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Summary: Heroism through the hardest of times ....
Review: This book is a gut-wrenching journey that follows the plight of those 'left behind,' and those who commit themselves to their rescue. Hampton Sides does an excellent job of alternating chapters between the prisoners and the rescuers, and pulls it all together in the final confrontation and rescue. As a story, non-fiction or otherwise, this is a tale of heroism that is difficult to put down. More than a story, it is an important event in American history that could easily have been lost. I've read the book and passed it on to my Dad, a WWII vet; it will be a difficult passage for him as he reads of unpleasant events all too close to his heart. In turn, it will be handed down to each of my four children lest they forget the sacrifice their Grandfather and those like him made so that my children can enjoy the life they do. Hampton Sides deserves a sincere thanks for keeping this story alive.
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Summary: "Ghost Soldiers" makes for educational and compelling read !
Review: Sides is a master story-teller. Under his superb penmanship, Ghost Soldiers makes for a compelling read: you can't help but keep turning the pages because you just got to find out what happens next, and history is brought back to life in vivid colour with immediacy and verisimilitude. As with all war stories, Ghost Soldiers serves to remind one and all again the horrors and futilities of war.
With all due respect and from a very personal point of view, I can't help but wonder if the rescue mission could have been better planned: there are suggestions of surviving Japanese soldiers after the siege of Cabanatuan by the Rangers and an English POW is missed by the rescue team (but he's rescued eventually by the Filipino guerillas) , things which shouldn't have happened with a rescue exercise executed by crack elite soldiers. Then again, back then American Spec Ops was still in its infancy and the mission itself took place within a constrained time frame: nothing's perfect.
Ghost Soldiers' a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Ghost Soldiers
Review: Hampton Sides writes of a harrowing escape mission in the book Ghost Soldiers. He tells of a group of brave Rangers in the American Army who risk their lives to save the last remaining soldiers of the Bataan Death March. Throughout the book, you read about the Rangers Mission from start to finish and from the prisoners view as well. It switches back and forth until finally the camp is liberated from the Japanese. Heroes can be found everywhere, whether it be Colonel Mucci, the man who lead the operation, Clara Fuentes, who risked her life to smuggle information, food, and items to the prisoners, Captain Prince, Dr. Hibbs and so many more. Each person has their own story to tell and each had a very important role that led to the liberation of the camp at Cabanatuan. Even though the ending was no secret, it was hard to put the book down because it detailed the mission so well that I had to know what exactly was planned next.
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Summary: A most engaging and quick Read
Review: Hampton Sides has really fashioned a great World War II tale of heroism and survival in the grimmest of conditions. Sides simultaneously chronicles two stories--one telling the unspeakable conditions that gripped the Bataan Death March survivors in their struggle to stay alive in Japanese occupation; the other of an elite force of American Rangers and Fillipino soldiers who garnered the courage to embark on a long journey through enemy lines to rescue the POW's. In doing so, I found the book to be so engaging; with every turn of the page I was rooting for the mission to liberate the death camp inmates and provide an end to their hellish day to day existence, which is described in rich detail. But, if they managed to invade the camp and spree the POWs, could they evade enemy pursuit and make it back to American lines? How can they sneak up on the guards in the first place, and eliminate the Japanese force within the camp? Read on!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing, "Great Escape" style adventures, or books that thrive on the personal accounts of those who lived to tell about it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome story--a real page turner
Review: I have to admit that at first I wasn't sure I would like the way the book was written. I'm a big fan of Stephen Ambrose, and I found myself wanting more facts about what else was going on the Pacific Theater at the time of the setting, what MacArthur was doing, etc. However, as I read on I realized more details like this would have taken away from the suspense of the story. The book is set up with parallel aspects of the story that eventually meet. The first aspect deals with those soldiers actually in the Bataan Death March and their captivity (beginning in 1942). The next aspect, beginning in the second chapter, deals with the rescue effort organized in 1945. Then the author alternates between these two aspects, continually building the suspense until the two aspects meet when the Rangers ambush the POW camp and liberate the prisoners. By the time you read through all the horrors the POWs endured, you can't wait for the Rangers to storm in and take control. Some of the atrocities committed against the POWs were almost too horrible to read. However, I think we owe it to those who endured these things to at least know the price they paid for our freedom.
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Summary: Riveting, wrenching stuff
Review: The great men who fought selflessly against Japan have a trustworthy champion in Hampton Sides, and one cannot but wish they were still here to be thanked. Sides brings to vivid life a horrendous ordeal. I was especially moved by soldier Henry Lee's poetry and will see if my library can obtain his posthumously-published, buried under a prisoner shack in palm-leaves volume "Nothing But Praise."
