What most of us know about Burma is limited to the pro-democracy struggle, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, against the junta. But Burma has been fighting a bitter civil war since the British withdrew more than 50 years ago - as the Burmans refuse to give independence to ethnic groups such as the Kachins and Karen. In 1989, Shelby Tucker, a 53-year-old American, set out on the walk of a lifetime: across Burma. Tucker and his young Swedish travelling companion (whose sanity must be questioned!) were detained by Communist rebels as they entered Burma illegally from China, then handed over to the Kachin Independence Army - who, at great risk to themselves, led the "adventurers" through dangerous terrain crossing the enemy lines of the Burmese Army - and, after surviving landslides, floods, fever and giant leeches, were arrested as they crossed illegally into India.
This is much more than an account of an awe- inspiring journey through a breathtakingly beautiful country - Tucker provides insights into the history, the role of opium, ethnic issues and the culture of Burma and the Kachins.