Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders, captured by the Japanese in Singapore. Forced into manual labor as a POW, he survived 750 days in the jungle working as a slave on the notorious “Death Railway” and building the Bridge on the River Kwai. Subsequently, he moved to work on a Japanese “hellship,” his ship was torpedoed, and nearly everyone on board the ship died. Not … Urquhart. After five days adrift on a raft in the South China Sea, he was rescued by a Japanese whaling ship.
His luck would only get worse as he was taken to Japan and forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later, he was just ten miles from ground zero when an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In late August 1945, he was freed by the American Navy—a living skeleton—and had his first wash in three and a half years.
This is the extraordinary story of a young man, conscripted at nineteen, who survived not just one, but three encounters with death, any of which should have probably killed him. Silent for over fifty years, this is Urquhart’s inspirational tale in his own words. It is as moving as any memoir and as exciting as any great war movie.
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Amazing what our history education leaves out. Reaffirms that politics suck and the world is a very dangerous place.
I could not imagine having to go through the chaotic hell portrayed in this book nor understand the courage and tenacity that enabled this man to survive. I got to read a little of what he suffered and still wonder at the soulless cruelty of the Japanese soldiers.
A book from a similar genre ‘The Forgotten Soldier’ also captivated me in a …
I was very pleasantly surprised by the very good writing. I have read a number of war memoirs, and most are not good reading. I am very happy to have taken a chance on buying this one – it was very well spent time and money. I hope most younger people take the opportunity to read this and learn of the reality of the horrifying treatment and …
I thought that although quite old the gentleman had a good person with him to make the book a very good read.
I loved reading about how this boy grew to be a man during the roughest of times and never gave up.
A clear-eyed view of the horrors of a Japanese POW camp and the strength it took to survive.
An inspiring account of living through hell.
A very well written narrative of the author’s capture by the Japanese early in WW II and the saga of his meager existence in various POW camps.
Thank you for sharing your story. This is real history, not the glossed over politicized version I read in the history books in school. A must read for those interested in knowing what really happened.
This was a really interesting book. The brutality the author experienced as a prisoner of the Japanese in WWII is truly appalling. It’s amazing that anyone could survive it and there were so many thousands of men who didn’t.
I just finished this book over the weekend. A well written first hand account of the life of a POW who survived countless horrors at the hands of his Japanese captors. I’m still not sure how he was able to survive. A really good read and i highly recommend.
It’s amazing how well the author took us to the depths of man’s inhumanity, and his ability to endure beyond… way, way beyond… those challenges. I was dismayed and saddened and left hopeful of my potential to endure, should I need to. Excellent book. I highly recommend.
True, unsanitized history by a participant.
Two Goverments at their worst, a soldier at his best. War time brutality ignored by the world and compounded by the needs of a veteran ignored. Sad.
Endurance beyond the limits of human conception.
Great read and I’m hoping other POWs find forgiveness in their hearts. Unbelievable how they survived the brutality they endured. Its also an outrage his government did not stand behind these POWs after returning from what they endured and to pay only a fraction of his military pay, they should be embarrassed. At least he found the way to love, …
Well written first person narrative of being a POW of the Imperial Japanese Army in Burma in WW2 forced to build the Japanese Armies railroad thru the jungle; then transported via a “hell ship” to Japan; Then being within a few miles of the 2nd Atom Bomb Blast—-Wow…..a true Scottish Hero! Extremely detailed, descriptions are picture perfect, …
After all Alister went through, when captured by the barbaric japs , he was most annoyed buy the treatment he got from the British government on his return.
The closest these high paid government officials came to wartime injury was falling off a bar stool at an exclusive club
I doubt this book is for everyone. Like spicy food, you have to like the stuff to begin with. Urquhart’s tale is hard to believe, hard to take, yet immensely informative and, yes, entertaining. He’s a capable storyteller, doesn’t get bogged down in too many side trips or irrelevant reminiscences, and doesn’t try to be a novelist as he tells his …
This description of the POW camps in Asia was just amazing that anyone survived. The writer was a Gordon Highlander from Aberdeen, Scotland. And his perseverance thru the 3 1/2 years of captivity was awe inspiring. Especially when he wrote it many years after it happened. Highly recommended.