Overview

It tells the story of two identical twins living in a small rural town in Gold Coast who set out, one bright Sunday, on a hunting expedition. In the process, the younger of the two, Kakra, is abducted and eventually forcefully conscripted into the Royal West African Frontier Force to fight on the side of the British Empire. The story follows the lot of Kakra as he experiences conflict on two fronts - in what was Italian East Africa and Burma. The narrative also describes the role played by countries in West Africa in the war years prior to the independence of Ghana and other African countries. The role played, and the sacrifices made, by recruits from West Africa, including countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, were unquestionably significant, as this book will reveal. World War 2 Revisited is not a dry and clinical history book full of dates and facts. Instead, it makes the past alive as see through the eyes largely of Kakra and other participants. The reader shares their endurance, their fortitude, as they face hunger, exhaustion, carry equipment on their heads and shoulders through rainforests and jungles, create air strips for planes with sheer muscle power, face bullets on the battlefield and, in quieter moments, discuss and argue about the meaning of it all. The reader shares their friendships, their camaraderie, as well as the frustrations of these conquering heroes as they wait for long tedious months for a troopship to take them back home to West Africa, to be reunited with their loved ones. This is not just a history book, but a human story, a story about human endurance and the worth of human beings, whatever their colour and creed.

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9780995552425

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Reviews

BOOK REVIEW WW 2 Dr Peprah-Gyamfi has written a history book with a difference! It tells the story of two identical twins living in a small rural town in Ghana who set out, one bright Sunday, on a hunting expedition. The reader is so easily drawn into what is at first a delightful and charming story about two innocent and adventurous boys who set out with a friend to bag something for the pot - but then something frightening and very unexpected happens to the two of them, and for years the twin boys are separated. In the main, the story follows the lot of the younger twin, Kakra, and in the process the reader almost unwittingly gains a vast amount of knowledge and insight into the history of the Second World War on two fronts - in what was Italian East Africa and Burma. Speaking for myself, the revelations are unexpected and enormously instructional, especially if you have an interest in the role played by countries in West Africa in the war years prior to the independence of Ghana and other African countries. The role played, and the sacrifices made, by recruits from West Africa, including countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, were unquestionably significant, as this book will reveal. The irony is that their role and their sacrifices were not truly appreciated at the time, perhaps even made light of in recent years, because of the prejudices of the pre-war colonial masters towards Africans at the time. This story, seen largely through the eyes of an African partisan, Kakra, puts the record straight! It is ironic, too - in fact, shocking - that these brave recruits, many who gave their lives for King and Empire, were not even recruits - but young boys who were forcefully abducted to form part of the fighting force in the front lines of battle! The author has not written a dry and clinical history book full of dates and facts. Instead, he has resuscitated the past by making it alive, seen through the eyes largely of Kakra and other participants. We share their endurance, their fortitude, as they face hunger, exhaustion, carry equipment on their heads and shoulders through rainforests and jungles, create air strips for planes with sheer muscle power, face bullets on the battlefield and, in quieter moments, discuss and argue about the meaning of it all. We also share their friendships, their camaraderie, as well as the frustrations of these conquering heroes (those who have survived) as they wait for long tedious months for a troopship to take them back home to West Africa, to be reunited with their loved ones. This is not just a history book, but a human story - one that has taught me much about human endurance and the worth of human beings, whatever their colour and creed. Charles Muller MA (Wales), PhD (Lond), DEd (SA), DLitt (UFS) Marbella 16 June 2017

BOOK REVIEW WW 2Dr Peprah-Gyamfi has written a history book with a difference! It tells the story of two identical twins living in a small rural town in Ghana who set out, one bright Sunday, on a hunting expedition. The reader is so easily drawn into what is at first a delightful and charming story about two innocent and adventurous boys who set out with a friend to bag something for the pot - but then something frightening and very unexpected happens to the two of them, and for years the twin boys are separated. In the main, the story follows the lot of the younger twin, Kakra, and in the process the reader almost unwittingly gains a vast amount of knowledge and insight into the history of the Second World War on two fronts - in what was Italian East Africa and Burma. Speaking for myself, the revelations are unexpected and enormously instructional, especially if you have an interest in the role played by countries in West Africa in the war years prior to the independence of Ghana and other African countries. The role played, and the sacrifices made, by recruits from West Africa, including countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, were unquestionably significant, as this book will reveal. The irony is that their role and their sacrifices were not truly appreciated at the time, perhaps even made light of in recent years, because of the prejudices of the pre-war colonial masters towards Africans at the time. This story, seen largely through the eyes of an African partisan, Kakra, puts the record straight! It is ironic, too - in fact, shocking - that these brave recruits, many who gave their lives for King and Empire, were not even recruits - but young boys who were forcefully abducted to form part of the fighting force in the front lines of battle! The author has not written a dry and clinical history book full of dates and facts. Instead, he has resuscitated the past by making it alive, seen through the eyes largely of Kakra and other participants. We share their endurance, their fortitude, as they face hunger, exhaustion, carry equipment on their heads and shoulders through rainforests and jungles, create air strips for planes with sheer muscle power, face bullets on the battlefield and, in quieter moments, discuss and argue about the meaning of it all. We also share their friendships, their camaraderie, as well as the frustrations of these conquering heroes (those who have survived) as they wait for long tedious months for a troopship to take them back home to West Africa, to be reunited with their loved ones. This is not just a history book, but a human story - one that has taught me much about human endurance and the worth of human beings, whatever their colour and creed. Charles Muller MA (Wales), PhD (Lond), DEd (SA), DLitt (UFS)Marbella 16 June 2017

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