⋙ [PDF] The Railway Man Eric Lomax 9780224041874 Books

The Railway Man Eric Lomax 9780224041874 Books

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The Railway Man Eric Lomax 9780224041874 Books

Very interesting movie, but troubling movie. Bought the book, too, which does tell a somewhat different story than the movie. I finished the book just before a trip to Singapore and was able to tour the Canning Hill Bunker where the British made the decision to surrender to the Japanese. Got to see where Eric Lomax actually sat in the signals room.


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The Railway Man Eric Lomax 9780224041874 Books Reviews

I had seen the movie so was curious about the real story. It started with a lot of detail on trains and the author's fascination with them. If you're not into trains like me, stick with the book and skin over that part. It really picks up after maybe the first 40 pages when he goes off to the military.
It's a story that is about the biggies in life - love, war, pain, loneliness and forgiveness. It should be riveting and though there are some very compelling sections, there's a strangely muffled effect; it's as if the writer can't bear looking at some painful things directly so the descriptions are rather fuzzy and under-reported rather than clear and crisp. It is definitely worth reading, though. I highly recommend seeing the youtube video where he and his interpreter/ torturer meet for the first time many years after the war and it is heart-opening. It gives one hope about the future of mankind....
I was inspired to read the book after watching the movie. At first I found the book a little slow moving but once I read further I became more and more absorbed with this amazing story of courage and tenacity in the face of extreme brutality. The book is a lot more complex and far reaching than the movie which understandably centres on just the Kanchaburi period of the story due to the limitations of screen time. I learnt a lot more about Eric Lomaxes civilian life as well.
But what stands out is the underlying theme of eventual forgiveness and redemption.
If you love WWII stories, you'll find in The Railway Man a different point of view, far from the European front and miles away from the Nazi concentration camps, as Eric Lomax's ordeal developed in the Pacific front, where POW concentration camps, human rights violaciones and the worst expressions of mankind's capacit for brutality were equally displayed.
Held cautive by the Japanese army, Lomax and a group of POWs are forced to work in the Burma-Siam railway, one of the most ambicious and poorly planned civil engineering projects in history. But, instead of telling a story about forced labor under the brazzing sun of Southeast Asia, Lomax shares his experiences as a prisoner entangled in the brutal military "justice" system after he's found in the possession of a handmade map ot the whole Burma-Siam railway system.
His is a story of survival against all odds, about going through the most inhuman treatments, about having to endure the most heinous displays of cruelty exerted from one human being to another, of hating intensely one's enemy and finding that such hate distroys, hurts and extends the torture even if years have gone by. But above all, it is the story of a man learning to leave all of this behind and free himself from the horror of his past by forgiving one of his tormentors.

If you've ever wondered what would you do to someone who put you through hell, should you have the chance to meet them face to face, this is a story you can't miss.
"The Railway Man", by Eric Lomax, is his memoirs of his experiences in World War II, as well as his life before and after the war. As a boy, Mr Lomax became a railway enthusiast, a life-long passion, so it was ironic that after his capture as a member of the British Army, after the fall of Singapore, that he was forced to labor on the Siam-Burma railroad. He describes the horrors of the torture and mistreatment that the Japanese inflicted upon the other POW's and himself. And after the Japanese discovered a map of the railway, that Mr Lomax had been drawing, he was accused of being a spy, brutally tortured, and nearly died.

After the war was over, and he was repatriated, he writes about how the British government did virtually nothing for the returning veterans in the way of medical treatments or counseling. It's not for nothing that the Far Eastern campaign has been titled the "Forgotten War".

Fifty years after the war, he discovered that the Japanese interpreter during his tortures was still alive. As with many, if not most veterans from the Pacific Theater of World War II, Mr Lomax utterly hated the Japanese and had no intention of every forgiving them. However, after learning of the great lengths his former adversary (the interpreter) had gone to after the war to make amends, he eventually agreed to meet him, and forgave him.

The book is well written and moving, and is one of the better memoirs dealing with the war in the Pacific.
My wife and I recently viewed the movie The Railway Man. It was one of the best movies I have ever seen. I then immediately ordered the book and read it over two nights. The book is an excellent book and very well written. The story is very moving and it is a tribute to the strength and compassion of Eric Lomax and the other allied prisoners of war who suffered barbaric treatment at the hands of the Japanese during WW2. It is a story that should be compulsory for every secondary student in this country and in Japan. It is also a wonderful book of compassion, forgiveness, years of suffering and then healing.

I do not want to be a spolier but the content of the book and the movie differed greatly but they are both great works. It is a shame that with the passing of time we will soon lose all the great men like Eric Lomax.
the Railway Man is an awesome story of Resilience , forgiveness and what it means to be human. I had heard about this book during a sermon a few weeks ago. Normally I do not read anything that even has violence in it, but the way the pastor described the story I had to read it. It is the story on and English POW is a Japanese Prison camp during the 2nd world war. I recommend this book and it will restore your faith in God's love and forgiveness and humanity.
Very interesting movie, but troubling movie. Bought the book, too, which does tell a somewhat different story than the movie. I finished the book just before a trip to Singapore and was able to tour the Canning Hill Bunker where the British made the decision to surrender to the Japanese. Got to see where Eric Lomax actually sat in the signals room.