Escape from Hong Kong: Admiral Chan Chak's Christmas Day Dash, 1941 (Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series) Paperback – 1 May 2014

Escape from Hong Kong describes the dash by Motor Torpedo Boat and other craft of some 70 allied and Chinese personnel from Hong Kong as it fell to Japanese forces on 25 December 1941. Using a fascinating range of sources, official and personal, Tim Luard, a former BBC correspondent in Beijing, has created a book that is at once a thriller, an account of human endurance and a serious work of history. Character sketches enliven the story, from the one-legged Chinese Admiral Chan Chak who led the escape, to the British Army and Royal Navy officers and men, not forgetting the Chinese bandit or guerrilla leaders who helped the group, plus Bruce the dog, to make their way through Japanese lines. Properly indexed, with unobtrusive footnotes, excellent illustrations and biographical sketches of the main protagonists, the book is a fine production.

A really gripping narrative, drawing the reader in to a true story which combines the accounts of many different people into a fascinating whole. The Second World War in East Asia is an understudied but incredibly interesting topic, and this episode within it is bought to life in this book through the very human stories of the admiral, his entourage and the eclectic collection of British soldiers escorting him to Chongqing, the nationalist capital. However I do have to say that the characterisation the author gives of the Chinese Nationalist government being more interested in fighting the communists than the Japanese is grossly unfair. The Nationalist Government had been fighting the Japanese almost alone since 1937, and had put up an incredibly fierce fight despite very little aid from abroad and a plethora of deficiencies in their fighting capacity. I would recommend the author read Rana Mitters work on the Chinese war against Japan or read any work about the Battle of Shanghai, where the nationalists threw their best soldiers at the Japanese in a bloody, protracted battle that has been compared to Stalingrad. It is time for this cliche to die.

Tim Luard's account of one of the few positive episodes in the fall of Hong Kong is both well-researched and a rivetting read, with the actual departure from the island especially gripping. It is also humbling to see the often selfless courage of the WW2 generation, caught up in events beyond their control, and the way cultural and political differences could be put aside in the face of a greater danger. An important historical document but equally a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.

My friends' Dad is mentioned in this book. He was one of the motor torpedo boat crew so we had a personal connection with it. It is a bit long winded at times, but good for it's type.

an amazing story of the escape from japanese occupied hong kong by some 60 odd servicemen and civilians and a dog named bruce!!led by a one legged chinese admiral with the help of various pirates,guerillas,communists and villagers,through occupied china to the free part,then on to burma with the japanese army in hot pursuit,eventually reaching india,all but one survived the journey..yet the story is virtually unknown outside hong kong highly recommended...

A great book and hard to put down. A very gripping and surprising tale. Very well written and beautifully descriptive

fantastic read!

This product arrived here on time, was as described and has been good to read about the history of world war

I’ve been meaning to read this book since it first came out, and having finally read it, I wish I hadn’t waited so long. This is a gripping, fascinating tale, wonderfully told. It’s more than just a boys' adventure story, as some reviews suggest. It’s moving, funny, and exhilarating. This is nonfiction as it should be written. It’s an escape story full of great characters, each one painted as a real person, set against a dramatic background of super-interesting history. Of course, there's Chan Chak, the one-legged admiral. But there’s also the American woman journalist who keeps a pet gibbon and smokes cigars and opium. There’s the former cavalry officer who tried to shoot a cobra and missed, bringing down a local’s hut instead. There’s “Two-Gun Cohen,” son of a Polish Jew who was born in London, moved to Canada, became a general in the Chinese Army, and then moved on to arms-dealing, and poker-playing, while wearing a trademark white suit. These characters are made for a big Hollywood blockbuster. George Clooney, buy the rights to this immediately! It has all the makings of a fantastic, old-school buddy movie.

It was a very interesting book. Good to hear exactly what happened to my father John Jacob Forster, in his last hours. We were interned at Stanley Camp but it took many years for my mother to learn much of what happened and we were never able to find his grave. Writing the book was a service to us and our children.

I met John Arthur Duff in Hong Kong in June of 1968. My future brother-in-law, Lousis B. Miller sent me an envelop flap with Arther's brothers name and numner on it so if I ever made it to H.K. I could look him up. In June. Just before I rotated back home from my tour of service, I contacted Charles Duff and, it so happened that J. A. Duff was visiting his brother.Arther gave us the grand tour of Hong Kong and the surrounding area and told us the history of the "The escape from Hong Kong".I visited him a few times when he lived in Pleasanton, California.An incretable human being and an incretable life.His papers are secures at Stanford University.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for a Hong Kong native and history buff. He said it related a piece of history that had been previously unknown to him and he thoroughly enjoyed the book.

ONE OF THE MOST DARING EXPLOITS OF WW2