We Have a Library in Mind
An Extraordinary Survival Exercise in a Second World War Japanese Camp
Seiten
2025
Amberley Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-3981-1787-7 (ISBN)
Amberley Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-3981-1787-7 (ISBN)
With short biographies of the main protagonists, descriptions of what they had to endure and a concise examination of the 'library' itself, Lucy Alexander has revealed an astonishing exercise in mental survival under the most appalling circumstances. What would your books be?
The Imperial War Museum archived Anthony Smelt’s personal papers because he spent three years of the Second World War interned in Batu Lintang, a camp in Borneo. He had been working as a civil servant in British North Borneo until the Japanese invaded at the beginning of 1942. In those years of captivity, he was an active member of the camp, documenting the diet of his fellow internees and contributing to various aspects of their lives. He was later awarded an OBE for his services during internment, when POWs and civilian internees alike endured food shortages, disease, forced labour, brutal treatment, and lack of adequate clothing and living quarters. Of the approximately 2,000 British POWs held at Batu Lintang, over two-thirds died during or as a result of their captivity.
An additional cruelty was enforced boredom. With so many types of recreation forbidden, however, a dozen of the men – all identified by the author from an encoded list in her grandfather Anthony’s papers – decided to invent a magical library.
Offering short biographies of the main protagonists, descriptions of their experiences in camp and a concise examination of the ‘library’ itself, Lucy Alexander has revealed an astonishing exercise in mental survival under the most appalling circumstances.
The Imperial War Museum archived Anthony Smelt’s personal papers because he spent three years of the Second World War interned in Batu Lintang, a camp in Borneo. He had been working as a civil servant in British North Borneo until the Japanese invaded at the beginning of 1942. In those years of captivity, he was an active member of the camp, documenting the diet of his fellow internees and contributing to various aspects of their lives. He was later awarded an OBE for his services during internment, when POWs and civilian internees alike endured food shortages, disease, forced labour, brutal treatment, and lack of adequate clothing and living quarters. Of the approximately 2,000 British POWs held at Batu Lintang, over two-thirds died during or as a result of their captivity.
An additional cruelty was enforced boredom. With so many types of recreation forbidden, however, a dozen of the men – all identified by the author from an encoded list in her grandfather Anthony’s papers – decided to invent a magical library.
Offering short biographies of the main protagonists, descriptions of their experiences in camp and a concise examination of the ‘library’ itself, Lucy Alexander has revealed an astonishing exercise in mental survival under the most appalling circumstances.
L. C. Alexander is the granddaughter of Anthony Smelt OBE, whose papers held at the Imperial War Museum revealed this extraordinary story.
| Erscheinungsdatum | 04.04.2025 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 8 Plates, black and white |
| Verlagsort | Chalford |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 234 mm |
| Gewicht | 502 g |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945 | |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-3981-1787-0 / 1398117870 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-3981-1787-7 / 9781398117877 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
Deutschland 1933 bis 1945
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
S. Fischer (Verlag)
CHF 47,60
ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager
Buch | Hardcover (2024)
Kösel (Verlag)
CHF 30,80
Helfer und Vollstrecker: Das Dritte Reich in 24 Porträts
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
DVA (Verlag)
CHF 55,95
