Customer Reviews

Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma

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"I read the book over the weekend and laughed my head off. What an addle-pated odyssey it is. The nonchalance with which he does things that could get him locked up in some bamboo cage for thirty or forty years takes my breath away. I've seldom been more aware of the thinness of the line between courage and lunacy. Luckily for his narrative, he is aware of it too, and has great fun jumping back and forth over it. I take my hat off to him, both for actually doing what he did and for writing so well about it." --Tobias Wolff

"I cannot recommend Among Insurgents highly enough. Shelby Tucker describes a quite extraordinary trek across the genuinely remote and dangerous mountainous north of Burma. His account gets to grips with an immensely complicated political scenario and is written in the classic manner. I was reminded quite often of Fitzroy MacLean and Peter Fleming." --Justin Wintle "To one familiar with the dangers inherent in such an enterprise, the story almost defies belief. A 53-year-old American teams up with a 22-year-old Swede, whom he has met on a train and known for less than an hour, with the aim of trekking across one of the most inaccessible and least explored areas on earth, in a country which, everyone recognizes, is ruled by a military autocracy and which has been engaged in a vicious civil war for nearly half a century." --Stephen Morse

"I read it in growing amazement. What a journey and what a lot of research since! Very impressive." --Robin Hanbury-Tenison

"I think [Shelby Tucker] may have written a classic of modern travel writing." --John McEnery

"Among Insurgents is a vastly impressive piece of work and life. Shelby Tucker may be a mad man, but he certainly writes wonderfully." --Peter Wolf

"I read it at one sitting, with my wife providing earthly sustenance at intervals, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. The vitality and freshness of the enterprise shone throughout." --Robert Pelletreau

"Those of us who would never go on such an adventure (and that's most of us!) can have something stirred within us, feel a little freer, more willing to take risks, after reading this book." --Fred Fenton

'Among Insurgents' by Shelby Tucker is more than a travel book. This extraordinary account of a fifty-four year old writer's trek across war-torn Burma from China to India has about it - to use Fitzgerald's phrase - 'something glorious'. It is the unique blend of high adventure with the lucid and passionate exposition of his Kachin escorts' struggles against a corrupt government (bolstered by misguided Western military aid) that looks set to make this a classic. Merciless in its ironic - and at times very amusing - exposure of folly (not least his own), lyrical in its description of this little-known land and its peoples, and ulluminating in its astute political / historical analysis, this is, by any measure, a remarkable achievement.

An Oxford-educated American ;awyer in his fifties walks across Northern Burma to fulfill an ambition held since his student yesrs. How he achives this, the dangers encountered en route, the various insurgent groups met, the cause that unites them against a powerful and ruthless enemy, the cameraderie of men under strain, the nobility of a man when tested to the limit of his courage, the beauty and grandeur of what is one of the last places on earth yet to be explored are the subjects of this book. But even more remarkable than the story itself is the author's extraordinary gift for writing. From the moment I began reading Among Insurgents, I was aware of experiencing something both rare and deeply inspired. I did not read, as much as savour the profound humanity as well as the poetry and humour expressed in this book and consider it the most unusual and distinguished travel book I have ever read.

A BOOK OF THE YEAR! (The Sunday Telegraph, UK)

"For near-lunatic courage and a unique mine of information, [this book] by Shelby Tucker might belong to another century. At the age of 53, Tucker, a maverick American lawyer, decided to cross North Burma, entering illegally from China and departing illegally into India. He was captured by Burmese Communist guerrillas, passed on to Christian Kachin rebels (with whom he was soon consorting), was arrested by the Indian army, and six months later emerged to write this astonishing book: a surreal mixture of "Boy's Own" derring-do and expert knowledge of an almost unknown region."

--Colin Thubron, for The Sunday Telegraph (UK), in "Books of the Year" Column

This book is different than most other books of a similar subject. In one way, the author has written a very detailed description of World War 2, the history of Burma, and so forth. On the other hand, the author has written a book about a brave and crazy journey through Burma. What has resulted is a book that is too detailed and boring for a reader who is interested in the journey across Burma and not professional enough for a historian or researcher.

The author does however seem to present what happened honestly, which allows the reader to form an opinion of the author himself. I have traveled through "insurgent controlled" areas of Burma, and as such understand some of the "issues" that he faced. My personal opinion of the author's character is not good, but this may be due to the fact that we are very different people. The way in which he dealt with certain situations made me feel like he was arrogant and did not consider the needs and feelings of the people risking their life to help him, nor did he consider the way that he was representing the western world to the Kachin people.

I feel that there is a small audience of readers who would greatly enjoy this book. These are people who like great detail, and who can relate to the thoughts and views of a person such as the author. The authors companion on the journey, Mat, would have described the things that happened very differently, and providing that his literacy is good, I feel he would have produced a much more enjoyable book for a larger audience of readers.

