Richard Garrett
Richard Garrett is a HK-based civil engineer, writer, historian and collector of antique firearms. He is a member of the Arms and Armour Society and the Society for Army Historical Research and an Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies at the Hong Kong University.
Road of Bones: The Siege of Kohima 1944; The Epic Story of the Last Great Stand of Empire by Fergal Keane
RICHARD GARRETT | 26 August 2010In 1944, Europe and the upcoming D-Day landings were the main focus of the war. It is no wonder that the fighting in the East was largely ignored by contemporary Britons and, to a considerable extent, by later historians: it all seemed to be little more than a side show to the great events in Europe and the Pacific.
FERGAL KEANE's new book ROAD OF BONES: THE SIEGE OF KOHIMA 1944; THE EPIC STORY OF THE LAST GREAT STAND OF EMPIREcovers the fighting that took place in northern India... [ more ]
Wartime in Burma: A Diary, January to June 1942 by Theippan Maung Wa (U Sein Tin) / L.E.Bagshaw & Anna J.Allott (trans. & eds.)
RICHARD GARRETT | 04 April 2010Books about the war in Burma in 1942 are usually about the fighting and the military campaigns. This one is different: a personal account by a civilian who lived through the Japanese invasion only to die at the hands of bandits.
Theippan Maung Wa's diary of this historic period is now available in English through this translation by L.E.Bagshaw and Anna J.Allott, entitled WARTIME IN BURMA: A DIARY, JANUARY TO JUNE 1942. U Sein Tin was a... [ more ]
Spies in the Garden: A Novel of War and Espionage by Bob Bergin
RICHARD GARRETT | 31 January 2010SPIES IN THE GARDEN: A NOVEL OF WAR AND ESPIONAGE is set during the Japanese invasion of Burma and China, centred on the activities of the American Volunteer Group or the Flying Tigers. Although there is of course a fictional hero, Harry Ross, the American spy who never seems to put a foot wrong and always comes up with the goods when needed, the AVG commander Claire Lee Chennault, the "Old Man", is the real hero of the book.
In The Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia by Ronald H. Spector
RICHARD GARRETT | 31 January 2008RONALD H. SPECTOR's new book IN THE RUINS OF EMPIRE: THE JAPANESE SURRENDER AND THE BATTLE FOR POSTWAR ASIA tells the story of the immediate aftermath of the Japanese surrender and the post-war scramble for the territories that had formed Japan's Asian Empire, and is a sequel to Eagle Against the Sun, his account of the American war with Japan.
Until the dropping of the atom bombs which resulted in the rapid capitulation of the Japanese, the war had been largely fought in... [ more ]
Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman, Lover, Betrayer, Hero, Spy by Ben MacIntyre
RICHARD GARRETT | 09 May 2007BEN MACINTYRE is a journalist who recognises a good story when he comes across it: AGENT ZIGZAG: THE TRUE WARTIME STORY OF EDDIE CHAPMAN, LOVER, BETRAYER, HERO, SPY proves truth really is stranger than fiction. Macintyre came across his obituary of a character who seemed to have no morals or fear, and who played a very dangerous role as a double-agent -- it inspired him to look deeper. He has fully researched Chapman's adventures through a variety of sources including freshly released official papers.... [ more ]
Rogue Raider: The Tale of Captain Lauterbach and the Indian Mutiny by Nigel Barley
RICHARD GARRETT | 09 January 2007NIGEL BARLEY, known for his books about historic characters in Asia -- White Rajah and In the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles -- has come up with another historical novel set in the region: ROGUE RAIDER: THE TALE OF CAPTAIN LAUTERBACH AND THE INDIAN MUTINY, which takes place during the First World War.
The hero is Julius Lauterbach, or Juli-bumm as he is affectionately known, a mariner used to peacefully plying the China trade. On the outbreak of war... [ more ]
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru: Britain's Forgotten Wartime Tragedy by Tony Banham
RICHARD GARRETT | 29 June 2006This is yet another indictment of Japan's atrocious treatment of their Prisoners of War. In this case prisoners were put on an armed boat, the Lisbon Maru, to ship them from Hong Kong to Japan. Not surprisingly, the ship appeared to be a Japanese troop carrier and it attracted an Allied attack. Although the tragedy that... [ more ]
Battle: A Visual Journey through 5000 years of Combat by R. G. Grant.
RICHARD GARRETT | 19 November 2005The fascination with military history continues unabated and there is a steady supply of magazines and television programmes catering for this interest. This fascination is not surprising, perhaps, for war has both shaped societies throughout time and has shaped the world... [ more ]
