Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Anchor Books (2001), Edition: First Editiion, 384 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML:NATIONAL BESTSELLER �?� �??The greatest World War II story never told�?� (Esquire)�??an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue the last survivors of the Bataan Death March. On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation. In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
Not being a WWII expert, I can't really say yay or nay on the "most dramatic mission" claim on this book's title, but I got so caught up in this book I read the whole thing in one afternoon.
The basic outline is this: The US has decided that it's time for the Army to take Manila from the Japanese
The structure of the book is such that there are actually two alternating stories here. The main story is of course, the attempt to liberate the camp, and interspersed is the second story, that of the Bataan Death March and then life inside the prison camps, told by the survivors. The author's writing style is so good that you'll think you're reading a novel rather than history. Now comes my only complaint: my graduate degree is in History, and I cringe every time I read something like this where there are NO footnotes or endnotes. The author does say what sources he relied on in the back of the book, but I like to be able to trace exact quotations, references, etc., in case I want to follow up with another source. That's just my thing, and I would guess that the great majority of readers do not give a fig about footnotes.
Even if you know nothing about WWII, or if you're not particularly interested, any reader would find this book captivating. It is written for readers -- no bogging down with overly technical details.
Very well written and worth every second of reading time. Recommended.
The basic outline is this: The US has decided that it's time for the Army to take Manila from the Japanese
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in 1945, after the landing at Leyte Gulf. There is a slight problem, however; directly in the path that the soldiers would take on the push to Manila lies a prisoner-of-war camp holding Americans and others. By this time the camp is a way station for Japanese soldiers and the road to the place is loaded with Japanese vehicles & army. Since the Japanese know that everything's coming to a close, the US fears that (as in earlier examples) the prisoners stuck in the camp are in danger of being exterminated. So the Army decides it needs a small force of men to go in, liberate the camp, and clear the way for the bulk of the troops to get on the road to Manila. This book is the story of how this was achieved. The structure of the book is such that there are actually two alternating stories here. The main story is of course, the attempt to liberate the camp, and interspersed is the second story, that of the Bataan Death March and then life inside the prison camps, told by the survivors. The author's writing style is so good that you'll think you're reading a novel rather than history. Now comes my only complaint: my graduate degree is in History, and I cringe every time I read something like this where there are NO footnotes or endnotes. The author does say what sources he relied on in the back of the book, but I like to be able to trace exact quotations, references, etc., in case I want to follow up with another source. That's just my thing, and I would guess that the great majority of readers do not give a fig about footnotes.
Even if you know nothing about WWII, or if you're not particularly interested, any reader would find this book captivating. It is written for readers -- no bogging down with overly technical details.
Very well written and worth every second of reading time. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
A group of 121 personally picked soldiers are called into action. Their mission: to march thirty miles to rescue 513 prisoners of war; survivors of the Bataan Death March. Sides is thorough in his storytelling. Side by side narratives of the rescued and the rescuers. One minute the reader is with
For me, the most moving exploit of the Rangers was when they had the villagers assist them in building an airstrip in one night (a mere five hours) to evacuate a critically wounded doctor. It brought me to tears to think of every man, woman, and child working their hardest in the dead of night to create an airstrip in the jungle for a complete stranger.
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the Rangers, planning the daring rescue; the next getting to know the prisoners of war. All the while the Japanese are launching deadly attacks and no one can predict their next erratic move. For me, the most moving exploit of the Rangers was when they had the villagers assist them in building an airstrip in one night (a mere five hours) to evacuate a critically wounded doctor. It brought me to tears to think of every man, woman, and child working their hardest in the dead of night to create an airstrip in the jungle for a complete stranger.
