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Christopher F. Shores
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Bloody Shambles, Vol. 2: From the Defence of Sumatra to the fall of Burma Hardcover – June 1, 1993

by Christopher Shores (Author), Brian Cull (Author), Yasuho Izawa (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
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This is the story of the Allied air campaign across Australia, Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, Burma and Ceylon during World War II. It documents the Allied underestimation of Japanese ability, and ends with the Japanese at the extremities of their advance.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    494 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grub Street Publishing
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1993
  5. Dimensions
    7.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0948817674
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0948817670
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Cull is a highly respected Grub Street author with past publications such as Hurricanes over Tobruk, Hurricanes over Malta, Spitfires over Sicily and Buffaloes over Singapore to his credit.



Christopher Shores began by writing the occasional book about military aviation, then quickened the pace as he grew older. By now, readers and reviewers are hard-pressed to keep up with him. Meanwhile, he pursued a career as a land surveyor and director of one of Europe's largest firms of property advisers.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grub Street Publishing; First Edition (June 1, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 494 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0948817674
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0948817670
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

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Christopher F. Shores

Christopher F. Shores

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

E. Merchant
5.0 out of 5 stars Diary of a Disaster
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2007
Verified Purchase
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!
6 people found this helpful
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Bigfoot?
5.0 out of 5 stars They Never Had a Chance
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2018
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The book is a very nice continuation of the first volume. Mostly a blow by blow history, rather than an analysis of the events. Britain stretched too thin, the Dutch simply too weak, and the US not quite ready to fight a war. They never had a chance of holding off Japan.

Wordery Specialist did an excellent job wrapping the book and it arrived in pristine condition.
One person found this helpful
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Motley Crewmember
4.0 out of 5 stars Day by day diary of WWII airwar in SE Asia
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2009
Verified Purchase
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
5 people found this helpful
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R. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding reference work
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2012
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This is an outstanding reference for this period of the Pacific air war. It is not likely to be surpassed in the future as most of the veterans who were interviewed for it are now dead.
3 people found this helpful
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Robert L. Baird
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015
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One of the best of the WW2 air war series! Bravo!
2 people found this helpful
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Fred S. Flegel
5.0 out of 5 stars Book purchase
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2015
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Outstanding and very good service
One person found this helpful
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tommywo
5.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Flawed But Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2005
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.
18 people found this helpful
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Captain Spider
5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the best
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2009
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.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Robert G McPherson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on November 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
A must have for early Pacific War air combat 'against the odds' fans!
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Jane Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2014
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Excellent and in such good condition
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Edgar R Wagner
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a book I would recommend to the general public or even to someone who ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
Definitely for the committed. This is the kind of book you read if you are trying to squeeze everything out of what happened in that part of the Far East at that time without actually becoming a full-time historian / researcher going to original archive material and interviewing survivors. Not a book I would recommend to the general public or even to someone who is interested in World War II in a general sort of way, even as it pertains to the Far East.
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