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Summary: Ghost Soldiers - A Courageous Undertaking
Review: Hampton Sides' careful research had yielded a true persepctive of the WWII Japanese military's barbaric mentality - coupled with a courageous resuce mission by specially selected Rangers. The author draws vivid accounts of the action involved and personalities of the three entities: Japanese oppressors, the prisoners themselves, and the rescue team. It is a book I'd highly recommend for those seeking a true perspective of WWII uncluttered by historic revisionism. This is from a WWII infantry veteran of the Philippine campaign and 16-year editor of the 33rd Infantry Division newsletter.
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Summary: An Overlooked Part of World War II
Review: When World War II is brought up in one way or another it usually is Adolf Hitler and the European front that gets the attention. America's "Europe First" policy caused many of those captives of the Bataan Death March and their subsequent imprisonment in Cabanatuan on the island of Luzon in the Phillipines to feel they were forgotten in this war. The story of their liberation after three years of suffering at the hands of the Japanese depicts man's imhumanity to man. Supposedly the Japanese didn't intend to treat the Americans brutally on what became known as the Death March, but the large number of prisoners and their poor physical condition with lack of water and food slowed things down. Also, the fact that the soldiers were so spread out, individual Japanese guards could treat the captives as he saw fit without having to answer to anyone in authority. Many of these surviving soldiers feel forgotten now as they did then. This is a story that younger generations should not be allowed to forget. These men suffered terribly in fighting for America and we can't be too thankful for their lives which were forever changed.
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Summary: Every American Should Read This Book
Review: Why? How is it that we are who we are, or do what we wish, or live in a nation where the words "choice" and "freedom" are taken for granted? My grandfather was not one of the Bataan survivors, nor did he ever have to endure the horrors of captivity at the hands of the Japanese Army. However, as a veteran of the Americal Division, he saw enough bloodshed and death to last him a lifetime. Because of him, I take the opportunity to read as much as I can on the Pacific War so that I may better understand his experiences in battle as a young man not all that older than myself today. "Ghost Soldiers" is one of those books that grabs you from the first sentence and does not let go until the final page has been turned. Masterfully written, exhaustively researched, and superbly paced, Hampton Sides employs the same technique that Mark Bowden used in 1999's "Black Hawk Down" in that the historical account reads more like a novel than a work of military history. The characters and events however, are entirely real. Sadly, many of the true heroes of "Ghost Soliders" did not survive their ordeal and never returned home. Every American should read this book. Not just those who are interested in military history, or those professionals in this country's armed forces who seek to further develop and immerse themselves in the profession of arms. No, the ones who need to read this book are those who abhor war and who cannot even begin imagine the unthinkable acts of cruelty and suffering heaped upon young men whose only crime was that they were on the losing side in the early going of the Pacific War. The ones who need to read this book are the ones who show little interest in the history of this great nation that they are citizens of, yet show little appreciation or knowledge of how America got here. Only after reading "Ghost Soldiers" will those begin to understand the meaning of the popular catchphrase "freedom isn't free." To the brave prisoners who suffered, yet lived, and all of those who endeavoured to bring them out of their hell before it was too late, they have finally received their just due. However, for this grateful son and soldier, this book doesn't even begin to make up for their selfless service and sacrifices to preserve our way of life. But it is a very good start...
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Summary: You won't see this in a contemporary classroom.
Review: Hampton Sides' "Ghost Soldiers" is a story of Japanese brutality and racism, the sorry, dishonest nature of the Democratic administration of the early 1940's that gleefully sacrificed American lives to cover their own narrow-minded mistakes -- and of values liberals have longed since weaned out of American culture and heroism: patriotism, military discipline, a willingness to die for country, freedom and fellow man. This narrative of four horrible years for the Filipinos, Americans, British and others taken prisioner by the Imperial Japanese Army is over-hyped as the "epic story of World War II's most dramatic mission." It wasn't by a long shot. Rather, as Sides' story unrolls, it was a fairly routine mission: rescue prisoners in an enemy POW camp. Some of the missions were staged solely to satisfy a general's vanity. A mission in Europe to rescue the son-in-law of General Patton that turned into a small-scale disaster. (Full-scale disaster to those who died.) The rescue mission in Sides' book was undertaken in part to rehabilitate the tarnished reputation of Gen. MacArthur. Sides' attention to historically correct detail is admirable. His descriptions of the geography, the units, the commanders and some of the enlisted, aircraft and weapons types - all are right on the mark. He builds the drama by describing the misery of the American soldiers who, after being lied to by President Roosevelt through MacArthur are encouraged to figt on in the belief that relief was on the way. In truth, no relief was on the way and the American troops were merely sacrificial lambs. It is difficult to suppress anger while reading of the horrors the American government inflicted upon its own - and then read of the greater cruelties visited upon them by the Japanese. (Any of the revisionist liberal historians claiming that Americans were racists re the Japanese hasn't bother studying both sides of the story.) While every Filapina and American participant in this adventure is a hero, military or civilian, the