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LibraryThing member marshapetry
Great story, excellent narrator for audiobook. The only drawback is that it jumps between internal stories: the rescuers, the camps, various side stories of POWs etc... which made it hard to listen to in the car. So while it was a great story about the rescue of POWs at Kabanatwan (spelling?) it
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was hard audiobook to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
A great introduction to the Bataan Death March and subsequent prison break at wars end. This is not definitive historians history, rather more of a Band of Brothers telling true stories within a coherent literary framework. It's meant as much to entertain as to inform. I'm a fan of Hampton Sides
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for his skilful use of the braided narrative technique and this is another example. Other authors try it by not all succeed. The book was the basis of the film The Great Raid (2005). Show Less
LibraryThing member CarolynSchroeder
This really is a gripping story about the rescue of the Bataan Death March survivors/POWs by U.S. Army Rangers and two aligned Philippino guerilla forces (not to mention, assistances from the Philippino citizens as well). The book is not new and has been summarized many times, so I won't do that
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again. It is a book, and real life story, that is hard to put down. It's very tragic, but also, the rescue defies a great many odds. My only complaint is while Hampton Sides is an outstanding non fiction writer and I love his work, it's a bit over the top on hyperbole and crescendo. Time and time again, he leads up to what the reader thinks will be the rescue, leave the chapter hanging, then the next chapter will be filler about another happening. After ten or so times, that got old, and it was so over-used it lost its effectiveness. It got to when the actual rescue happened, it was not very exciting. But that is a small complaint, it was his way of crafting the story to keep the reader engaged. Also, it truly is one of the most important stories of World War II. Overall, highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
3.5 stars
Close to the end of WWII, there were American (and a few other nationalities) prisoners of war being held by the Japanese in the Philippines. When one POW camp was brutally massacred, the American Rangers decided to go in to rescue the POWs at another one before the same thing could happen
This was good. I found the POWs story more interesting than the rescuers, though there were still portions of both that held my interest. The book started with a “bang”, describing the other POW camp and how almost all of them were murdered except for a very few who managed to escape. Then, it switched to the story at hand, going back and forth. It did pick up in the last half to third of the book, as the rescue was about to happen, and as it happened.
Close to the end of WWII, there were American (and a few other nationalities) prisoners of war being held by the Japanese in the Philippines. When one POW camp was brutally massacred, the American Rangers decided to go in to rescue the POWs at another one before the same thing could happen
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there. This book goes back and forth between the POWs: how they came to be in the camp and their life there leading up to the rescue and the rescuers and their dangerous mission to get them out. In the end, they saved over 500 POWs, many who were sick. This was good. I found the POWs story more interesting than the rescuers, though there were still portions of both that held my interest. The book started with a “bang”, describing the other POW camp and how almost all of them were murdered except for a very few who managed to escape. Then, it switched to the story at hand, going back and forth. It did pick up in the last half to third of the book, as the rescue was about to happen, and as it happened.
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LibraryThing member mysterymax
Well-written, breath-holding, stomach-churning, laughs, and tears fill the pages of [Ghost Soldiers] by Hampton Sides. It is the story of just over 100 soldiers, including members of the 6th Rangers, trekked through the rice paddies and fields to free the 513 POWs at the Cabanatuan Camp in the
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Philippines with little time to plan and no time to spare before the prisoners would be put to death by the departing Japanese. The book combines moment by moment movements of the rescuers, events transpiring in the camp, and individual cameos of the people involved - Japanese and American, prisoner and liberators. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Book on CD performed by James Naughton
From the book jacket On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected troops from the elite U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty miles in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POWs who had spent
My Reactions
Sides crafts a story that is gripping, informative, horrifying and inspiring. I was captured from page one and mesmerized throughout. I felt that I really got to know the men involved – prisoners and rescuers.
My reaction to this book was somewhat personal. I could not help but think of my father, who served in the Pacific for 33 months, making seven landings with MacArthur’s forces. I remember his stories of how the Filipino guerillas helped them “string wire around Manila Bay. They said it couldn’t be done, but we did it.” I have a collage of photos of him hanging over my desk – including one where he stares into the camera, cigarette in one corner of his mouth, while he and six other men stand holding a large snake that Daddy had killed (Daddy holds the head). And I thought of my husband, an Airborne Ranger who served in Vietnam. In the 1990s, when visiting the Philippines on business, he walked about a hundred meters of the Bataan Death March route – “Just to get the feel of what they endured.”
This is a history that will appeal to fans of Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken or Doug Stanton’s In Harm’s Way.
James Naughton does a fabulous job of narrating the audio book. I really felt I was in the heart of the action.
From the book jacket On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected troops from the elite U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty miles in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POWs who had spent
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three years in a surreally hellish camp near the city of Cabanatuan. The prisoners included the last survivors of the Bataan Death March. …. Elsewhere in the Philippines, the Japanese Army had already executed American prisoners as it retreated from the advancing U.S. Army. My Reactions
Sides crafts a story that is gripping, informative, horrifying and inspiring. I was captured from page one and mesmerized throughout. I felt that I really got to know the men involved – prisoners and rescuers.
