Named one of the Best Books of 2014 by NPR "Riveting. It's an extraordinary story, well-researched and beautifully told but not about the World War II you might know. Barnaby Phillips writes about humanity and compassion from the perspective of a Nigerian soldier whose forgotten colonial unit fought for the British Empire in then-Burma. Sixteen-year-old Isaac Fadoyebo is one of the "Burma Boys" who found themselves battling determined Japanese soldiers far away from home. Wounded and left for dead in the jungle, Isaac and Sierra Leonean David Kargbo survive only thanks to the goodness of a local villager, Shuyiman, and his family. Phillips delves deep into relationships, identity and much more in this stunning book. I couldn't put it down."
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR correspondent
'Ranks alongside such classics of wartime literature as The Great Escape and Boldness be my Friend....profoundly moving.' - Telegraph
'Phillips captures nuances of Nigeria that only a man who knows and loves a place and people can....An extraordinary story, very well told.' - Spectator
'Excellent...such a gripping and valuable contribution to the literature.' - African Arguments
'One Nigerian soldier's poignant history highlights the enormous and little-known contribution of West African troops in the British Army during World War II. A remarkable story about a war during which thousands followed his example and fought valiantly for, and with little regognition from, the British Empire.' - Kirkus Reviews
Two young West African soldiers shipped half across the world in 1943 to
fight for the British in Burma find themselves abandoned wounded,
starving and sick in the unmapped jungle of the Arakan. Their astonishing
adventures, reconstructed here in gripping detail, end with a postwar sequel
when the younger of the two returns to Nigeria, itself also precipitately
abandoned by its colonial masters to survive a painful and precarious
independence without preparation or support. A real-life thriller with
sobering implications for the British reader but I found it impossible to put
down.- Hilary Spurling, author of Burying the Bones
A riveting narrative that traces Africas crucial yet forgotten contribution to
the Second World War. Through the experiences of one Nigerian soldier in
Burma, Phillips provides insights into military strategy while taking the
reader on an emotional journey, giving a fascinating glimpse into life and
race relations in the British Army, as well as comradeship and human
endurance. Brimming with facts, anecdotes and pathos, this page-turner is a
must-read/indispensable for anyone interested in military history and
Nigerias socio-political transformation in the mid-20th century. - Noo Saro-Wiwa, author of Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria
Barnaby Phillips has written a magnificent book. It is an enthralling human story of soldiers whose sacrifice has been too long neglected. He brings to his subject a sharp intelligence and a true Writer's eye. This book deserves to
become a classic of war history. - Fergal Keane, BBC Foreign Correspondent and author of Road of Bones
'The hard-won victories of the Second World War define British identity to an extraordinary degree. Travelling from Africa to Southeast Asia, Barnaby Philips illuminates vividly, through a very human story, how that ostensible struggle
between democracy and fascism was experienced and interpreted by a large majority of the world's population. Another Man's War admirably complicates and deepens our sense of history.' - Pankaj Mishra, author of From the Ruins of Empire
'A rich story, richly told. An inspiring instance of common human, handled brilliantly by a writer whose research is as dogged as his touch is fine. Reading Another Man's War will add hugely to any person's understanding of how the Second World War was fought and, just as importantly, how it was presented. Superb.' - Tim Butcher, author of Blood River and Chasing the Devil
'Barnaby Phillips has written a fine account of the forgotten African soldiers who fought in WW2. Another Man's War is a testament to the kindness of strangers and the power of memory. The denouement of Isaac's absorbing story -
spanning three continents and seven decades - is deeply moving. Meticulous research is matched by profound human emotion.' - Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News
'Barnaby Phillips has uncovered a tale which touches the world in every sense. The story is a deceptively simple one, of a lanky boy who runs away from his dusty Nigerian village to join the British Army and is left for dead thousands of miles from home in the Burmese jungle. The miraculous sheltering and survival of Isaac Fadoyebo not only make an irresistible human drama. They also illustrate the terrifying global swirl of the conflict. Told with warmth and colour, this account of a forgotten soldier in a forgotten army in a forgotten war will not itself be easily forgotten.' - Ferdinand Mount, author of The New Few
'From start to finish the readers heart belongs to Isaac Fadoyebo and the West African soldiers. Dramatic, moving, often shocking, painstakingly researched and brilliantly told, Another Mans War is a story the world should hear, not
just so that West Africans may know the part they played in the Burma campaign and in the Second World War, but so that Britain and the world knows it too.'
Aminatta Forna, author of The Hired Man and The Memory of Love