Reviewers email: meabs24 AT hotmail . com

"Every few years there comes along a first book by an unknown author that makes you want to stand up and applaud. This is such a book. Driven by its author's love for a remote tract of the world and its peoples, it tells a tale of gripping heroism in a laconic, elegant style." This is a story of real, risk-taking, old-fashioned travel, not pre-paid by a publisher or faked by a television company. Beautifully written and illustrated with color photos and maps, it deserves to become a classic." --Maggie Gee, The Daily Telegraph (UK) "Surprise hardback top-seller at specialist travel bookshop Daunt's is Shelby Tucker's tale of a lunatic walk through Burma with Karen guerrillas. Reviewer Maggie Gee is among those who have proclaimed it a classic." --The Guardian (UK)

"Tucker...is...endlessly fascinating and well-informed on this little known region of Asia where the end of A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh elides surreally into Paul Theroux's Mosquito Coast. His book is also outstandingly well written in the insouciant Peter Fleming tradition. I did reflect, on finishing what is the most unusual and distinguished travel book I have read for years, that, single-handed, Shelby Tucker could have started the Vietnam War in an afternoon, if given the chance - and that he would probably regard that as some sort of compliment." --Robert Carver, The Times Literary Supplement (UK)

"Tucker is an astute observer, a brave traveler and, undoubtedly, something of a nutter: who else would make provision to have his rucksack buried with him? He can be humorous too, as he was with the Indians who imprisoned him after he emerged from Burma. The Indian authorities had difficulty believing his story, and understandably so. Nobody goes for a walk in a country ruled by one of the world's most repressive regimes." --Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times (UK)

"With humor and gusto, Among Insurgents charts in minute detail [an] extraordinary journey and all its hardships, from sleeping on frozen ground to wading through leech-infested streams and eating delicacies such as dove curried with rosemary. But the story transcends mere adventure. It elucidates the complex politics of post-colonial Burma and the tragic consequences of Ne Win's oppressive, dictatorial régime, dragging a once prosperous country down into abject poverty. This is a fascinating insight into Burma, and essential reading for anyone interested in the rich past and uncertain future of this astonishingly beautiful and tormented place." --Traveller (UK)

"Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma starts out as an adventure - a walk from China, through the Kachin hill country of northern Burma, to India, an assertion of the author and his companion's 'right to roam', taunted by Rangoon's closure of its land borders. Tucker, a lawyer, has addressed the US National Security Council on Burma and has acted as General Counsel for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. But he writes neither as a spy (as suspected by the Indian police) nor as an anthropologist. This book becomes, however, a serious exploration of Burma's troubles - the "hidden colony" of the Kachins, the Civil War and the international drugs trade." --The Telegraph, Calcutta

"The book throws light on a dark and complicated country ... Into the narrative of the journey itself is woven - in best travel book fashion - a literary and historical appreciation of Burma that is undoubtedly authoritative.' --Spectator (UK)

"Lunacy and bravery are two words that spring to mind with Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma ... on Shelby Tucker's China-to-India trek, meeting Burmese hill tribes and being captured by Communist troops." --Wanderlust (UK)

"[An] extraordinary and exciting story ... provides an analysis of the aims and political maneuvers of the many anti-government elements in Burma representing Chins, Karens, Kachins, Nagas and the Communist Party ... of great interest to all who have followed the fortunes and turbulent times of the country over which we fought." --Frank Cook, Dekho! (UK)

Shelby Tucker nursed a long-time ambition to walk across Burma. Unlike most people with eccentric ambitions, he was able to realize his as a middle aged man. His traveling companion was a young Swede who had recently completed his military service. They were taken on by members of indigenous militias and travelled with with them through the Kachin State in northern Burma to India, with a brief detour through Yunnan, China. Tucker is a previously unpublished writer and a non-practicing lawyer. Although his story focuses on the people he met and the things he saw on his journey, it also becomes apparent that he is a well-connected scion of the Mississippi Delta who has probably managed to enjoy an adventurous life (and professional failure as an author) thanks to family money. He eludes the Burmese Army, but is quickly captured and treated as a spy in India. His and his wife's various connections to a host of foreign service officers and Republican politicians (as well as a journalist who had done a similar trek) ultimately lead to his freedom. Tucker has done his homework in terms of regional history and subsequent events (including the fates of various people and groups he encountered). He returned to the US and UK (where he was living) and acted as an advocate for the Kachins (and perhaps over-estimates his influence, although it probably was timely).

The prose is servicable, but not inspiring. The book drags in places through the middle and is strongest at the beginning and end of the journey. Tucker is obviously a bit self-absorbed and sometimes arrogant---eccentric adventurers are not necessarily the most avuncular of people, afterall. He also seems a bit to taken in by the point of view of Protestant missionaries and their proteges. Oddly, one hears nothing about Catholic missions in the same area and there is little understanding of Theravada Buddhism and its formal or cultural relationship to the Burmans. There also seems to be little curiosity how Christianity and beliefs about spirits and nats manage to coexist. These drawbacks aside, it is an ultimately engaging look at a place that few Westerners have seen.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE SCOTSMAN: Thursday, 30 November 2000:

"Shelby Tucker's Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma is the account of an American adventurer who entered Burma illegally from China, was captured by Communist guerrillas, passed on to Kachin freedom-fighters and was eventually arrested by the Indian Army. A hugely informative book of near-lunatic courage."

I haven't finished the book but I'm still reading. Blocks of history are patched into the narrative. The narrative actually doesn't seem to tell you what really happened. The writer omits what he actually saw in my opinion. Or, maybe nothing interesting happened. So, it has been a bummer so far. Tons of detail on the hill tribes. Only their names are different and can not be pronounced in Idaho. When I read, I don't feel like I'm in Burma. I haven't stepped on one snake nor have I been snarled at by a crocodile. I think it was in Burma where 1000 Japanese soldiers were eaten by crocs.

John
John T. Jones, Ph.D.