Belles of Shangri-La, The

by George Abraham

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0533134722
• ISBN13: 9780533134724
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Vantage Pr
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Five Stars for history that otherwise would be lost

The Belles of Shangri-La is a memoir by a white U.S. Army doctor stationed with black American soldiers in Liberia during WWII. They were protecting a Firestone rubber plantation and Roberts Field, a transport air base. Memoirs like this one provide the only look available at small bits of American military life. Generally, they are privately published and done many years after the fact at the request of friends or family. Two other examples are Korea Between the Wars: A Soldier's Story and Vieques Island: A Few Good Men on Radio Hill. Korea Between the Wars: A Soldier's Story, by Fred Ottoboni, is a memoir about a young man serving during the post war US military occupation of what became the Republic of Korea. Vieques Island: A Few Good Men on Radio Hill, by Theo Bennett, is a recently written memoir about a young marine serving on Vieques Island 50 years ago. There are many books available about WWII, the Korean War and the Cold War but you won't find many about GIs in Liberia, the 1945-48 US military occupation of Korea, or serving on Vieques Island. I appreciate the service done by the authors of these books in writing them. Five stars for history that otherwise would be lost.

Where monkeys had the right to vote, but not women...

Liberia in the 1940's was a land of rubber trees and prostitutes. Some American soldiers were sent to guard the all important to the war effort rubber trees from the Nazi threat - and met some very interesting local ladies. In fact, the US Army thoughtfully set the ladies up a camp of their own. The book is written by a former Army doc then stationed at the camp with some public health insights as well as observations on the local custom of female circumcision. His All-American narrative voice is delightful but at times repeats stories told in other parts of the book. I found it highly entertaining, but some may not have my appreciation of sordid humor.

Funny and entertaining

This short read is highly entertaining though with a high degree of raunchiness. It shows the side of military life not shown on the news. In short, the author was an American World War 2 soldier stationed in the jungles of Liberia. His 1000-man contingent was assigned with defending the Firestone Rubber plantations from Nazi attack. The soldiers broke up the monotony of jungle life with run-ins with local wildlife and villagers, especially the local women. The ensuing tales of prostitution, debauchery, nonsense, and high jinx make this one of the more entertaining theatres of WWII. I highly recommend this book for light reading.