Quartered Safe Out Here
The Flashman author's memoir of fighting in Burma as a nineteen-year-old private in the Border Regiment.
The Verdict
Quite possibly the finest infantry memoir of the entire war, from an unexpected source — the man who later created Flashman. George MacDonald Fraser fought in Burma as a nineteen-year-old private, and his account of it is profane, funny, clear-eyed, and entirely without self-importance. He renders his Cumbrian section in their own dialect and refuses every cliché of the war memoir. The Forgotten War at the level of the man carrying the rifle, by a writer of the first rank.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The infantryman's-eye view of the Forgotten War
- Superb, funny, unsentimental writing
- The ranks, not the generals
- A short, vivid entry to the Burma campaign
Look elsewhere if you want
- Strategy or the campaign's big picture (see Slim)
- A solemn or reverent tone
- The European theater
Why We Rated It 4.8
Historical Context
The Burma campaign (1942–45) was fought in jungle and monsoon against the Japanese, by a multinational army under General Slim. Fraser served in the Border Regiment during the final advance. The memoir was published in 1992, long after his Flashman novels had made his name.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Read It Alongside
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-1602392908
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
Other Books About the Same Events
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this by the Flashman author?
- Yes — George MacDonald Fraser drew on his own wartime service in Burma. It is non-fiction, unlike his comic novels.
- What should I pair it with?
- Field Marshal Slim's Defeat Into Victory gives the commander's view of the same campaign Fraser fought as a private.