particular focus is on a unit of American Rangers. Elite troops that couldn't exist today because feminist and other special interest groups have made it impossible to create effective combat forces. The Rangers were men's men - the term not being used in the contemporary sense. These were ordinary men, raised during the Great Depression in the days before the NEA decided its teacher union members and Ritalin should be in complete charge of raising children, relegating parents to the role of outsiders. Many grew up on farms and weren't taught to fear guns. All still had that old-fashioned idea of being responsible. In short, nearly all would be turned down for jobs today because of their silly notions, most of which are considered evidence of bias and bigotry today. The Rangers set out to rescue the prisoners from a POW camp. Some of the prisoners are survivors of Bataan and Corriegidor. Most of the book is about people, their experiences, sometimes their hopes. The power of war to control the destiny of lives is clearly defined. The valor of the Rangers setting out against great odds is superbly described. There's very little combat, a minimum of blood and gore - and one of the saddest stories you'll ever read about the needless deaths of fine and decent young men. At bottom, this is an "America and its people are great" story. You won't find on the shelves of many, if any, public schools or other byways of academia. It's simple story is far too politically incorrect. But it is something you may want to buy for a young person to show them what America once was. Jerry
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Summary: Sacrifice
Review: I don't think many people in our generation truly comprehend the realities of war and the somtimes total sacrfice that our ancestors have made to preserve our freedom in the US. Specifically I was given this book as a gift and I am not much for history books (too fact-filled and slow moving), however I can honestly say this is extremely powerful writing that truly conveys the depths of cruelty humans can achieve as well as the heights humans can achieve in helping one another. I would love to know what led the author to TELL this story.
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Summary: Excellent History
Review: This book puts into perspective the two wars America fought in the Pacific. First, the war fought by men who were underarmed, underprepared and unsupported by America. These men were abandoned by the same government that put them into untenable outposts, where they fought their hopeless and almost forgotten war. The second was the BIG war, fought with the full backing of American technological and industrial might. The contrast is amazing, and very well displayed by Sides. There is no melodrama in this book, or any attempt at political correctness. It shows the Japanese as they were, and the Americans as they were. It does so without grinding axes and without melodrama.Great and inspiring reading.
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Summary: The Bataan "Death March" and its Aftermath
Review: As a teen-ager, I read with great sadness the daily newspaper accounts of America's holding action in the Pacific Theater, especially of the defeats suffered by the undermanned, underarmed and isolated forces in the Philippine Islands. Grim stories of a Bataan "Death March" emerged soon after the surrender there in 1942. But not until I read "Ghost Soldiers" almost 60 years later did the full impact of the three-year ordeal endured by those prisoners of war reveal itself. Their story and the nail-biting secret mission by a force of Army Rangers to rescue the survivors of the march make for an emotionally draining but rewarding reading experience.
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Summary: A fast-paced narrative that takes the reader into the minds
Review: of the participants. Sides seamlessly interweaves two parallel stories. Alternating between chapters, we step inside the memories of the POWs and the Rangers sent to rescue them. This is a book of characters and action. The characters emerge from the written and oral testimonies of their ordeals. However, Sides doesn't exhaustively focus on the individuals. His main thrust is the actions that led up to the initial surrender and imprsionment that ensued from 1942-1945, and the rescue mission headed by Mucci and Prince in January 1945. The details of the torture endured by the POWs is handled with care and sensitivity. The rescue mission's planning and execution are described with vivid words that carry the narrative smoothly from page to page. Sides has authored a book that deserves the renown it has earned on the best-sellers' lists. It would be wonderful if this book could be used in high school and college history courses.
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Summary: When you see the flag...
Review: The most amazing book that I have ever read! I have never experienced as many different emotions reading a novel as I have with this one. I laughed, I wept, I jumped up and down and cheered for the home team. I am former Army Ranger and currently serving in the Special Forces community. Within this community, we lay alot of importance in our lineage and history. While in the Ranger Regiment we were taught about "The Raid" but sometimes you need to acquire the whole story to put things into perspective. This book made me extremely proud of my lineage and made me proud of all who have served and continue to serve our country. Lastly I challenge all of you to read this book and then look at our flag and tell me that it doesn't take your breath away and hit you with pride and humility. Rangers lead the way! Nick Bco 2/75 Ranger 88-91
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Summary: Great account of the survivors of Bataan
Review: This book really opened my eyes up to the fact that we really left these guys hanging in the breeze. Maybe not by choice, but so many of the Bataan/Corregidor servicemen died needlessly. I was surprised by how much info is on the POW's themselves from before they became POW's, and not just the final act of liberation by the Rangers. This is a must read for anyone interested in what POW's go through, especially what happens when the enemy will not or cannot provide the basics, ie, medicines and food, something most of us take for granted.
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