Synopsis
Four Thousand Bowls of Rice tells how one prisoner of war prepared himself, mentally and physically, for his journey home after three and a half years of brutal captivity in Java, Burma and Thailand during World War II. Staff Sergeant Cecil Dickson was a member of the 2/2 Australian Pioneer Battalion, which was forced to surrender to the Japanese in March 1942. His engineering unit bore the heaviest work in constructing the Burma-Thailand Railway.
Sergeant Dickson was also a journalist, and within days of his release in August 1945, he began writing a series of letters to his wife back in Melbourne, as he anxiously awaited final transport orders. Drawing on these letters, and her research with many surviving Pioneers, Linda Goetz Holmes paints a dramatic picture of prisoner of war life under the Japanese. Dickson's letters are yesterday's version of the 'live-remote' coverage one expects to find on today's newscast. Through his words, the reader discovers what it felt like to emerge abruptly from one day's starvation to the next day's air-drops, and from being in regimented captivity to being in charge of one's own time again. More significantly, Dickson's writings provide a unique glimpse of one man's determination to free his mind from continued captivity by replacing bitter memories with the sights and sounds of postwar Bangkok, and with tender thoughts of reunion with loved ones.
While Dickson's letters provide the sound track, it is the series of photographs, taken secretly by other Australian prisoners, which give shape to this vivid picture of POW life. Published here for the first time, these daring close-ups of gaunt faces and ravaged bodies leave the reader with an unforgettable personal statement of suffering - and triumph.
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Four Thousand Bowls of Rice: A
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4000 Bowls of Rice: A Prisoner of War Comes Home
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 2nd Printing. General wear to cover edges/corners. Pages 10 and 12 each have two lines that have been hi-lited with green marker. DJ has general wear to edges/corners. 178 pages. Seller Inventory # 393723
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4000 BOWLS OF RICE A PRISONER OF WAR COMES HOME
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Allen & Unwin, 1993
ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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Seller: Fritz T. Brown - Books, Georgetown , MA, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Contents Include: A Sunday Lament; It's Good Being Free; Too Much of a Good Thing; The Most Exciting Day; Undreamed of Luxury; A Would-be Correspondent; Finally, some Money!; All This Mail; Moving Out, etc. Also included 2/2 Australian Pioneer Battalion Prisoners of War (List), Good+ to very good tight condition with good+ to very good dust jacket. Language: eng Language: eng 0.0. Seller Inventory # 01975
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Four Thousand Bowls of Rice : A Prisoner of War Comes Home.
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hard cover with dustjacket. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Illustrated with black and white photographs. XXIII, 179 pages Near fine book in near fine dust jacket, as new condition. Seller Inventory # 22170
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FOUR THOUSAND BOWLS OF RICE a Prisoner of War Comes Home
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ALLEN & UNWIN, AUSTRALIA, 1993
ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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4000 Bowls of Rice A Prisoner of War Comes Home
Published by
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1993
ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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Seller: Adelaide Booksellers, Clarence Gardens, SA, Australia
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Hardback. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Large octavo size [16x24cm approx]. Near Fine copy in Very Good dustjacket. Dustjacket is now protected in a purpose-made clear archival plastic sleeve. A nice copy. Illustrated with Black and White Photographs. 179 pages. Draws on the letters by Sergeant Cecil Dickson of the 2/2 Australian Pioneer Battalion and research with other surviving POWs combined with a series of photographs, taken secretly by other Australian POWs. This book looks at the lives of POW's in World War 2 and especially during the hiatus between the end of the war and the return home. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. Seller Inventory # 180942
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Four Thousand Bowls of Rice: A Prisoner of War Comes Home
Seller: Book Grocer, Tullamarine, VIC, Australia
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Hardback. , . NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.Author: Linda Goetz HolmesFormat: HardbackNumber of Pages: 204The author draws on Dickson's letters home to his wife, and on research and interviews with many surviving Pioneers, to paint a dramatic picture of prisoner-of-war life under the Japanese. Readers can discover what it felt like to emerge abruptly from one day's starvation to the next day's air-drops, and from being in regimented captivity to being in charge of one's own time again. Dickson's writings also provide a glimpse of one man's determination to free his mind from continued captivity by replacing bitter memories with the sights and sounds of post-war Bangkok, and with tender thoughts of reunion with loved ones. Hardback. Seller Inventory # 9781863735797-SECONDHAND
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Four Thousand Bowls of Rice: A Prisoner of War Comes Home
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ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair to Good. First Edition. Jacket has moderate general wear, a small loss to front top corner and a 1cm tear at top front adjacent to spine. Light general wear to cloth. Internally clean. Binding tight. 179pp Size: 160mm x 235mm. Book. Seller Inventory # 023549
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4000 BOWLS OF RICE A Prisoner of War Comes Home
Published by
Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, 1993
ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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Seller: A&F.McIlreavy.Buderim Rare Books, Buderim, QLD, Australia
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8vo.pp.xiii+ 179.index illustrations ,bibliography. Near Fine hardcover in near fine dust jacket. How one Japanese POW prepared himself for his journey home after three and a half years of brutal captivity in Java,Burma and Thailand.Sargeant Cecil Dickson of the 2/2 Australian Pioneer Battalion who surrendered to the Japanse in 1942 and were forced to work constructing the Burma Thailand railway. Seller Inventory # 21774
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4000 Bowls of Rice: A Prisoner of War Comes Home
Published by
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1993., 1993
ISBN 10: 1863735798
ISBN 13: 9781863735797
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Seller: Dial-A-Book, NARRABEEN, NSW, Australia
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Condition: Very Good. 8vo. hardcover. 179pp. index, b/w illus. Very good, owner's name on fep. / Very good d/w. Seller Inventory # 56421
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