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Tony Banham

Not the Slightest Chance: The Defence of Hong Kong, 1941 Paperback – 1 Jan. 2004

by Tony Banham (Author)

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More than 10% of Hong Kong's defenders were killed in battle; a further 20% died in captivity. Those who survived seldom spoke of their experiences. Many died young. The little primary material surviving--written in POW camps or years after the events--is contradictory and muddled. Yet with just 14,000 defending the colony, it was possible to write from the individual's point of view rather than that of the Big Battalions so favoured by God (according to Napoleon) and most historians.

The book assembles a phase-by-phase, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and death-by-death account of the battle. It considers the individual actions that made up the fighting, as well as the strategies and plans and the many controversies that arose.

Print length

452 pages
Language

English
Publisher

UBC Press
Publication date

1 Jan. 2004
Dimensions

15.88 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
ISBN-10

0774810459
ISBN-13

978-0774810456
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Product description

About the Author

Tony Banham has been studying the Battle of Hong Kong for well over a decade. He has written extensively on the subject, and has been a consultant for television documentaries about the battle.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ UBC Press (1 Jan. 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 452 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0774810459
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0774810456
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.88 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm

Customer reviews:
14 ratings

About the author

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Tony Banham

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Banham was born into an academic family in Norfolk. He is nephew of architectural historian Professor Reyner Banham and great nephew of 1945 Member of Parliament Edwin Gooch. He graduated in Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire and had an initial career in research & development with Royal Dutch Shell and the European Space Agency at ESRIN. At the age of 30 he moved to Hong Kong, working there for a variety of software vendors including Informix and, today is a senior executive based in Hong Kong with Oracle. He is a licensed pilot and is married with two sons and has made Hong Kong his permanent home.

Tony Banham is founder of the Hong Kong War Diary project, which studies and documents the 1941 defence of Hong Kong, the defenders, their families, and the fates of all until liberation. His published books are considered to be examples of some of the best research on the Hong Kong experience during the Second World War. Mr. Banham is also very active in the "human side" of historical research relating to the era and often speaks at various symposia on the subject and carries on an active dialogue with survivors of the conflict and their families. He also maintains a close association with various diplomatic services, government agencies, and other official parties associated with providing care and services to those involved in the conflict. He serves, at the request on the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, on a special government panel which reviews and grants the payment of pensions to veterans (or their survivors) who served Hong Kong during the period.

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		25%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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Amazon Customer

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a great read

One person found this helpful

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K Stimson

All the detail you could want

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2013

Verified Purchase

I bought this book as a reference to assist me in the making of my family tree. It has provided a considerable number of sources and has gradually 'drawn me into' the history of the Japanese invasion which was not my primary interest.
It is not a book to be read from start to finish, but rather dipped into. The chapters are sub-divided firstly into a daily summary then into a daily diary of events in chronological order, ending with a list of known casualties. The notes are extremely detailed and have already caused me to buy further reading, some out of print, of the interesting people revealed.
I cannot recommend it highly enough to anybody interested in the fall or background history of Hong Kong at that time.

5 people found this helpful

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James P. Sheehan

If you want fact and detail you cant beat this ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2015

Verified Purchase

If you want fact and detail you cant beat this book and if you have any questions Tony is there to help

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. Stanford

First class work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2003

This work reflects the enormous amount of research Tony Banham has done over the years covering a very specialist topic that few books have covered.
The highest praise I can give this work is that it deserves to be ranked shoulder to shoulder with the works of Oliver Lindsay and Tim Carew.
The Fall of Hong Kong was a low point in the second world war for the British Empire, and one that was acknowledged by Churchill as being a lost cause, hence his quote in the title.
Read in conjunction with Tony Banham's web site of the same name, this work will captivate historians and public alike. It is a work that deserves a wider audience, and the 4 star rating I have given this book reflects the cost, not the content.

7 people found this helpful

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Dr. R. Watson

grim reality

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 October 2015

Verified Purchase

my uncle died as a result of this debacle
Horrific

2 people found this helpful

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Al Kitching

brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 October 2003

Yes, brilliant, an overused phrase, but that's what we have here.
In future all copies of respectable dictionaries, encyclopia and other reference works will need to place a thumbnail icon of NtSC:TDoHK next to definitions of 'exhaustive' or 'comprehensive'. As a research tool it's invaluable, but it reads wonderfully well too, with a strong and compelling narrative force that's totally unique.
Heartily recommended.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Andrew

This book's a winner and will stand the test of time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2005

There have been numerous books recounting the tragic events of the three week battle for Hong Kong and I believe that I have read most of them. In my opinion, 'Not the Slightest Chance' is a fine book that has succeeded in bringing real academic rigour to a description of the garrison and how it and the civilians fared during those tragic times in December 1941. I have used it on several occasions as a basis for exploring the battle sites in Hong Kong and can recommend it absolutely to anyone who seeks to delve more deeply into the reasons why and how Hong Kong fell in such a short time. Tony Banham's superb book is a must for anyone with even the slightest interest in that period.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. Langley-Bates

The Fall of Hong Kong made perfectly clear

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2003

This book presents an hour by hour, day by day account of the fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese. It contains a very large amount of carefully researched detail, which enables the reader to feel that they were there watching. My father was taken prisoner there and as an account of the days of battle, with its minute detail referring to places and people I found it fascinating. Well referenced and indexed it really is the best cover of the subject.
I am looking forward to his next book which covers the sinking of the Lisbon Maru.

5 people found this helpful

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Not the Slightest Chance: The Defence of Hong Kong, 1941 Paperback – 1 Jan. 2004

Product description

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Tony Banham

Customer reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

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