On the Shadow Tracks
A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar
In 2016, while working as a journalist in Yangon, Clare Hammond discovered an obscure map that showed a web of new railways spanning the length and breadth of the country - railways not shown on any other publicly available maps. She was determined to uncover the railways' origins, purpose, and most of all, the silence that surrounded them. She would spend three months travelling on these mysterious railways, and the next five years piecing their story together. Her journey would take her from Myanmar's tropical south to the embattled mountain towns that border India and China. In dilapidated carriages, along tracks in disrepair, through contested ethnic states and former sites of forced labour, visiting temples, tea shops and festivals, Clare encountered a colourful and contradictory Myanmar through the stories of its people. Simultaneously a lush and evocative travelogue, an unsparing account of Myanmar's recent history, and an astonishing, conversation-shifting engagement with Britain's colonial legacy, On the Shadow Tracks is that rare and necessary thing: a book that finds and tells the truth.
In 2016, while working as a journalist in Yangon, Clare Hammond discovered an obscure map that showed a web of new railways spanning the length and breadth of the country - railways not shown on any other publicly available maps. She was determined to uncover the railways' origins, purpose, and most of all, the silence that surrounded them. She would spend three months travelling on these mysterious railways, and the next five years piecing their story together. Her journey would take her from Myanmar's tropical south to the embattled mountain towns that border India and China. In dilapidated carriages, along tracks in disrepair, through contested ethnic states and former sites of forced labour, visiting temples, tea shops and festivals, Clare encountered a colourful and contradictory Myanmar through the stories of its people. Simultaneously a lush and evocative travelogue, an unsparing account of Myanmar's recent history, and an astonishing, conversation-shifting engagement with Britain's colonial legacy, On the Shadow Tracks is that rare and necessary thing: a book that finds and tells the truth.
| Autor: | Hammond Clare |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 9780241623893 |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Produktart: | Gebunden |
| Verlag: | Random House UK |
| Veröffentlicht: | 06.06.2024 |
| Untertitel: | A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar |
| Schlagworte: | 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899 20th Century 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999 British Empire Colonialism and imperialism HISTORY / Military / General HISTORY / Modern / 19th Century HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General Myanmar Myanmar (Burma) Reportage & collected journalism Reportage, journalism or collected columns TRANSPORTATION / Railroads / History TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues Trains & railways: general interest Trains and railways: general interest military history |
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