BURMA DIARY

A short book but a gallant one, and an interesting book for anyone to read who has read Seagrave's Burma Surgeon. For here is another record of a man attached to a medical unit in Burma, during the Jap invasion in 1941-2. The diary starts in Rangoon, December 1941; it ends in India July 30, 1942. And yet it is not intended as a ""war book"", but is, rather, an account of the reactions and resulting philosophy of a highly sensitive person who believes that the spirit of man is a splendid thing, enabled by the sufferings entailed by war. Each brief entry is a miniature sermon; there is no paralleling of thought as related to action in the war theatre. Apparently, the author -- a Texan -- did not realize the strength of his own faith until he encountered the terrors of war and the sufferings of men. He likens his experiences to parallel experiences in the Bible, and points out the relevance of the teaching of Christ. In its very simplicity -- almost naivete-- it makes inspiring reading.