Issue Details: First known date: 2003... 2003 One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A memoir of life and death on the Burma-Thailand Railway.

Four and a half days after being transported out of Singapore in a steel goods train in October 1942, prisoner of war Denys Peek found himself in Siam, and a part of the labour force destined for the project that was later to be known as the Thai-Burma death railway.

Together with his brother, Ron, and contingents from the Australian and British armies and Volunteer units, among others, Denys spent the duration of the war in over fifteen different work and 'hospital' camps on the railway where over 20,000 prisoners of war and uncounted slave labourers met their deaths. Told in the present tense, One Fourteenth of an Elephant is a haunting, evocative and deeply moving testimony to the suffering and the bravery of those who lived and died on the railway. Against a backdrop of inhumanity and brutality, the greatest examples of humanity and courage are thrown into stark relief, as the author takes us through a daily struggle for survival.

Told with clarity, passion and an incredible eye for detail and description, this is an utterly enthralling story and a classic in the making.' (Pan Macmillan)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Pan Macmillan Australia , 2004 .
      Extent: xiii, 520p., [2] leaves of platesp.
      Description: illus., maps
      Reprinted: 2004 , 2005
      Note/s:
      • 'First published 2003 in Macmillan...This Pan edition Published 2004...Reprinted 2004, 2005.' - t.p. verso
      ISBN: 0330364634
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Doubleday ,
      2004 .
      Extent: 522p., [8] p. of platesp.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0385607407
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Bantam Books ,
      2005 .
      Extent: 681p. [8] p. of platesp.
      Description: illus., maps, ports.
      ISBN: 0553816578 (pbk.)

Other Formats

Works about this Work

On My Bedside Table Jan Stewart , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 April 2008; (p. 28)

— Review of The Turning Tim Winton , 2004 selected work short story ; One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
The Shortlist Chris O'Connor , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , July-August vol. 13 no. 6 2003; (p. 55)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
Condemned to Remember Kathy Evans , 2003 single work biography
— Appears in: SundayLife , 13 July 2003; (p. 16-20,22)
One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Denys Peek Stella Lees , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 11 no. 2 2003; (p. 29)
Ex-Pow Shares His Indomitable Spirit John Farquharson , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Tha Canberra Times , 14 June 2003; (p. 6a)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
Resolution Was All Peter Pierce , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 250 2003; (p. 21-22)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography ; If This Should be Farewell : A Family Separated by War : The Journal and Letters of Ernest and Mary Hodgkin, 1942-1945 Ernest Hodgkin , Mary Hodgkin , 2003 selected work autobiography correspondence diary
A Voice for the Dead Red Harrison , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 April 2003; (p. 10)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
In the Face of Tragedy Chris Brice , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 19 April 2003; (p. 11)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
Memoir Lorien Kaye , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 April 2003; (p. 6)

— Review of One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
Past into Present Kathy Hunt , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 27 May vol. 121 no. 6374 2003; (p. 52)

— Review of The Andren Report : An Independent Way in Australian Politics Peter Andren , 2003 single work autobiography ; Lines of My Life : Journal of a Year Edmund Campion , 2003 single work diary ; One Fourteenth of an Elephant : A Memoir of Life and Death on the Burma-Thailand Railway Ian Denys Peek , 2003 single work autobiography
Love in a Hot Climate James Hall , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 29-30 March 2003; (p. 4-5)
One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Denys Peek Stella Lees , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 11 no. 2 2003; (p. 29)
Condemned to Remember Kathy Evans , 2003 single work biography
— Appears in: SundayLife , 13 July 2003; (p. 16-20,22)
Last amended 25 Feb 2015 15:39:20
Subjects:
  • Burma-Thailand Railway,
    c
    Burma,
    c
    Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • c
    Singapore,
    c
    Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • Burma-Thailand Railway,
    c
    Burma,
    c
    Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • 1939-1945
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