Seasons greetings - 'Merdeka' FREE on Kindle

The 'Merdeka' eBook is FREE for Kindle download from 26th to 29th December 2013. 

UK readers can download it from Amazon.co.uk and for links to other Amazon sites see the How To Get The Book page on this blog.

A Merry Xmas and a very happy New Year to all!

The beginning of the end for British Malaya

On this day in 1941 Force Z of the Royal Navy (commanded by Admiral Tom Phillips) was attacked by 88 Japanese aircraft from the First Air Force. Force Z consisted of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse, and four destroyers.  Force Z arrived at Singapore on 2nd December 1941 and was sent to intercept Japanese landings in Malaya. Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk on 10th December 1941 about 50 miles from the coast of Kuantan in Malaya.

Read 'Merdeka' on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

The 'Merdeka' eBook is exclusive to Kindle.  It can be read on iPads, iPhones and the iPod touch through the Kindle App .  Information on the Kindle App can also be found on Amazon.

Somebody told me today that they looked for the book in the iTunes Store but could not find it.  I explained that, after looking at various options, it was decided to keep the book exclusive to Kindle, as the Kinde App is free and widely available for most smartphones, tablets, laptops etc.  For more see 'How to get the Book'.  The Amazon store links have just been updated.

Thinking about getting the book?  Why not check out some reviews ?

Read 'Merdeka' on Android

The 'Merdeka' eBook is exclusive to Kindle.  It can be read through the Kindle App on all android devices.  If you also have a Kindle device, your place in the book can be synced so that whichever device you open, you can start reading where you left off.  Isn't technology wonderful!

The Kindle App is also available for other devices.  For more see 'How to get the Book'.  The Amazon store links have just been updated.

Thinking about getting the book?  Why not check out some reviews ?

The story of the Malayan Emergency in a few clicks

Picture courtesy of the National Army Museum

Did you know that the campaign in Malaya was one of the few successful counter-insurgency operations undertaken by the Western powers in the 20th Century?

Still studied today, the Malayan Emergency provides many important lessons on how such campaigns should be conducted.

The National Army Museum has a great online exhibition on the Malayan Emergency and in a few clicks you can get through an outline of what happened there from 1948 to 1960. 

Units from the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas played a key role in the campaign, and a Gurkha fighting patrol features in the plot of  'Merdeka' the novel.  The picture shows a Gurkha patrol having a briefing and a 'brew up' in the Malayan Jungle in 1959.

Massacre in Malaya - Exposing Britains My Lai?

I have just pre-ordered this book.  To me the title appears 'sensationalist', although the publisher can't be blamed for trying to sell their book.

The My Lai massacre took place in several hamlets of Son My village in in Vietnam where American forces (1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment) indiscriminately massacred between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians.  Victims included women, men, children, and infants. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated.  By contrast in the Batang Kali massacre 24 unarmed male villagers were killed (executed?) by elements of the Scots Guards, after they had been separated from their women and children and interrogated.  Comparable? 

In both massacres the troops involved believed that the villagers were aiding their enemy.  The killing of unarmed civilians by soldiers is never acceptable unless, in the heat of war, a genuine mistake is made.

Read the latest customer review for 'Merdeka' on Amazon

Many thanks to "Linda Bahnan" for a 5 star review recently posted on Amazon.co.uk.  Extracts from this review, other customer reviews and professional reviews can be seen on the Review page of this blog, or you can visit 'Merdeka's' customer review page on Amazon.co.uk.