Eric Lomax was sent to Malaya in 1941 during World War II. Taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore, he was put to work on the Burma-Siam railway. There, he helped build an illicit radio for the prisoners, but the discovery of it brought on two years of torture. Lomax never forgot his Japanese tormentor, and half a century later he found out he was still alive. This unforgettable story describes a life saved from bitterness by an extraordinary will to forgive.
The Railway Man
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Amazon
Eric Lomax, a British army soldier, was captured by the Japanese during the Singapore campaign of 1942. A railroad buff since a child, he took strange pleasure in his work as a POW on the Burma-Siam Railroad, which was later the subject of the film Bridge Over the River Kwai. When his captors discovered his detailed drawings of the railway, he was suspected as a spy and tortured for years. Fifty years later he discovered that the interpreter during his tortures was still alive. The two arranged a meeting and Lomax forgave him. Here is the exciting, moving and truthful account.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Lomax, a British Army signals officer, was captured by the victorious Japanese during the Singapore campaign in 1942. Fascinated by railroads ever since his childhood in Edinburgh, he took what pleasure he could in the irony of his slave-labor assignment as a POW: the construction of the Burma-Siam Railroad, made famous later in the David Lean film Bridge over the River Kwai. When guards discovered his lovingly detailed map of the right-of-way, Lomax was turned over to the Japanese secret police as a suspected spy. In the subsequent torture sessions, the interpreter, a young man named Nagase Takeshi, played a prominent role in the effort to break him down. Half a century later, by what he calls "an incredible and precious coincidence," Lomax learned that Takeshi was still living. A meeting of reconciliation at the Kwai River, which Lomax at first suspected was a fraudulent publicity stunt, was arranged. His graceful and restrained account of how the two men eventually became "blood-brothers" after Lomax granted Takeshi full forgiveness is deeply moving.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Steve Payne
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This remarkable true story about a British POW in a Japanese jungle death camp is both harrowing and inspiring. His tale of survival is incredible and the post war trauma he suffered before a poignant journey back to the Far East to meet one of his torturers has to be read to be believed. So sad that the author died this year, before the release of a movie about his life starring Colin Firth.
By Grey Ghost
Format:Audio Cassette
You may think you've read enough harrowing accounts of someone's life as a prisoner of war, but what sets this memoir apart is the resolution of the author's searing memories of one Japanese tormentor in particular, and his life-changing efforts to find and reconnect with that man when both are in their 60s and beyond. Its an incredibly compelling and moving tale, from beginning to end, and beautifully written.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
48 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The human side of war
Oct 17 1996
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
In this work of Eric Lomax, one finds direct contrasts between
brutality and meekness, revenge and forgiveness. The author
was a signals officer in the Pacific Theater of the war and
was captured after the fall of Singapore. He was then sent to
the POW camps involved in the construction of the then Siam-
Burma railway (Remember the "Bridge Over the River Kwai"?).
There he had first-hand experience of the Japanese's brutal
treatment of POWs, himself included. He never forgot the face
of the Japanese interpreter accompanying the soldier who beat
him to a pulp. He narrates how he had to cope psychologically
with normal life after the war, how his wartime experiences
kept on haunting him. Coincidentally, he chances upon some
information regarding a Japanese trying to make reparations
for his wartime brutalities, and indeed confirms that this
was his former tormentor. After a lot of soul-searching, he
finally meets the Japanese in a war memorial beside the Kwai
River bridge, and the process of reconciliation and healing
begins. A very touching story of man's capacity to perhaps
not to forget, but yes, to forgive.
brutality and meekness, revenge and forgiveness. The author
was a signals officer in the Pacific Theater of the war and
was captured after the fall of Singapore. He was then sent to
the POW camps involved in the construction of the then Siam-
Burma railway (Remember the "Bridge Over the River Kwai"?).
There he had first-hand experience of the Japanese's brutal
treatment of POWs, himself included. He never forgot the face
of the Japanese interpreter accompanying the soldier who beat
him to a pulp. He narrates how he had to cope psychologically
with normal life after the war, how his wartime experiences
kept on haunting him. Coincidentally, he chances upon some
information regarding a Japanese trying to make reparations
for his wartime brutalities, and indeed confirms that this
was his former tormentor. After a lot of soul-searching, he
finally meets the Japanese in a war memorial beside the Kwai
River bridge, and the process of reconciliation and healing
begins. A very touching story of man's capacity to perhaps
not to forget, but yes, to forgive.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply moving
Oct 12 2006
By T. J. Martin
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I read this book when it was first published about ten years ago and the moving experience has remained with me since I finished the final sentence. It is an incredibly vivid book that you will not be able to put down.
What Eric Lomax went through as a POW, and his eventual reconciliation with one of his torturers 50 years later displays a depth of humanity that is deeply moving.
What Eric Lomax went through as a POW, and his eventual reconciliation with one of his torturers 50 years later displays a depth of humanity that is deeply moving.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Special Book
April 28 2003
By Stephan H. Small
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is a book that will move you. Eric Lomax is a man of depth, intelligence and keen perception. His writing is vivid, his story one that you can't put down. I strongly urge anyone interested in what the POW experience is like, and anyone interested in a powerful story, to buy and read this book.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 48 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Audiobooks > Biographies & Memoirs > General
- Books > Audiobooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical
- Books > Audiobooks > General
- Books > Audiobooks > History > General
- Books > Audiobooks > History > Military
- Books > Audiobooks > Nonfiction > General
- Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military
- Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Military & Spies
- Books > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century > World War II
- Books > History > Asia > Southeast Asia
- Books > History > Military > Biographies
- Books > History > Military > Prisoners of War
- Books > History > Military > World War II
- Books > History > United States > 20th Century > World War II
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
