Review: Wartime Trilogy

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PARKIN, Raymond Edward. AM Dr Lit.
Passed away June 19th 2005, aged 94. Survivor of HMAS Perth. Prisoner of War on the Burma-Thailand Railway and in Japan.
Author and Artist extraordinaire. Revered by the Thailand Burma Railway Memorial Association (Inc). W.A.
‘Weary’ Dunlop will look out for him.

 Wartime Trilogy - [Publisher's Link] A combined set of three outstanding books. Ray Parkin's "Out of the Smoke", alone worth the price, is a riveting account of nautical history - the amazing story of the sinking of the HMAS Perth and imprisonment in Batavia. Parkin's second book, "Into the Smother", gives a realistic yet horrifying account of the building of the "Death Railway" across Thailand-Burma. His third book, "The Sword and the Blossom", recounts his travels on the hell ship and eventual slavery in the Ohama Mines (Hiroshima #9B - excellent illustrations of camp and work). Each book, alone, is a literary masterpiece of Australian military POW experiences but together, a legacy that will last for centuries. Lavishly illustrated with sketches, photographs and maps. No other book covers the scope and depth of this theater of war. One is hard pressed to remember that these were young men, fighting just to survive. (Roger Mansell)