On the Shadow Tracks

A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar

By: Clare Hammond

Narrated by: Clare Hammond

Brought to you by Penguin.

In 2016, while working as a journalist in Yangon, Clare Hammond discovered an obscure map that showed a web of new railways spanning the length and breadth of the country - railways not shown on any other publicly available maps. She was determined to uncover the railways' origins, purpose, and most of all, the silence that surrounded them. She would spend three months travelling on these mysterious railways, and the next five years piecing their story together.

Her journey would take her from Myanmar's tropical south to the embattled mountain towns that border India and China. In dilapidated carriages, along tracks in disrepair, through contested ethnic states and former sites of forced labour, visiting temples, tea shops and festivals, Clare encountered a colourful and contradictory Myanmar through the stories of its people. Simultaneously a lush and evocative travelogue, an unsparing account of Myanmar's recent history, and an astonishing, conversation-shifting engagement with Britain's colonial legacy, On the Shadow Tracks is that rare and necessary thing: a book that finds and tells the truth.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Clare Hammond (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Informative as it is engaging

After the 2025 earthquake I decided I wanted to learn more about Myanmar. After researching some reading I stumbled across this book. I must say it was wonderful and I finished it in less than a week. She is a wonderful presenter and I greatly enjoyed the listen. It was effortlessly informative as she takes you through the country exploring and investigating the rail system. A unifying theme that I found to be much more engaging than I had anticipated. I have a much better understanding of the conflict with in the county and why there are so many warning independent factions fighting (some unified with others) throughout the country. Not many books can equally engage both content experts and merely curious alike. I highly recommend.

BURMA

I FOUND THE BOOK INTERESTING BUT SOMEWHAT REPETIVE. A COUNTRY I WOULD LOVE TO TRAVEL BUT HAVE MISSED MANY OPPOURTUNITIES.