Book: Now The Hell Will Start

World War II, or ‘The Great War’ as it has been dubbed
by some, has a plethora of stories within those years
that it was fought. The story of Private Herman Perry,
however, is one that seemed to be lost amidst lost
letters and bureaucratic records until now. Now The
Hell Will Start is Herman Perry’s story, the story of
an African American GI who after enduring racism and
blatantly instituionalized ill-treatment made a decision
and subsequently became the target of the largest
manhunt of World War II, fleeing into the savage
jungle of Burma and settling in with a fearsome tribe
of headhunters known as the Naga.

Brendan I Koerner, a contributor to Wired magazine,
brings us a vivid accounting of Herman Perry’s story
in these pages. He displays a fine gift for fluid but
detailed narrative throughout the book. You get
drawn into Perry’s life and in the process, you share
his frustrations and his pain. In addition, you also
come away with the knowledge that for better or
for worse, Herman Perry’s experience caused some
major changes in the American military and to a
small degree, American society.