While in Burma we both enjoyed reading Burmese Days by George Orwell, a novel that takes place in 1930's Burma. A pretty good story and many observations that are still true today.
John also read Last and First in Burma (1941 - 1948) by Maurice Collis, a fascinating history of "how we lost Burma", and "how the Burmese got it back¨. The bulk of the book covers events from Dec 7, 1941 to the British retreat in May 1942.
I'll have to ask if my father has read that book--he was at the big airfield at Myitkina, Burma from October 1944 to August 1945. For a time it was actually the busiest airport in the world.
ReplyDeletei recently browsed a book called "world on fire" by amy chua. she pointed out the enormous economic gap between ethnic Chinese and indigenous burmese, especially in the last 10-15 years. most of the modern development projects are controled by the Chinese immigrants. i wonder if you have any such observations.
ReplyDelete--weiqing