This book is one of the true classics of prisoner of war literature. Sir John Fletcher-Cooke was a man of great distinction, as his post-war career in the Colonial Service and as a Member of Parliament amply demonstrated. But in many ways the most remarkable years of his life were those he spent as a prisoner of war. During this period, John witnessed and was subjected to a wider spectrum of man's inhumanity to man than he ever could have expected. He somehow managed to keep a diary, on which this book is based, and with almost unbelievable luck it also survived. To say that he emerged from his descent into hell a wiser and better man is not to condone his suffering, it only emphasizes that indomitable courage and great strength of character are often revealed only in adversity. Sir John subsequently revisited Japan and met some of the men who had once been his persecutors. The final chapters of this very remarkable book poignantly reveal once again the humanity and understanding which enabled him to survive when so many others perished. The Emperor's Guest
