entire British (and American) nation to win, the near-treasonous undercutting of their own country since the end of WW II by Liberals of all stripes becomes even more despicable. This is a fine story of the bravery and confusion of war from the foot soldier's point of view.

The author of the Flashman chronicles has produced a vivid account of what it was actually like to be a young soldier in Burma in the later stages of World War II. Refreshing & politically incorrect.