BOOK REVIEW | The Fabulous Flotilla: Scotland’s Adventure on the Rivers of Burma

Paul Strachan will be a wee bit familiar to regular readers of Baird Maritime. His articles on riverine tourism in South-East Asia have intrigued us recently. He is an excellent writer who describes his subject brilliantly.

This delightful book presents Paul’s talents perfectly. In clearly and well-illustrated form, it combines history, geography, sociology, architecture, travelogue, political science, and biographies with fascinating maritime history. All that is set against the background of a beautiful and once rich country whose current repressive military rulers are working ruthlessly to return it to “hermit kingdom” status.

As Paul describes so well, modern Burma – or Myanmar, if you prefer – was largely established on the back of the riverine infrastructure introduced and developed by the Scottish-owned Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, whose steamships safely connected all the main towns of the country. With over 1,200 ships, it was once the largest privately-owned shipowner in the world.

Operating on all of Burma’s major rivers from 1839, the company continued to serve, with a hiatus during the Japanese invasion, until 1949, when it was nationalised.

This is the very well-told story of an amazing shipping company and a fascinating and, generally, delightful country.

Author: Paul Strachan

Available from Whittles Publishing, Caithness, Scotland, UK.

Web: www.whittlespublishing.com

An excerpt of the book can be read here. It is posted here on Baird Maritime with the publisher’s permission.