The Courageous Life of Weary Dunlop

Surgeon, prisoner-of-war, life-saving leader and legend of the Thai-Burma Railway

De: Peter FitzSimons

Narrado por: Peter FitzSimons

The extraordinary story of the heroic doctor whose courage and leadership were a lifeline for thousands of Australian prisoners-of-war on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway of World War II - brilliantly told by Australia's favourite storyteller, Peter FitzSimons

In September 1939, young Australian surgeon Edward 'Weary' Dunlop was working in London when the dogs of war were unleashed. Signing up, he was commissioned a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC) and sent to the Middle East, serving in Palestine, Greece, Crete, Egypt and Tobruk.

As the European war dragged on, an emboldened Japanese force captured Singapore and marched closer to Australian shores. Weary and over 3000 others sailed back to Java to fight this new enemy. At the No. 1 Allied General Hospital in Bandoeng, the Japanese were ready to murder the bedridden when Weary put his body in front of the bayonets. From that moment his leadership, ingenuity and selflessness became legend as Allied prisoners-of-war were sent to Singapore, Thailand and finally faced the hell of working as slave labour on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway. In the POW camps, tropical diseases, malnutrition, and the brutal work regime imposed by their Japanese captors meant the death toll was horrific. And yet, with little to no medical supplies, under extreme physical pressure, Weary Dunlop took risks and beatings to defy the Japanese and keep his men alive in circumstances that tested the limits of human endurance.

Weary was a gentle giant of a man. A boxer and former Wallaby, he could have been an elite sportsman but chose a different path - one that led him from rural Victoria to training as a pharmacist and then to medical school. World War II was the fire that fuelled this remarkable hero. His courageous leadership and calm endurance became beacons of hope to the POWs under his command. His name has become synonymous with courage, compassion and resilience. Now, Weary Dunlop's heroic and inspiring story has been brought to life by Australia's greatest storyteller, Peter FitzSimons.

Excellent content, mediocre narration.

The narration is lackluster, tiresome, unenthusiastic. Fitz Simon’s is an excellent writer but a woefully subpar narrator. As dynamic as was Dunlop was, he is deserving of a far more enthusiastic narration.

The well researched, clearly described particulars of Dunlop's life events certainly warrant attention, but it is difficult to get wrapped up in a biography delivered in so deadpan a style.

We wouldn’t expect professional narrators to necessarily write excellent books. Why, then, do authors presume themselves to narrate expertly their writings? Beats me.

I do not recommend this recording but do recommend the printed format.