num_pages: 224
description: One of the finest war novels ever written, Bridge on the River Kwai tells the story of three POWs who endure the hell of the Japanese camps on the Burma-Siam railway - Colonel Nicholson, a man prepared to sacrifice his life but not his dignity; Major Warden, a modest hero, saboteur and deadly killer; Commander Shears, who escaped from hell but was ordered back. Ordered by the Japanese to build a bridge, the Colonel refuses, as it is against regulations for officers to work with other ranks. The Japanese give way but, to prove a point of British superiority, construction of the bridge goes ahead - at great cost to the men under Nicholson's command.
language: English
title: The Bridge Over the River Kwai
titlecomplete: The Bridge Over the River Kwai
genres: Classics, France, Historical, World War II, Asia, Novels, War, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction
ratings_count: 9483
places: Burma, Myanmar
awards: awardedAt: -568051200000
name: Prix Sainte-Beuve
publisher: Gramercy Books