The Steel Bonnets

[macwilkin]

Yes, the last book of his I read was Quartered Safe Out Here, which is quite a revelation about his experiences in wartime Burma. I recommend it, but humor is at the minimum as it is very much a frank story.

My grandfather was in the China-Burma-India Theatre during WWII, so it was certainly an eye-opening read for me as to what the allies went through in that "forgotten theatre".

Scott Gilmore's A Connecticut Yankee in the 8th Gurkha Rifles is also a very gripping account of Burma.

T.

[Tim Little]

Got ahold of a paperback copy a few years ago -- from Amazon UK, if I recall correctly. A highly recommended read, so I'm glad to hear it's newly available.

[Streetcar]

Hey Streetcar,

I don't know what area of the Emerald City you live in, but while I had some time to kill a few months back. I found a great bookstore. Can't think of the name, but it is in the old Ballard library, right in Ballard. Check it out, They have some great books and the largest nautical section I have seen.

Victoria

I don't get to the Ballard area much, but it sounds like it's worth the trip. Barnes and Noble and the like are good, but I love roaming through an "independant" book seller.

[gilmore]

I recently finished "The Steel Bonnets." It's an interesting read, and well worth it, especially for those who descend from Border families. However, it's not without flaws. The material is organized in a unique way that is often distracting. When the chronological narrative finally begins in the last section of the book, it neglects the earlier periods, and focuses on the Tudor era, especially Elizabethan, with a cursory coverage of the last days of the reivers during the reign of James I & VI. This is understandable, since there is more material, and it is more readily available, on the later period, but it would be interesting to get more of an idea how Border culture developed into what it did. And it was a mess, according to Fraser, with the constant fear of raids especially in the fall and winter, generations-long feuds, etc.

It's ironic that in photos we see a now-peaceful country that had such a violent past.