Bamboo Cage

The P.O.W. Diary of Flight Lieutenant Robert Wyse, 1942-1943

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War II, Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book Bamboo Cage by , Goose Lane Editions
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780864925527
Publisher: Goose Lane Editions Publication: September 30, 2011
Imprint: Goose Lane Editions Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780864925527
Publisher: Goose Lane Editions
Publication: September 30, 2011
Imprint: Goose Lane Editions
Language: English

In 1942, RAF flight controller Robert Wyse became a Japanese prisoner of war on the island of Java in Indonesia. Starved, sick, beaten, and worked to near-death, he wasted away until he weighed only seventy pounds, his life hanging in tenuous balance. There were strict orders against POWs keeping diaries, but Wyse penned his observations on the scarce bits of paper he could find, struggling to describe the brutalities he witnessed. After cleverly hiding his notes in a piece of bamboo next to his bed, in December of 1943, he carefully hid his notes inside a bottle beneath his prison hut. After the war, he wrote to the Dutch authorities, asking them to dig up his diary and return it to him. In this detailed and frank portrayal of life under Japanese occupation, Wyse reveals the both the best and the worst of human nature. He criticized his fellow soldiers for botching the defence of Java and Sumatra and admonished his captors for their brutality. Yet, Wyse also describes the selfless efforts of the Dutch civilians who helped the prisoners by doing whatever they could as well as his first-hand observations of acts of self-sacrifice among the prisoners themselves.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1942, RAF flight controller Robert Wyse became a Japanese prisoner of war on the island of Java in Indonesia. Starved, sick, beaten, and worked to near-death, he wasted away until he weighed only seventy pounds, his life hanging in tenuous balance. There were strict orders against POWs keeping diaries, but Wyse penned his observations on the scarce bits of paper he could find, struggling to describe the brutalities he witnessed. After cleverly hiding his notes in a piece of bamboo next to his bed, in December of 1943, he carefully hid his notes inside a bottle beneath his prison hut. After the war, he wrote to the Dutch authorities, asking them to dig up his diary and return it to him. In this detailed and frank portrayal of life under Japanese occupation, Wyse reveals the both the best and the worst of human nature. He criticized his fellow soldiers for botching the defence of Java and Sumatra and admonished his captors for their brutality. Yet, Wyse also describes the selfless efforts of the Dutch civilians who helped the prisoners by doing whatever they could as well as his first-hand observations of acts of self-sacrifice among the prisoners themselves.

More books from Goose Lane Editions

Cover of the book The Wind Seller by
Cover of the book Abode of Love by
Cover of the book Breaking the Word Barrier by
Cover of the book Elle by
Cover of the book As You Were by
Cover of the book The Siege of Fort Beauséjour, 1755 by
Cover of the book Therefore Choose by
Cover of the book A Personal Calligraphy by
Cover of the book The Darren Effect by
Cover of the book Evangeline by
Cover of the book The Americans Are Coming by
Cover of the book Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan by
Cover of the book Kalila by
Cover of the book Grace Helen Mowat and the Making of Cottage Craft by
Cover of the book A Family of Brothers by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy