This is the story of a man who was in the jungle of Malaya for over three years during WWII. He went there to train a guerilla force to act against the Japanese when they invaded. He was listed as missing, believed dead for much of that time. I found it interesting that he was so focused on the wildlife and trying to catalogue the birds he saw. It's sad that many of his diaries were lost.
It's insane the amount of adversity this man had to overcome. In the time he spent in the jungle, he escaped from the Japanese, fought diseases, leeches, and the mental strain of not being able to communicate with command. After all that, when he was able to get out, he didn't give up. He went back and finished the job he set out to do. Amazing.
I liked this book, but I never would have made it in his situation. I can't really express how much I admire this man and how he persevered in the face of everything he went through. During the course of one year, he mentions dealing with malaria for at least one-third to one half of the time. That's crazy. As for the writing itself, it can be a bit repetitive at times, but that's reflective of what he went through. When you deal with malaria numerous times, it's going to be mentioned numerous times. This isn't a criticism, it's just an observation.
I feel like Frederick Chapman didn't really escape from his time in the jungle. He mentions at the end of the book how he moved on and got married. But if you look closely, he also mentions that his friends shielded him when they could, and they noticed he had something of a hunted look when he came back. The saddest part for me was learning he took his own life.
If you're interested in what it was like to try to live and survive in the jungle, this is a great book. It isn't full of stories of sabotage and attacks on the Japanese, so if that's what you're looking for, you may end up being disappointed. I personally enjoyed it. Good Book!
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