My reaction to this book was somewhat personal. I could not help but think of my father, who served in the Pacific for 33 months, making seven landings with MacArthur’s forces. I remember his stories of how the Filipino guerillas helped them “string wire around Manila Bay. They said it couldn’t be done, but we did it.” I have a collage of photos of him hanging over my desk – including one where he stares into the camera, cigarette in one corner of his mouth, while he and six other men stand holding a large snake that Daddy had killed (Daddy holds the head). And I thought of my husband, an Airborne Ranger who served in Vietnam. In the 1990s, when visiting the Philippines on business, he walked about a hundred meters of the Bataan Death March route – “Just to get the feel of what they endured.”
This is a history that will appeal to fans of Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken or Doug Stanton’s In Harm’s Way.
James Naughton does a fabulous job of narrating the audio book. I really felt I was in the heart of the action.
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LibraryThing member elenchus
A popular historical account of a WWII rescue mission / prison camp break at the onset of MacArthur's return to the Philippines, Sides interleaves stories of life in the prison camp with the buildup to the coordinated rescue mission on part of U.S. Rangers, Alamo Scouts & Filipino guerrillas. In
Group 1: those left in Cabanatuan because too weak / ill to be useful, and threatened with massacre when Camp overrun by MacArthur’s advancing troops.
Group 2: those split off from main camp and shipped off Philippines during strategic defense / retreat of Imperial Army (late 1944-45).
Group 3: those who passed through Cabanatuan prior to 1945 and at time of Rangers mission either dead or in other camps. This group by far the more numerous, but their story is told only as reflected in story of Groups 1 & 2. (On the other hand, this group is the focus of other published personal accounts or histories.)
The alternating story lines means the narrative hops between the raid (occurring over 3-4 days in 1945) and what led up to the raid: Bataan Death March, daily life in prison camp, Group 1 in camp, Group 2’s travel to Japan (a span of years, essentially late 1941 - 1945).
Sides's story is itself a reflection of the strange relationship between Filipinos and (U.S.) Americans – as it focuses on the U.S. Rangers and the U.S. prisoners, yet far more Filipinos were on the March and in the camps; and about twice as many Filipino guerillas (2 bands & leader names) participated in the raid led by the U.S. Rangers. Sides does provide numerous examples of the disparity in this, and makes clear the Filipinos remain loyal and aligned with the U.S. (except for the Huk guerillas at very end). Legacy of colonialism.
The origin of U.S. Rangers is also referenced – this raid being the first real mission (?) but overshadowed by later events in WWII, so seemingly “forgotten” now. (C Company and F Company, 1 platoon)
Sides also takes up the Japanese account of motivations and intentions with respect to Bataan Death March; taking Corregidor; treatment of prisoners. The peculiar challenge faced by the Imperial 6th Army, needing to take Corregidor in order to secure access to Manila Bay and its natural harbor, but the masses of retreating U.S. / Filipino forces being forced into a corner that directly impedes the Imperial Army's later objective in laying siege to Corregidor. However, Sides does pretty much take up the Japanese perspective in Chapter 3, rather than weave it throughout his narrative.
Sideline stories of High Pockets, Siege of Corregidor, Puerto Princesa Prison Camp (Palawan, PHilippines) in prologue that was massacred in Dec 44, demonstrating the real danger faced by the men held at Cabanatuan. There are many great examples of gallows humour, typical of concentration camps and other places of horror. It's also amazing (though perhaps it shouldn't be) how much ingenuity the prisoners had: building a radio, making fake pills resembling the actual pharmaceuticals to sell to their guards for STDs, a full-blown black market.
Very readable, provides a nice thumbnail sketch of the Philippine role in WWII and its place in the Pacific theater.
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doing so, he recounts the stories of three groups of U.S. and allied soldiers held by the Japanese Imperial Army on the Philippines:Group 1: those left in Cabanatuan because too weak / ill to be useful, and threatened with massacre when Camp overrun by MacArthur’s advancing troops.
Group 2: those split off from main camp and shipped off Philippines during strategic defense / retreat of Imperial Army (late 1944-45).
Group 3: those who passed through Cabanatuan prior to 1945 and at time of Rangers mission either dead or in other camps. This group by far the more numerous, but their story is told only as reflected in story of Groups 1 & 2. (On the other hand, this group is the focus of other published personal accounts or histories.)
