Synopses & Reviews
November 1944: Their B-24 bomber shot down on what should have been an easy mission off the Borneo coast, a scattered crew of Army airmen cut themselves loose from their parachutesand#151;only to be met by loincloth-wearing natives silently materializing out of the mountainous jungle. Would these Dayak tribesmen turn the starving airmen over to the hostile Japanese occupiers? Or would the Dayaks risk vicious reprisals to get the airmen safely home in a desperate game of hide-and-seek?
A cinematic survival story featuring a bamboo airstrip built on a rice paddy, a mad British major, and a blowpipe-wielding army that helped destroy one of the last Japanese strongholds, The Airmen and the Headhunters is also a gripping tale of wartime heroism unlike any other you have read.
Review
PRAISE FOR THE AIRMEN AND THE HEADHUNTERS and#160;"With her title alone . . . Heimann rivets oneand#8217;s attention."and#151;The Washington Post Book Worldand#160;"Heimann brings a visceral urgency to one of WWII's most unlikely tales . . . Along the way, she makes usand#151;like the airmenand#151;rethink our definitions of civilized and savage."and#151;Entertainment Weekly
About the Author
JUDITH M. HEIMANN is a career diplomat and the author of The Most Offending Soul Alive. She spent seven years living in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and speaks Indonesian. She traveled to three continents and interviewed all the surviving Dayaks and airmen in her research for this book. She lives in Washington, D.C., and Brussels.
Table of Contents
ContentsPrefaceand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;1
ONE: A B-24 Over Borneoand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;3
TWO: Into the Jungleand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;21
THREE: The D.O.and#8217;s Dilemmaand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;35
FOUR: and#147;Good-bye, Misterand#8221;and#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;57
FIVE: Another Part of the Forestand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;71
SIX: Becoming Lun Dayehand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;81
SEVEN: A Letter from the Japaneseand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;95EIGHT: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times" Polecat Gulchand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;109
NINE: The Pangeran Forces the Paceand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;131
TEN: The D.O. Declares Warand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;147
ELEVEN: The Navy Crashes Inand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;165
TWELVE: Help from on Highand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;189
THIRTEEN: SEMUT Finds Work for the Yanksand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;205
FOURTEEN: A Way Outand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;225
FIFTEEN: The Allies Arriveand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;243
and#160;
Acknowledgmentsand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;263
Glossaryand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;267
A Note on Sourcesand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;273
Indexand#160;and#160;*and#160;and#160;281