Long Way Back From The River Kwai
Long Way Back From The River Kwai is a stunning autobiographical account of Loet Velmans' experience during the Second World War. Escaping from Holland in the wake of invasion and occupation by German forces, he moved with his family first to London and then to the Dutch West Indies where he joined the Dutch army. He became a prisoner of war after the Japanese army conquered the Indonesian archipelago and was transported as slave labor for the infamous railroad being constructed through the dense jungle along the Burmese-Thailand border. Velmans survived malaria, dysentery, malnutrition, and physical cruelty while some 200,000 other prisoners perished during construction of the railroad that was built to enable the invading army to conquer India.
Fifty-seven years on, Loet Velmans returned to the area where he spent nearly four years in grueling captivity, revisiting the place where he had buried his closest friend. From that emotional visit came this stunning memoir.
