» Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Daring Raid
Comment:
This is a terrifically exciting book about a rescue/raid in World War II that saved the lives of hundreds of American POWs in the Philippines. The characters are finely drawn, although I would have liked to learn more about Captain Robert Prince, the assault commander and Juan Pajota, the guerrilla leader whose group made a critical rear guard stand that enabled the Rangers and POWs to escape from hell.

This is a micro story about a specific military operation, and it gives an almost hour by hour account of the raid, letting the big picture emerge.

The author divides the book between scenes in the prison camp and the approaching American Ranger unit, and builds suspense marvelously. Sides is an extremely talented young writer, who has also written Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American Westthat I also highly recommend.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Bravery at Its Best
Comment: First Hampton Sides book I have read. Fascinating story of untold Bravery. Many have heard of the death march, but no one captivates it so well

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Truly Patriotic Saga
Comment: `Ghost Soldiers' by Hampton Sides

Having just re-read `Ghost Soldiers' for the second time, I decided it was time to write a few words about this spectacular narrative. The book tells the parallel stories of the "Bataan Death March" survivors turned POW's with that of the 6th Army Rangers tasked with liberating them from the Cabantuan prison camp on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The author recounts, in remarkable detail, these two stories until finally converging in a climactic rescue scene that rivals any great war story, WWII or otherwise.

`Ghost Soldiers' features the stories of individual prisoners whose crushing ordeal is at times almost too harrowing to believe. As you'll see in the author's acknowledgements - which, if ever, should certainly not be overlooked - the survivors fortunate enough to make it through this period of their lives, still themselves, have difficulty reconciling the circumstances of their captivity. It is more than a war story: `Ghost Soldiers' is an epic of a ghastly militaristic ideology confronted with indomitable human spirit. Mr. Sides brings these men and women's stories to life in a portrait that is truly stirring with patriotism.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great historial account
Comment: I enjoyed the book very much. The planning and execution of the rescue, as well as historical events leading up to the imprisonment, are told brilliantly.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: excellent read
Comment: 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.

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