The Malayan Emergency: Revolution and Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire
By Karl Hack, 2022 is touted as the definitive history.
While it is indeed comprehensive and scholarly, the proof is in the pudding.
For any book on the Malayan Emergency, the litmus test, to me, is how the author treats the infamous Batang Kali massacre.
On this score, Karl’s treatment skirted the latest developments and findings. He avoided a deep dive. He failed to take a position on whether it was or was not a massacre. He failed to narrate the findings of the British court proceedings. (P 126)
It is still a good book.
For a flavour of the bitter guerrilla war, one can do no better than …and the rain my drink by Han Su Yin, 1956, and The War of the Running Dogs by Noel Barber, 1971.
On Batang Kali, the best detailed book is Slaughter and Deception at Batang Kali by Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, 2008.
LWH, 7 Jan 2026