The alternating story lines means the narrative hops between the raid (occurring over 3-4 days in 1945) and what led up to the raid: Bataan Death March, daily life in prison camp, Group 1 in camp, Group 2’s travel to Japan (a span of years, essentially late 1941 - 1945).
Sides's story is itself a reflection of the strange relationship between Filipinos and (U.S.) Americans – as it focuses on the U.S. Rangers and the U.S. prisoners, yet far more Filipinos were on the March and in the camps; and about twice as many Filipino guerillas (2 bands & leader names) participated in the raid led by the U.S. Rangers. Sides does provide numerous examples of the disparity in this, and makes clear the Filipinos remain loyal and aligned with the U.S. (except for the Huk guerillas at very end). Legacy of colonialism.
The origin of U.S. Rangers is also referenced – this raid being the first real mission (?) but overshadowed by later events in WWII, so seemingly “forgotten” now. (C Company and F Company, 1 platoon)
Sides also takes up the Japanese account of motivations and intentions with respect to Bataan Death March; taking Corregidor; treatment of prisoners. The peculiar challenge faced by the Imperial 6th Army, needing to take Corregidor in order to secure access to Manila Bay and its natural harbor, but the masses of retreating U.S. / Filipino forces being forced into a corner that directly impedes the Imperial Army's later objective in laying siege to Corregidor. However, Sides does pretty much take up the Japanese perspective in Chapter 3, rather than weave it throughout his narrative.
Sideline stories of High Pockets, Siege of Corregidor, Puerto Princesa Prison Camp (Palawan, PHilippines) in prologue that was massacred in Dec 44, demonstrating the real danger faced by the men held at Cabanatuan. There are many great examples of gallows humour, typical of concentration camps and other places of horror. It's also amazing (though perhaps it shouldn't be) how much ingenuity the prisoners had: building a radio, making fake pills resembling the actual pharmaceuticals to sell to their guards for STDs, a full-blown black market.
Very readable, provides a nice thumbnail sketch of the Philippine role in WWII and its place in the Pacific theater.
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LibraryThing member nmele
In this very readable account of a Ranger mission to rescue Allied POWs from a Japanese prison camp, Sides gets it right. This is one of the only popular books about the Pacific War which even mentions the role of Taiwanese and Korean prison guards, for example. His treatment of the Japanese is
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fair and he clearly attempted to understand their perspective, but his account of the trials of American POWs during their years of captivity is unsparing. Show Less
LibraryThing member xenchu
This is a story of cruelty and barbarism, heroism and endurance. The men of Bataan drew the shortest straw. No one who actually survived were treated worse or survived more. The clash of cultures, the cruelty and the barbarism can't be overemphasized or understated I don't think even the POWs of
Then the US Army decided to rescue these POWs when they invaded Luzon. They sent a company of the 6th Rangers (plus a platoon) to bring them out. They were well-armed, well-trained and very well motivated. But they couldn't have done the job without the Alamo Scouts and the tough Filipino guerillas who gave them the information and guidance they needed and the protection and help they had to have.
The operation worked almost perfectly with only four fatal casualties among the Americans and a lot of dead Japanese. The guerillas fought a tremendous battle to protect the operation without a single casualty. The kind of operation commanders dream of.
There was only one minor jarring note to me. The author kept writing about 'razor wire'. Razor wire was not invented until the 1960s. This was minor but it grated.
The author did his research well, talking to survivors, reading documents, generally doing the research needed for the book. The writing was good and flowed well. I recommend the book.
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Vietnam suffered more.Then the US Army decided to rescue these POWs when they invaded Luzon. They sent a company of the 6th Rangers (plus a platoon) to bring them out. They were well-armed, well-trained and very well motivated. But they couldn't have done the job without the Alamo Scouts and the tough Filipino guerillas who gave them the information and guidance they needed and the protection and help they had to have.
The operation worked almost perfectly with only four fatal casualties among the Americans and a lot of dead Japanese. The guerillas fought a tremendous battle to protect the operation without a single casualty. The kind of operation commanders dream of.
There was only one minor jarring note to me. The author kept writing about 'razor wire'. Razor wire was not invented until the 1960s. This was minor but it grated.
The author did his research well, talking to survivors, reading documents, generally doing the research needed for the book. The writing was good and flowed well. I recommend the book.