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Summary: Great Read
Review: This is a tale that needed to be told, and no one could have done it better than Hampton Sides. His well-informed account of a daring WWII rescue mission draws the reader into the world of the POWs. The poor conditions of the camp and the cacophonus language he uses to convey the horrors of it create an excellent setting for Sides story-telling abilites to pervail. Each character is, then, given life and developed in such a way that the reader can identify with the people that have been portrayed throughout the pages of the book. With little time and small chance of success, the mission to rescue is planned, designed, and carried out in a heroic display of courage. The bravery and strength of both groups of soldiers is enough to make any American proud. As they struggle with starvation, disease, and the threat of the Japanese authorities, their will to live does not let up when it would seem the only option. Hampton Sides wrote a compelling and captivating account of a remarkable group of people that struggled against all the odds to come out triumphant. The heroism and bravery shown by our American soldiers in times of suffering is a testament to the American spirit.
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Summary: Personal Perspective
Review: I was given this book at Christmas by my Mother who went on to tell me of my Great Uncle. I knew he was a POW and escaped, but not the whole story. Growing up I've seen him a few times and never asked about it. As a kid I thought it was a great story to tell my friends. Like he was Rambo or something like that. Then I grew up and knew better. And after reading a book written by a POW in Desert Storm (Bravo Two Zero) I was introduced into a glimpse of hell and wondered how my Great Uncle coped for years and not just months as a POW. Let alone anyone escape in such depleted condition. I've thought of him a lot over the years and now seeing his name in print it really hits my soul. He signed my book twice. On the cover page and the other on page 17 where is name is mentioned in the book. I treasure this book and will pass it down to my God Child when it's time. My Great Uncle talked at Schools in Iowa about his story. It took a very long time for him to talk about being a POW and now he and the few remaining want people to know what happened and not be forgotten. The men who endured years of torture only to be left out of History. I'm sure he'd be very touched by Promdi from Cabanatuan City, Philippines review and many others(...)
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Look at WWII's Worst
Review: Ghost Soldiers
By: Hampton Sides Ghost Soldiers is a wonderful account of the brutality of some of the Japanese guards at Cabanatuan, a camp for the sickest and most disabled POWs of the Allies. It also gave a scary and compelling look into how they got there, and what happened to them inside the camp. Ghost Soldiers also allowed us to look at what happened to the thousands of POWs who passed through the camp, and then headed to Japan or other countries to work on projects that would assist the Axis.
Ghost Soldiers is based around a group of roughly 200 Rangers and 150 Filipino guerillas and their struggle to go and save the 500 imprisoned POWs presiding at Cabanatuan before the POWs are murdered. The Japanese had already exterminated many POWs at other camps and the Rangers and Filipino guerillas were trying to prevent this from happening at Cabanatuan.
The only thing in the Ranger's favor was the element of surprise. If this was lost, the Allies would probably lose 700 men along with causing the death of 150 Filipinos. This element keeps the book flowing along with keeping you on the edge of your seat and wondering how the Rangers could have dealt with the nerve racking thought of "if they were caught, they were dead."
Ghost Soldiers allows you to learn a lot about the history of WWII, along with seeing the torture POWs were put through. It also shows you that because of miss communication, POWs were tortured. This book will bring you to tears through out the whole book, especially in the parts where POWs are killed due to malnutrition, disease, murder, or torture.
I would highly suggest reading this book if you would like to see the life of a POW in Cabanatuan, or the worst of WWII, or the life of a Ranger in the U.S. Army. These are all wonderfully wound together through out the whole book. Making it flow and allowing you to see some of the worst of WWII.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Look at WWII's Worst
Review: Ghost Soldiers
By: Hampton Sides Ghost Soldiers is a wonderful account of the brutality of some of the Japanese guards at Cabanatuan, a camp for the sickest and disabled POWs of the allies. It also gave a scary and compelling look into how they got there, and what happened to the m inside the camp. Ghost Soldiers also allowed us to look at what happened to the thousands of POWs who passed through the camp, and then headed to Japan or other countries to work on projects that would assist the Axis.
Ghost Soldiers is based around a group of roughly 200 Rangers and 150 Filipino guerillas and their struggle to go and save the 500 imprisoned POWs presiding at Cabanatuan before the POWs are murdered. The Japanese had already exterminated many POWs at other camps and the Rangers and Filipino guerillas were trying to prevent this from happening at Cabanatuan.
The only thing in the Ranger's favor was the element of surprise. If this was lost, the Allies would probably lose 700 men along with causing the death of 150 Filipinos. This element keeps the book flowing along with keeping you on the edge of your seat and wondering how the Rangers could have dealt with the nerve racking thought of "if they were caught, they were dead."
Ghost Soldiers allows you to learn a lot about the history of WWII, along with seeing the torture POWs were put through. It also shows you that because of miss communication, POWs were tortured. This book will bring you to tears through out the whole book, especially in the parts where POWs are killed due to malnutrition, disease, murder, or torture.
I would highly suggest reading this book if you would like to see the life of a POW in Cabanatuan, or the worst of WWII, or the life of a Ranger in the U.S. Army. These are all wonderfully wound together through out the whole book. Making it flow and allowing you to see some of the worst of WWII.
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