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Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission | 
 enlarge | Author: Hampton Sides
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 17310
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 038549565X
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5425
EAN: 9780385495653
ASIN: 038549565X
Publication Date: May 7, 2002
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Product Description
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 conditions.
Download Description
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 conditions.
"[Sides] liberates his story from documentary and turns it into epic.... More than any monument, Ghost Soldiers is the memorial both prisoners and liberators deserve."
THE SEATTLE TIMES "The greatest World War II story never told."
ESQUIRE "[A] beautiful account of heroism.... Sure to be a classic."
MEN'S JOURNAL "Riveting and patriotically stirring without ever slipping into mawkishness or sentimentality."
THE NEW YORK TIMES "Thoroughly researched and artfully told.... A compelling story filled with colorful characters."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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| Customer Reviews: Read 132 more reviews...
 excellent read July 9, 2008
This book brings an important period during WWII to life with stories that paint the horror that existed during this time and location of the war.
Incredible WWII saga, amazingly well-written! July 8, 2008
As a student of World War II, I had heard of the infamous Bataan Death March, the occupation of the Philippines, and MacArthur's departure & subsequent return years later. The particulars of those POWs, however, were not as well-known to me. Like most people born after the last Great War, I was unaware of this particular story about the group of Cabanatuan survivors and their subsequent rescue by the Rangers. What I read was simply stunning in scope and detail.
First, let me praise Hampton Sides here for his amazing writing style and the true honor he gives to those involved in his stirring and touching tale. His writing style is easy to follow and read, but not overly simplistic. Intelligent, but attainable, I think would be most accurate. He does not patronize the reader, but logically and thoroughly tells the stories of those involved with this moment in history. From the civilians in Manila, to the Japanese invaders, to the early defenders who fell, to the returning soldiers who risked their lives for others, no detail is left unnoticed and all sides are presented with the objective view of a true historian. From the early tragedies and horrors of war (especially in the Pacific), to the heroism and triumph of 1945, everything is laid out for the audience to absorb and no stone is left unturned. A quick read, though, the pages seem to fly by and one is left feeling wiser and a bit patriotic for the experience.
Regarding the actual story, we follow the story of war in the Pacific, beginning with the hours-after-Pearl-Harbor attack on the Philippines and the surrender four months later of approximately 80,000 American and Filipino soldiers. From the original defenders of the Bataan peninsula, to the murdered POWs at Palawan, to Kreuger's Rangers, we follow this history of this volatile area during one of its most volatile times. After a group of POWs are murdered by the Japanese, the American command is worried that the farther the lines push inland, the more likely it will be that a similar fate will befall other groups of prisoners. A raid is devised and executed over the span of five days in late January 1945. If you are a student of this era, or history in general, you may already know the outcome and some of the details. I can say, though, that you likely have never known the details that Hampton Sides brings to the table. Moreover, the story should never be forgotten and is worth reading time and time again.
This was one of two principle sources for the movie, "The Great Raid," with Benjamin Bratt and James Franco. Having seen the movie as well, you will find the translation from the book to be astonishingly accurate, which is what makes for a most exciting and entertaining movie. (The love story was added for additional effect, but it does not detract from the historical angle of the movie). While the movie is a quick version of this page in U.S. Military history, you will find the book far more interesting in the end, with more intrigue, drama, action, heroism and ultimate victory. I cannot recommend enough learning more about this story or in Hampton Sides amazing way of telling it.
Accurate, compelling account of a true, combat event of WWII July 2, 2008
This is most likely a book for a fairly narrow audience - specifically those with an interest in WWII, or in military history in general. But it is well done and might appeal to a wider group than I imagine. It is written in a direct, descriptive style interwoven with quotes or observations from the participants - prisoners, rangers, Filipino guerillas - that provide a context with the ring of historical fact.
The raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp is a story of one of the very rare instances of a military mission where planning, effort, coincidence and luck combined such that almost everything went exactly right. One hundred twenty American Army Rangers assaulted a fortified camp garrisoned by several hundred Japanese combat troops and rescued over 500 POW's, losing only two soldiers during the engagement. Simultaneously, Filipino guerillas provided a blocking action against the arrival of 1,000 reinforcements only one mile away.
Alternating chapters deliver the progression of the raid - approach, planning, coordination with the local guerillas, the assault, and the return - interspersed with descriptive background such as the fall of Bataan, the Death March, conditions and developments within the POW camp, and the Japanese plan to exterminate all the POW's in the face of the American invasion to recapture the Philippine islands.
The narrative is not dry or dull; the author's prose is colorful and he provides an appropriate but not overwhelming level of detail - the strength and weaponry of the opposing forces, the layout of the camp, the details of the tactical plan itself and some of the individual actions during the attack.
As an aside, the motion picture, The Great Raid, with Benjamin Bratt and James Franco, is very true to the book and has taken very few dramatic liberties. The rescue assault sequence is a fairly brief, but compelling piece of combat action with a terrific atmosphere of sights and sounds and a driving sense of urgency, without any extraneous gore.
Just Right June 15, 2008
Very well balanced historical content with the grip of a great novel. The opening pages grab you and you won't want to put it down. The author brings to light untold or quietly forgotten stories each worthy of their own book. I have recommended this book to a number of nonhistorical readers and all were captivated and have passed it on as well. Readers will also want to check out a similar venue, Last Stand of Tin Can Sailors. Great stuff of a dying era.
Awesome! June 11, 2008
Read this in college a few years back. It is a good book for readers just looking for an intense story of bravery, hardship, depravity, sadness, etc. Just a very moving book, not too mired in the details. Just keeps moving, which is good for us who know little about WWII.
"We're the battleing bastards of Battaan,no momma, no papa, no uncle sam...and nobody gives a damn". I still remember the entire thing, and that was like 4 years ago.
Just get it. It's a great read.
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