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LibraryThing member spartacula2
There appears to be no limits to the cruelty inflicted on the remaining survivors of the battles at Corregidor and Bataan. Faced with no alternative but to surrender, the POW's Death March was just the beginning of the brutality and nightmarish arrangements awaiting them. Their ultimate destination
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was Cabanatuan, a POW camp that provided a hell-on-earth for the hunters and their prey alike. In addition to the daily hardships that they endured: tropical heat and disease, starvation, physical and psychological trauma; news, such as the massacre at Palawan had permeated the camps moral. Isolated from the rest of the war for so long, the POW's thought they were forgotten about, that is to say, left behind. Hampton Sides introduces us to all of the key performers without assaulting our senses (or what's left of them). His method of storytelling is clear and direct. With two detailed maps and a handful of vintage pictures for guidance, you get the experience firsthand by the POW's, their captors, the combined forces dedicated to liberating the POW's, and, you'll witness the results of the all-important life and death decision making from the mouths of those that actually pulled off one of the Pacific Theatre's most astonishing rescue missions. Not all the liberators were American. Filipino guerilla's had a stake in ridding their land of the invading Japanese, and even though they didn't have the current weaponry afforded our Armed Services, their combative desire stood the test when it was called for. In opposition to the darker side of this forgotten historical event, there's constant recognition and appreciation for the bravery, patriotic inspiration and self-sacrifice it took to accomplish this triumphant mission. Some readers may feel that the lack of footnotes detract from the validity of all that transpired, but as Sides admits, he had chosen to ignore the tradition in the name of style and pacing. I agree with his decision. 'Ghost Soldiers' is a must read for anyone that's intrigued by what the human spirit can accomplish when the odd's are clearly stacked against you. I highly recommend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member aaronball8620
Ghost Soldiers tells the story of the greatest war stories ever told. It details the heroism of Col. Mucci and his Rangers. In the months preceding the Japanese Imperial Army's surrender during WWII the US Army learned of the location of POWs--men who had survived the infamous Bataan Death March
Enthralled, I turned to page after page intent on what awaited at the prison camp. The physical hardships of the prisoners were excited my senses of both compassion and adventure. Imagining their hardships, I could not help wanting to be a part of such a historic mission.
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were being held at Cabanatuan in the Philippine islands. Brutal Massacres of American POW had begun in other prison camps in the Pacific. To prevent this from happening again at Cabanatuan the US Army ordered Col. Mucci to rescued survivors.Enthralled, I turned to page after page intent on what awaited at the prison camp. The physical hardships of the prisoners were excited my senses of both compassion and adventure. Imagining their hardships, I could not help wanting to be a part of such a historic mission.
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LibraryThing member elsyd
A great historical work besides just being an exciting read. My husband and I were both really impressed with this book, even before we realized that Capt. Prince was my father-in-law's old friend, Bob.
LibraryThing member kcslade
Good story of commando raid to rescue long-held prisoners of the Japanese in the Philippines. They were survivors of Bataan.
LibraryThing member readerray
Even though this was a very interesting and fulfilling book, at times it had a tendency to break your heart thinking about all the suffering the prisoners went through.
LibraryThing member danrebo
Sides presents an often heartwrenching and difficult story with respect, seriousness and (where appropriate) humor. In many ways this book tells two stories. The interspersed timelines or threads of these two stories seemed confusing to me at first. The first presents the US retreat and surrender
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at Bataan, followed by the POWs experiences over several years in the camp. The second thread covers the much shorter period after the US reinvasion during which the prison rescue took place. Ultimately he brought both together well, focusing on the stories of imprisonment in the first and on the adventure of the rescue in the second. Military history buffs may not appreciate the lack of attention to units and other military details, but for me this was the right approach. He clearly respects the veterans and spent a great deal of time with them, bringing out many details that ring true. Show Less
LibraryThing member theageofsilt
A deeply moving and often horrifying account of the mission of a group of Rangers charged with the liberation of the survivors of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Sides also attempts to examine the cultural differences and desperate circumstances that contributed to the remarkable
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brutality of the Japanese. Show Less
LibraryThing member VincentDarlage
This was an amazing, moving story of one of the first Ranger missions in WWII. The back-and-forth on the time line was initially confusing, but after a bit I caught the logic and it worked. I liked the inclusion of the photographs and appreciated that this wasn't historical fiction or fictionalized
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at all - simply a telling of history. This was a well-written book about a horrible and amazing series of events. Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsLee
The story of the men who survived the "Bataan Death March" and Japanese prison camp, and were rescued by an elite team of soldiers who feared that as the Americans were driving back the Japanese, the Japanese guards would kill the prisoners to leave no record of their crimes. That fear was not
Through many interviews and much research, the author has put together the story of those days.
