Jim Corbett is famous for his exploits as a hunter, but there was so much more to the man than tracking down man-eating tigers and leopards. In fact, ‘Carpet Sahib’ (as many Indians called him) was a conservationist at heart, with a deep love for jungles – its flora and fauna; and its inhabitants – the birds and the animals, and the people – who lived in the lush Kumaon hills. It is this side of Corbett that comes to the fore in Jungle Lore. Almost autobiographical in nature, Jungle Lore sees Corbett talk of his boyhood, the people he met, lessons he learnt in absorbing the jungle, his concern for the jungles and environment, and of course, there are doses of hunting expeditions too. There is even the odd story of detection and of supernatural sightings. Jungle Lore is the first book anyone should read on Jim Corbett. Simply because it is about Jim Corbett the man who went on to become a famous hunter.

The army guide that taught WWII soldiers how to survive in the jungles and swamps of the tropics. During the Second World War, Allied soldiers fought to survive not only encounters with the enemy but the landscape they found themselves in. Being posted to Southeast Asia and the Pacific to fight the Japanese meant soldiers had to learn to survive in the tropics, fighting and living in endless steamy jungle and perilous swamps. In this alien environment, men had to be able to take care of themselves rather than relying on their unit to supply their needs, something that did not come naturally to the many soldiers born and raised in cities. To help them, the British and US armies produced a number of official training manuals and guides explaining how to identify and fight the Japanese and avoid their deadly punji traps, as well as “jungle lore”: How to find and cook plants that were safe to eat Which animals and insects could kill them How to identify and treat tropical illnesses and diseases How to avoid the dangers of polluted water and cannibals The Jungle Survival Manual brings together the official manuals and information that enabled the Allies to fight in Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Indochina, Singapore, and the Pacific Islands—and win the war. Includes diagrams and drawings reproduced from the original guides.

With the growth of interest in folklore, it becomes increasingly evident that the presentation of a collection needs some rationale more than the fact that traditional materials have been collected and properly annotated. Much has been gathered and is now accessible through journals, archives, and lists. If a corpus of lore is not presented in some way, which bears new light on the process of word-of-mouth transmission, on traditional forms or expressions, or on the group among whom the lore was encountered, there is little reason to present it to the public. This work represents an attempt to present a body of folklore collected among one small group of Black Americans in a neighborhood in South Philadelphia. The author's approach toward collection and presentation has been intensive. He has tried to collect "in depth," and to recreate in his presentation the social background in which the lore was found, and to relate the lore with the life and the values of the group. Abraham's work is a departure from any past methods of analyzing folklore, and therefore a description of the author's point of view and his method will be given first. The majority of this work was written before his methodology was actually formulated. However throughout the project û the object was to illuminate as fully as possible the lore of one small group of African Americans from urban Philadelphia. The methodology, which developed, did so because of this objective more than anything else. Though the formulation of this theory may seem ex post facto, it is included because it clarified much during the rewritings of this book, and more importantly, because it will clarify many matters for the lay reader and for the professional folklorist.

Jungle Mission is a poignant account of René Riesen’s life and mission during the First Indochina War amongst the Montagnards, and his ever growing love for these people by going native, learning their language, their traditions, their rituals, and their way of life. During World War II, Riesen worked briefly for the Vichy government and, following liberation, received a 20-year prison sentence. He volunteered to serve in the “BILOM” (Bataillon Leger d’Infanterie d’Outre-Mer), where WWII political prisoners could redeem themselves. Arriving in Saigon in May 1950 as a Colonial Infantry “2eme Classe” soldier affected to the BILOM—which by then had ceased to exist and most of its soldiers assigned to the BMEO (“Bataillon de Marche Extreme Orient”) created in January 1950—Riesen was assigned to the 1st Company, 4th BMEO at the outpost of Kon Plong, controlling access to the coastal plains of Son Ha and Ba To; this post was located about a day’s travel away from Kontum, positioned on a 1,800m high peak, where the rainy season lasted about seven months, with thick fog present almost every day. In December 1950, the 4th BMEO was renamed to the 4th Montagnard battalion, and its HQ remained at Ban Mé Thuot whilst its Battalions operated around Kontum. Riesen would go on to serve four years in the Kontum area and joined the GCMA after its formation, serving under Captain Hentic (“L’action Hre”). For his services in French Indochina, Corporal Riesen was awarded the French Croix de Guerre, the Croix des T.O.E (Théâtres d’opérations extérieures) and the Croix de la Vaillance Vietnamienne, with palm for his actions in French Indochina. As with many others, following his tour in Indochina Riesen was sent to the much quieter operational theatre of Algeria; however, this area too did not remain peaceful for long, escalating quickly into full warfare, and Riesen and his wife died during an ambush by Arabs in December 1956.

Between December 1941 and May 1942, the British Empire suffered a series of humiliating defeats in the Far East. Three years later the Japanese were defeated by British and Commonwealth forces at Kohima and Imphal and in the battles for Burma. This transformation in the fortunes was in large part due to the development of jungle warfare doctrine and the resulting improvements in training, tactics and equipment. This book examines British Army conventional forces that fought in the Far East, showing how the dissemination of doctrine improved training, and helped 14th Army's infantry divisions secure victory.