BUILDIN: THE BURMA ROAD

The engineer in charge of the construction of the Burma Road gives an account of that engineering fast accomplished against physical and human odds, in spite of unfamiliar -- often impossible -- terrain, untrained and sometimes unreliable natives, rain and landdes. Trained as a mechanical -- not a civil engineer -- Tan undertook the job reluctantly, the building of a road of over 700 miles, 600 miles of which was to be laid with crushed stone. Here were problems of uncontrollable, often outdated, machine of securing food and medicine for his men; of profiteering; of native labor -- men and women -- most of which was volunteered; of chronic malaria and other diseases; and finally the accomplishment of the road which has been China's lifeline. Tan also gives an amplifying picture of the country, customs, superstitions, races, landmarks, which makes this more than just a report of scientific achievement.