Book description
Written by Toosey's granddaughter, this remarkable portrait of a forgotten British hero and leader is essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War.
'Truly uplifting ... It makes you proud to be British.' The Guardian
Alec Guinness won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the dogmatic…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Colonel of Tamarkan as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a book about Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey, the man who commanded the POWs who built the "bridge over the River Kwai". Many people, possibly most, know about this bridge from the film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness. I recall discussing the film with a friend – a man who helped build the real bridge – and to quote him referring to the film, ‘British officers just didn’t behave like that’.
Years later, whilst traveling and writing, I sat through the night, on a rickety wooden verandah, a few hundred yards from the Kwai bridge…
From Robert's list on military books that resonate with me.
If you love The Colonel of Tamarkan...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like The Colonel of Tamarkan?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 45 books like The Colonel of Tamarkan.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,278
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Colonel of Tamarkan, you might also like...
The Bridge
The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…
And Then They Were Gone
Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger.
The authors taught in a small high school in San Francisco where Reverend Jim…
