Rating: 
Summary: Heroes that shouldn't be forgotten
Review: This may not be the best written of books. It certainly lacks the command of language of a David McCullogh history.All that aside, it is riveting history. A story that some how had become a whisper between historians is told in hellishly painful, personal detail. In 1945, as the Allied war machine continuously grinds the Japanese empire, Japan's leaders issue orders to execute Allied POWs. At some of the POW camps scattered throughout the Pacific theater, these orders are carried out. In order to prevent another massacre, a resue mission of near suicidal bravery is planned and carried out by the 6th Army Ranger Battalion. The rescue mission is a heroic story in itself. The book is made even better by the surrounding cast of characters: Claire Phillips who by luck, pluck and strange circumstance becomes an American spymaster or the various Filipinos without whom the raid would not have been possible. Excellent history! Well worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: Hostage Rescue Mission that worked
Review: Ghost Soldiers is the story of the Cabanatuan Raid in January 1945, where about 500 Allied Prisoners of War and internees were dramatically rescued by two companies of American Rangers, who slipped through Japanese lines and attacked their prison camp for the express purpose of doing so. The book does a marvelous job of recounting the operation. The author starts with an account of the massacre of prisoners in another camp on Palawan, to the south of Luzon, and the survivor's recounting of this event to the U.S. military. The author then alternates subjects of his chapters, with the rescue effort changing places with the prisoners' experiences during the years they were prisoners of the Japanese. The prisoners' experiences, as they always are with the Japanese, are horrific, and difficult to read, but the author does a good job of recounting them without being morbid or hateful. One previous reviewer says that the author doesn't spend enough time on the motivations of the Japanese guards who perpetrated the war crimes. It's always difficult to get people to talk about this sort of thing, and given the differences between the Japanese and American cultures at the time, it's amazing that we have any understanding of what was going on at all. For decades, the Japanese denied that there were any war crimes at all, or insisted that they were committed by a few "bad people", now conveniently dead. Hampton Sides isn't a military historian, and in a few instances in the book this shows. However, he is a skilled writer, and this is frankly more important. The story he tells is skillfully recounted, and the author does a wonderful job of telling the story, and what happened to the men who lived it after the war.
Rating: 
Summary: Unencumbered by details...
Review: This book is aimed at the general reading public. Consequently, it lacks the detailed minutiae typically associated with military histories. That's good news for general readers who just want an interesting story. Bad if you're looking for details about organization, equipment, training, logistics, communications, etc. Stephen Ambrose, whose books were also aimed at a general audience, did a much better job of including sufficient detail in his work. Also, like many other books in this genre, "Ghost Soldiers" suffers from a dearth of adequate maps. You simply cannot write about military operations and not include good maps. As an aside, it may not be easy for American readers to dismiss the brutality of the Japanese. After reading "Ghost Soldiers", the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki may seem less regretable. Almost forgot, there's no index either!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting historical narrative
Review: Admittedly, Ghost Soldiers is not typical reading material for me. I tned to read financial non-fiction or fiction. However, I was handed the book recently prior to a trip to the airport. After a quick hour in the lounge and a few in the air, I had found myself through most of the book. The author sets up the situation in a prologue with a survey of the history of Japanese occupation of the Phillipines and the conditions (i.e. starvation, disease) and treatment (i.e. mental and physical tortures) which American POWs faced as captives. In the waning days of the war, the Japanese out of desperation committed atrocities by executing POWs with the war lost and the POWs usefulness diminished. A few POWs managed to escape to tell their horrific tales that sets the US Rangers up for their valiant rescue mission - the 1st Ranger mission in the Pacific theater. After the prologue, the remainder of the book is broken up into essentially two stories that eventually merge. The odd chapters provide a narrative on the early war in the Phillipines with the eventual surrender, the Bataan death march, and life as a POW in a Japanese prisoner camp. The even chapters provide a narrative on the selection of the Ranger team and the planning and execution of their mission. Overall, I found the book entertaining and informatigve, but I must admit that I was far more interested in the Rangers story line than the POWs' experience. It was far more exciting and uplifting to read about the mission planning and execution.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible account, easily among the best I have ever read.
