As someone else mentioned, the movied is based on the story of Ernest Gordon, who was a POW along the infamous Rangoon to Bangkok Railway made famous by the (very historically inaccurate) movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. Our old Presbyterian church had a copy of his book, Through the Valley of the Kwai in the parish library.

Gordon was a Dean at Princeton for a number of years:

http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/02/q1/0121-gordon.htm

BTW, if anyone is interested in the true story of the Death Railway, the History Channel released an excellent documentary several years ago about what really happened, including the story of Col. Phillip Toosey, who unlike Col. Nicholson in the movie, did not collaborate with the Japanese.

Lest we forget.

Todd