Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II, The

Army, Dec 2003 by Giovannelli, Danielle

Varied Fare

The Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II. Donovan Webster. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 371 pages; photographs; index; maps; notes; $25.

The Burma Road is the story of the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater in World War II.

The author, Donovan Webster, is a gifted storyteller who has written a compelling narrative that engages and educates the reader.

This book includes anecdotes from infantrymen on both sides, memories of conversations among generals and soldiers, letters to family members and daily journal entries. All are used to lend another dimension to the CBI, putting a human face on the otherwise anonymous jungle battlefields.

The Burma Road is not a straight chronology. It begins with Gen. Joseph Stilwell's march out of Burma. The remainder describes his mission to rebuild the Burma Road and retake the lost ground by deploying several units: Merrill's Marauders, Wingate's Chindits, the American-trained Chinese X Force and the Chinese Y Force, among others. Webster does not try to simultaneously describe the actions of each unit at each point in time, but rather describes the full mission of one force from start to finish, moving back and forth in time while keeping each mission in context.

The reader thus gets the full picture of the CBI in easy to follow episodic form.

In addition to the combat descriptions, the author includes both armies' constant battle with nature. While men fought against each other, they also had to contend with the Burmese jungle. Webster explicitly recounts tales of malaria, dysentery, leeches, wild animal attacks and starvation.

Those familiar with the CBI will be impressed with the detail of Webster's research, while those new to the story will have no trouble picturing the Burmese jungles, thanks to his vivid descriptions.

This account of the CBI in World War II is both graphic and unflinching in its portrayal of the brutality of jungle combat and the ultimate triumph of the Allied soldiers.

-Danielle Giovannelli