And the Dawn Came Up Like Thunder: Leo Rawlings: Prisoner of Japan and War Artist 1941-1945 - Tapa dura

Leo Rawlings' story is told in his own pictures and his own words; a world that is uncompromising, vivid, and raw. He pulls no punches. For the first time the cruelty inflicted on the prisoners of war by their own officers is depicted, as well as shocking images of POW life. This is truly a view of the River Kwai experience for a 21st Century audience.The new edition includes pictures never before published, as well as an extensive new commentary by Dr. Nigel Stanley, an expert on Rawlings and the medical problems faced on the Burma Railway. More than just a commentary on the history and terrible facts behind Rawlings' work, it stands on its own as a guide to the hidden lives of the prisoners. Most of the pictures are printed for the first time in color as the artist intended, bringing new detail and insight to conditions faced by the POWs as they built the infamous death railway, and faced starvation, disease, and cruelty. Rawlings' art brings a different perspective to the depiction of the world of the Far East prisoners. For the first time, the pictures and original texts are printed in a large format edition, so that their full power can be experienced. This new edition includes an account of how Rawlings' book was published in Japan by Takashi Nagase (well known from Eric Lomax's book The Railway Man) in the early 1980s. Rawlings visited Nagase in 1980 and at last reconciled himself to his experiences as a POW.

Leo Rawlings (1918-1990) was a private in the 137th Field Regiment Royal Artillery. Fighting from December 1941 to February 1942 as part of the headlong British retreat eventually leading to defeat in Singapore, he chronicled in pictures and words the campaign and the events that followed from 1941-1945.