Summary
"A brilliantly conceived nonfiction epic, a war narrated through the lives and deaths of a single family. A young man from the sleepy south Indian coast, sensing adventure and opportunity, follows his brothers-in-law into the army--and onto the front lines of India's Second World War. His army fight... Full description
- Part one: Home. Everybody's friend : Calicut, 1936-39 ; Hukm Hai : Madras, 1939-40 ; Savages of the Stone Age : Miranshah, November 1941 ; The centre of the world : Madras, February 1942 ; Madras must not burn : April 1942 ; Things sacred between us : Mhow, August 1942 ; Do or die : Thal, August-October 1942 ; The King's own : Roorkee, August-December 1942
- Part two: West. Second field : Baghdad, March 1943 ; The Jemadars' story : Eritrea and Libya, 1940-41 ; The lieutenant's story : El Alamein, July-November 1942 ; Kings of Persia : Baghdad, April 1943
- Part three: East. Enter the hurricane : Imphal, May 1943 ; No heroes : Madras, May-June 1943 ; Fascines and Gabions : Calcutta, October 1943 ; The jungle book : Arakan, December 1943-March 1944 ; Fight with your ghost : Kohima and Jotsoma, April 1944 ; The cremation ground : Kohima, April 1944 ; The elephant : Tiddim Road, June-October 1944 ; The road ahead : Madras, November 1945.