Ho boy. That was a tough one to read. I did skim some of the parts about the "Bataan Death March" and the life in the POW camp. I cannot read in depth about torture and cruelty. Problem is, if you skim too much, you miss the stories of heroism and courage and survival. So I sought a balance for my soul. I had to keep reminding myself that cruelty is not a national trait, but a human trait. Otherwise it would be easy to fall into the trap of hating a race rather than despising the actions of a few. The author did a good job of presenting that, I believe.
At the back are some present day photos of survivors and rescuers. A lot of old men who look like they would be loving grandfathers. There is a steely twinkle in their eyes, good humor is on their faces. I was struck by how easy it is to discount the elderly, forgetting that they have lived lives many of us could not imagine surviving.
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without foundation.Through many interviews and much research, the author has put together the story of those days.
Ho boy. That was a tough one to read. I did skim some of the parts about the "Bataan Death March" and the life in the POW camp. I cannot read in depth about torture and cruelty. Problem is, if you skim too much, you miss the stories of heroism and courage and survival. So I sought a balance for my soul. I had to keep reminding myself that cruelty is not a national trait, but a human trait. Otherwise it would be easy to fall into the trap of hating a race rather than despising the actions of a few. The author did a good job of presenting that, I believe.
At the back are some present day photos of survivors and rescuers. A lot of old men who look like they would be loving grandfathers. There is a steely twinkle in their eyes, good humor is on their faces. I was struck by how easy it is to discount the elderly, forgetting that they have lived lives many of us could not imagine surviving.
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LibraryThing member untraveller
Excellent read! Again, as I say in nearly all books that require maps, make better maps! Otherwise, this book is highly readable. I'm not a WWII historian by any means, so this fills in another of the blanks in my spectrum of knowledge regarding the War in the Pacific. Very readable and extremely
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instructive reading. Read while in Indonesia wlorking at the Orangutan Health project. Show Less
LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
This was a fascinating book detailing the rescue of over 500 American survivors of the Bataan Death March in early 1945. This is an extremely brutal accounting of the amazingly savage treatment the soldiers received from the Japanese. The author starts the book by documenting one of the worst
The author did a great job of alternating the story of the rescue with various narratives of the captured men. Interspersed with these two main story lines are descriptions of the heroic efforts of the native Filipinos and a really interesting story about Claire Phillips, an American spy known as High Pockets. The interaction between the surviving soldiers and their captors was very illuminating This is an amazing book but definitely not for the faint hearted. That men survived this type of imprisonment is almost unbelievable, except many did live to tell about it. I highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in World War II, especially the Pacific Theatre.
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Japanese atrocities of the war, the massacre of American prisoners on Palawan Island in the Philippines. Because General Krueger, Sixth Army commander, feared that the Japanese would also massacre the Bataan survivors he asked Colonel Henry Mucci to rescue them ahead of the advance of the Americans. The author did a great job of alternating the story of the rescue with various narratives of the captured men. Interspersed with these two main story lines are descriptions of the heroic efforts of the native Filipinos and a really interesting story about Claire Phillips, an American spy known as High Pockets. The interaction between the surviving soldiers and their captors was very illuminating This is an amazing book but definitely not for the faint hearted. That men survived this type of imprisonment is almost unbelievable, except many did live to tell about it. I highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in World War II, especially the Pacific Theatre.
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LibraryThing member christinejoseph
Best Seller @ WWII dramatic mission to save soldiers in Philippines @ ___ Bataan Death March — surrendered to prison saved by Rangers.
Very Interesting.
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to
Very Interesting.
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to
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rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation. Show Less
LibraryThing member meegeekai
Great book on the aftermath of surrender of the Phillipines, especially on the Bataan Peninsula. I found the story of the prisoners more interesting then the actual rescue mission.
LibraryThing member addunn3
A well written and to the point (as in not trying to deal with all of the Pacific War) account of a prison camp in the Philippines and the rescue of its captives late in the war.
Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2002)
PEN Center USA Literary Award (Winner — 2002)
Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award (Winner — Non-Fiction — 2001)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001-05-15
ISBN
0316858153 / 9780316858151
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