Quartered Safe Out Here: A Harrowing Tale of World War II

I had to fight my way through the book ... seemed like every time something interesting was developing the author took great pains to fight his way back to the ho-humdrum of a soldier's life (and the constant phonetic passages that you have to labor through that he probably believed added realism to the story-line just got on my nerves to tell the truth). At roughly the 2/3rd point in the book when the author equivocated Churchill's (Tory's) Defeat with the establishment of jobs for everyone (much like a team of horses under one whip comrade) I'd had enough. It's bad enough the book was borderline boring ... but now you're pushing politics too? Finally I am shocked that so many established authors (who I found interesting) recommended this book ... obviously other factors were in play here. Enough is enough ... I really tried to like it ... I give-up.

Great untold story by a favorite author, who now that he is deceased, makes finding books by him a challenge. I have all of his Flashman series in hardback and really enjoy reading and re-reading them. Looking forward to reading this latest book.

It is not often you see this many reviews all of which are 5 stars so when one does you pretty much know that this is a special book. All the reviews for the book are spot on. It rings of authenticity, something that it is usually difficult for a writer do but when you finish this book you have a feeling about this man and his experiences with Nine Section that, at least for me, I never felt before and I have read many military history books. Nine Section is 10 men, like an American army squad led my a non-commissioned officer who is more of of the men rather than an officer. There is no big picture here, just what faced this one small group of men in a very difficult time and place. Fraser's description of the 50th anniversary of VJ Day and his reluctant participation was very moving. His commentary on the "spirtual hypochondria" of the modern world was absolutely accurate. (pg. 89-90) I loved his comment on intrusive modern television journalists when he said, "I can regret, though, that there were no modern television "journalists" transported back in time to ask Grandarse (a Nine Section soldier): "How did you FEEL when you saw Corporal Little shot dead?" I would have like to his his reply."

2001's "Quartered Safe Out Here" is George MacDonald Fraser's superbly written and moving recollection of his service wtih the British 14th Army in the Burma Theater at the close of the Second World War. Fraser was a 19 year-old private, fresh from a "public" school education and assigned to an infantry section full of seasoned veterans in one of the most dangerous combat zones of the war. A journalist and novelist later in life, Fraser didn't get around to writing about his wartime experiences until half a century after the fact. As a result, his narrative is admittedly episodic. Fraser makes an effort to place his often vivid recollections in context provided by the official history, but this account is in no way meant to be a unit or campaign history. Fraser is that unfortunately rare type, an infantry private with real writing skills. His section mates become living, breathing characters to the reader. His impressions of the jungle, the heat, the monsoons, and combat with the Japanese are heartbreakingly real. The respect of the 14th Army for its commander, future Field Marshal Bill Slim, shines through. Fraser's portraits of British, Indian, and Gurkha soldiers are by turns funny and awe-inspiring in capturing their stoic professionalism under conditions of boredom and terror. His observations of the attitudes and expectations of his fellow soldiers provide some pungent perspective on just how much the world has changed since 1945. "Quartered Safe Out Here" is very highly recommended as a superbly written and brutally honest account of a forgotten theater of World War II, a reading experience for the casual reader and the student of history alike.

The author of the Flashman chronicles has produced a vivid account of what it was actually like to be a young soldier in Burma in the later stages of World War II. Refreshing & politically incorrect.

George MacDonald Fraser, best known for his Flashman novels, and, in my opinion, one of our best writers, gives us here his nearly fifty-year-old memories of his service in Burma in 1945. There is so much to like about this book that it's difficult to know where to begin. There is Fraser's absolute honesty about his fears, his mistakes, his attitude toward the Japanese, and the virtues and vices of his comrades. There is his ability to place his unit's activities within the context of larger campaigns and yet give a vivid impression of what fighting with his unit must have been like. There is his brief but compelling portrait of General William Slim, for whom he has an unabashed admiration. There are moments of low humor, of heroism, and of tragic loss of life, and there is an unapologetic pride in what he, his comrades, and the rest of the British and Allied forces accomplished. This is one of the best books that I have ever read, and I recommend that you make it one of yours.

Fraser's is one of the finest war memoirs I've ever read, and for so many reasons. He has a gift for illustrating the life of the combat soldier in ways that are at once terrifying, hilarious, and sometimes just plain bizarre. His discovery in the field that he had a gift for brewing tea is unforgettable, as is his account of falling down a well in the middle of a battle, his comrades cracking jokes about it as the chaos and noise of battle rages all around them. Among the most remarkable things about Fraser's book are his comparisons between the official histories of what happened with what he actually experienced; the official history of one engagement, for example, records only that a tank was destroyed and so many men killed or wounded on each side, but Fraser describes what that burning tank SMELLED like and how it attracted the attention of Japanese soldiers throughout the night. These are the things we rarely get from ordinary histories of battles and wars. His book does not reduce the soldiers to a list of statistics. One learns to care about them or loathe them almost as much as Fraser did. The final few chapters are particularly sobering. Anyone who questions the necessity of the atomic bomb attacks on Japan would do well to read this book (and E.B. Sledge's "With the Old Breed"). We owe so much to the men and women who fought and served in this war. Fraser's book has many important and enduring lessons for all of us, but particularly for those of us born in the postwar boom. Highly, highly recommended!