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The Burina Road: The Epic Story of the China-liurma-India Theater in World War II. By Donovan Webster. Now York: Farrar, Straits and Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0-374-11740-3. Maps. Photographs. Notes. Index. Pp. 370. $25.00.
This is one of those rarities among military histories-a book that is both informative and a delight to read. Webster pans his attention baek and forth over a vast and complex theater of land combat (map, p. 27). In the process, he pauses to examine personalities and events in a manner that allows the full extent of the horror, heroism, and humor to emerge. The maps are clear and the photographs of high quality, but woefully lacking in number. The book is not definitive by any means, but deserves reading by anybody even faintly interested in the period.
Webster's retelling of events is lucid and frequently riveting. Memorable among these is the battle of Nhpum Gam, a thirteen-day siege by...