Customer Reviews

Bloody Shambles, Vol. 2: From the Defence of Sumatra to the fall of Burma

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Christopher Shores is an international treasure, a man who has made it his task to suss out the truth about aerial combats in far corners of the globe, usually with the assistance of a fellow historian or two from the countries most involved. In this particular case, he is one of the few who have accessed Japanese records, and he compares them with Allied accounts on a day-by-day basis. This is great stuff, especially for those of us who already know something about the campaigns. My particular interest is the Flying Tigers of Burma, and I was delighted to have Shores's version, especially since he gives equal time to the RAF squadrons that fought alongside the AVG. But I confess that it took a great deal of concentration for me to slog through the Philippines campaign, about which I knew very little. So my conclusion is this: the more you know already, the more you will learn from this account. -- Dan Ford

Let me first say that both volumes in the Bloody Shambles series are excellent and far superior to ANY other text on the subject of air warfare in the first six months of the Pacific War that I've ever seen.

Nonetheless, having conducted extensive research into the role of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service (MLD) during the Japanese invasion of the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI), I can tell you that both volumes of Bloody Shambles contain some fairly substantial errors on the MLD. However, this can be overlooked somewhat given that the role of the MLD in the Pacific War is not particularly well covered in English and there is very little information available for the non-Dutch speaking historian. It is unlikely that I would have noticed the errors in question had I not spent 11 years researching my own manuscript on the naval air war in the NEI.

But from what I can tell though, the rest of the information detailing the air war in the Philippines, NEI, Singapore and Burma appears to be incredibly accurate. Having grown up hearing and reading stories about how the "invincible" Japanese blew through Allied air defenses with nary a loss, these texts go a long way in educating the reader that in many cases, the Allies gave just as much as they received from the Japanese.

All in all, a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the true nature of the air war in the first six months of the Pacific War.

This book, yet another in the wonderful series of air war accounts done by Christopher Shores and Brian Cull is a great review of the early air war in the Pacific Theater. Mr. Shores and Mr. Cull use interviews with the participants as well as the actual unit reports to bring an idea of the constant struggle that the air war represented. Rather than being dry, these books are easy to read and a great resource.

An outstanding book! This series has been a wonderful source of information concerning the more obscure air combat scene in the Asia/ Pacific warzone. The day-to-day accounts of allied air activity combined with personnel insights and photos provide a stark picture of the war's early days. British, Dutch, American, Aussie, and Japanese accounts of the signifcant early battles are compared and contrasted, highlighting the "fog of war" and the abilities of both sides to grossly overestimate their combat results. Volume one was so outstanding that I ended up purchasing the remaining books in the series immediately after finishing it. You will not regret purchasing this or any of the other books in this series. Volume 2 contains some minor corrections for Volume 1, as well as a chapter that was originally intended for the first book.
I find Christopher Shores one of the best aviation writers out there. This book is really better then 5 stars; the illustrations earn it a 6!

I have Volumes 1, 2 and 3 and while it takes some patience to read through all of the daily detail it is enlightening for the serious study of events in that forgotten area. The daily combat description is not for those looking for Hollywood endings, this was the backs to the wall struggle of sorely out gunned Allied forces usually ending in death or prison camps for the duration. Quiet, humble heroics by men who never received the accolades due them, even when it was all over. I enjoyed it because I spend a lot of time researching detail about WWII but frankly, you have to be dedicated to get through it. And one further thing,I think all of that area including Burma (Myanmar)must be paved with aluminum judging by the numbers of aircraft downed by both sides, many just listed as Missing, never to be found. These volumes will tell you the name, rank and serial number of the conbatants and their events on both sides

It is simply the best account of the air warfare in the East Asia European colonies during the Japanese onslaught of 1941 to mid-1942. Level of detail is astounding and we bow to the amount of research this book has needed. Together with the other two volumes of the series it occupies a place of honor in my library.