Edward M. Young

On the whole, this is a perfectly acceptable account of William Slim's offensive masterpiece, and the capstone of the history of Britain's Indian army. What gives me some pause is that, seeing as this booklet is almost 20 years old, and the reading list leans heavily on old official histories and has no Japanese content, a more modern history is probably in order. This is not to mention that there is no sense given that, due to London's mismanagement of the imperial endgame in India, a victory that could have been a unifying experience for India was reduced into just another battle in a bigger war. Noted Indian military historian Srinath Raghavan has observed that, for most Indians, their military history begins with the first battles in Kashmir against Pakistan.… (meer)