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Summary: ghost soldiers
Review: "Ghost Soldiers" is one of the most incredible books relating to the war in the Pacific I have ever read. When you read this book and I strongly recommend that you do, you will laugh, you will cry, but you will never forget the brave men of Cabanatuan - prisoners and Rangers. Hampton Sides looks too young to have written such a heartwrenching book about World War II.
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Summary: Ghost Soldiers
Review: Cabanatuan City was my home in December 1941. My parents were missionaries and we were caught in the onslaught of the Japanese attack. We fled our home on December 24 in an attempt to avoid the invasion army. Capture was obviously inevitable, but survival chances were greater if it came at the hands of an occupational force. While hiding in the mountains, we were captured on February 3, 1942, and were taken to the military base at Cabanatuan. After days of extensive interrogation of my father, we were transferred to Santo Tomas internment camp in Manila.The accounts of deprivation and starvation in this book are so accurate it brought back a flood of memories. While the years have somewhat dimmed the horrors of death and destruction during the battle of Manila, if I live to be a hundred I will never forget starvation. So true was the segment discussing recipes. Hours were spent talking, even arguing, about which recipe would produce the tastiest results. This book also reinforces the things we learned about the importance of faith, hope, resilience and a sense of humor...without which we would not have survived. Hampton Sides presents a true picture of life in a Japanese internment camp.
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Summary: Ghost Soldiers
Review: I teach English to eighth graders, and we spend a great deal of time on WWII and The Diary of Anne Frank. When school ended, I decided to explore a segment of the war that I am not as familiar with - the men who fought in the Pacific Campaign. Ghost Soldiers was a book I couldn't put down. Yes, I enjoy history, but the author has an excellent way of making the characters important to the reader. One cares about their fate and their past. Also, he successfully builds suspense with each chapter. You know there is going to be a raid, but the journey there is very significant. I highly recommend this book. It is well-written and definitely a story worth telling.
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Summary: Reading in detail the stories my Grandfather told me.
Review: My grandfather was one of the first Rangers through the gate at Cabanatuan. His name was Charles "Coggie" Swain. I only remember him telling me a few stories about the raid on the camp. So when I heard the story was previewed in the May 2001 issue of Esquire, I had to buy a few copies for me, my brother and sister and my father Charles E. Swain (Coggie was my dad's dad). Dad bought me a copy of the book. If it were not a true story, it would be almost unbelievable. The stories Coggie told me were true....this is written proof. Everything from the training at Pike's Peak to bellycrawling just yards from Japanese soldiers. Coggie died over ten years ago, so I'll never hear any more stories from him, but when I read the book, it was like he was telling me directly. By the way, the first face you see on the left in the second row on the cover of Ghost Soldiers, is Coggie. Seth Andrew Swain
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Summary: Held my interest
Review: This was a great book that held my interest cover to cover. I can't wait to see the movie!!
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Summary: Magnificent story, incredible writing.
Review: I am two generations away from WWII, but my grandfather served in the Navy. He never said much about his service, and I was too young to ask. But I've always wondered in my advanced placement history class in highschool, and as I've continued to take classes in history in college. Lately, my research into The Medical Holocaust and of course, the movies on WWII and the clamor over the monument, have piqued my interest in this subject area. I've always believed that the truth is stranger then fiction...in the case of this book, the heroics of the American and Phillipino men and women far surpasses any heroics rendered by fictional characters. Sides does an incredible job of research into this story. It reads like an old John Wayne movie, and it is too bad he isn't around anymore, because this story is right up his alley. I have nothing but admiration for these men on both sides...the Rangers who risked so much and the guerrillas who helped them, and the men who survived the horror of a Japanese prison camp. We cannot possibly understand everything they went through, but Hampton Sides gives us an opportunity in this great book, to share in their riveting tale of courage and survival. This is the consummate war story. It takes your breath away. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh
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Summary: Rangers Lead the Way
Review: Outstanding and inspiring! The best military book I have ever read. I strongly recommend this book for all current soldiers and for civilians who need to understand the sacrifices made by soldiers past and present.
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Summary: Pride and Tears
Review: The reader will not be able to put this book down until they get to the last page. History truly is more interesting than fiction. The book is written in novel form, keeping the reader breathless in anticipation of a happy ending. You will cry tears and beam with pride for the brave rangers and prisoners of war. This is a very emotional story.
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Summary: Of both large and small
Review: Ghost Soldiers is a quick read. Hampton has a knack for showing both the small and the large in that he is able to analyze the cases and results of decision making at high (and removed) levels of both the American and Japanese commands. Yet, Hampton is still able to show the human tragedy and nobility that arose from such sparse and cruel conditions. If you want to read a tale of victory, and I am not only referring to that of the US Army Rangers and the Philippine Scouts over the Japanees but that of victory of human will this is a book for you. If you found value in this tale I would also suggest James (Nick) Rowe's "Five Years to Freedom" about an American patriot in another time and place that is able to give insight to the true meaning of "heart" and the "victory of will".
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Summary: An Absolute, MUST READ!
Review: Hampton Sides has provided us with a real gem as he writes a brilliant chronicle of one of the most heroic stories ever to come out of World War II. Many of us know the account of the Bataan Death March, but few know the real details of what actually happened to these men during that dreadful time of marching and imprisonment and the dramatic mission to free them. Mr. Sides' research and first hand descriptions from many of the survivors bring this story back to life in a way that will fill you with pride and admiration for those involved. Frequently, I had to put the book down to clear the tears from my eyes. As you read, you'll get to know these men in a very personal way and experience much of what they must have felt. It's a great story that is incredibly well written and will hold you to the very end. It should be required reading for every American.
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