Review: I was both fascinated and sickened by what I was reading. I couldn't put it down. I am a 33 year old male with an interest in history. This incident is difficult for my generation to comprehend, unbelievable at times. The account is that of 121 Army Rangers sent to rescue 513 POW survivors who were left unsupported in the Philippines. The "story" includes the Bataan death march, the daily fight against starvation, disease and their frustrated, Japanese captors. The Rangers themselves faced an unknown number of Japanese soldiers 30 miles behind enemy lines near the end of the WWII. I hope this book is turned into a movie so that the story can be shared with the masses. It is a tragic and heroic account of what these men faced. The POW's felt forgotten by their country for 3 ½ years. I am grateful Mr. Sides told this story so that another generation will realize what our forefathers endured for the future of this country.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: When I first saw Sides' book I must admit I was a bit miffed. Forrest Bryant Johnson gave a fantastic account of the Cabanatuan resue in his book HOUR OF REDEMPTION and I felt like Sides was taking advantage of Johnson's great work. However, Sides presents the story in a different way and includes many tidbits that are not found in Johnson's book, such as numerous Japanese atrocities and the massacre at Palawan. Sides also has a great writing style that I enjoyed immensely. While Johnson's book is still the standard on this subject, Sides' book is a great addition to the field. I rated GHOST SOLDIERS a 4-star rather than 5 as it contains no footnotes or endnotes, no index, and no table of contents. I believe that all serious history books should contain at least notes and and index.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical Nicotine
Review: I can't stop reading. This book is amazing. I don't even really know why I purchased it, on a whim I guess, but I can't believe what I would've been missing had I not. It is everything said in the other reviews, and then some. I was literally sweating at some points of this story, it is truly a testament to the will of our armed forces. Check out the other review for details. God speed!
Rating:
Summary: Ghost Soldiers
Review: This book is a great book that shows the ruthlessness of Japanese soldiers toward American POW's. It starts off on the fight for Bataan, talks about the Bataan Death March and tells about their times at the POW camp. It show all of the POW's hardships. It also shows the Bravery of the rangers who went to rescue their comrades.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Saga
Review: Numerous books have been written concerning the most depressing times as well as the most uplifting. Bookstores and libraries are filled with accounts and tales of the epic time period surrounding World War II. While many are quite factual and educational, they fail to grab the reader and make the material come to life. The New York Times called Ghost Soldiers "riveting and patriotically stirring." While this may seem high praise, it is in fact an understatement. Hampton Sides masterfully weaves the tales of the men who bravely fought for control of the Philippines and the touching story of Allied POW's and their rescuers. Because it is written in the form of a novel, it is easily readable and instantly captivating. It is not your typical history book filled with dry facts, but rather the emotional account of a story that should never have been forgotten. Ghost Soldiers recounts the greatest war story no one has heard of. It is a must read for all who wish to honor and remember the dedication, courage, and patriotism of our forefathers.
Rating:
Summary: A riveting account of WWII
Review: 4 Stars- Exciting Ghost Soldier by Hampton Sides was a riveting book that opened my eyes to a whole new perspective of what WWII was like.The vast description that Sides gets into in this book allows the reader to experience the full emotion of what is transgressing. The wondrous tales of the men and there account's allows the reader's to fell as though they are there and really relate to the soldiers. Although the book seems somewhat unorganized and can be hard to read at times you never loose attention for a second. although the books main plot was about the rescue of the POWs Sides developed the occasional soldier so highly that he appeared to be a a living person in front of your eyes, not just a bunch of jumbled text. This book however is not meant to put your mind at ease about war. On the contrary this book shows just how brutal war can truly be and how it leaves nothing undevestated. This book is one of the best war book on expressing the degree of which the war effects each individual person including both Japanese and American soldier and the toll it has on there mind. This books takes readers through all the emotions involved in a war and leaves the reader with a feeling of more knowledge and wisdom than before they read the book.
| 
