Book description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “The greatest World War II story never told” (Esquire)—an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue the last survivors of the Bataan Death March.
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to…
Why read it?
7 authors picked Ghost Soldiers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The kind of dramatic nonfiction filled with every emotion, and was often very tragic. The collections of characters was amazing, and wouldn't sound believable if it were fiction. It had everything. Soldiers fighting, dying, and giving up hope. Glamorous female spies funneling food and medicine to save lives. Chaplains and priests seemingly performing miracles and fighting back the tides of despair. Villagers giving up their most valuable possession (and their livelihood) to support men they did not know.
Until the Raid on Entebbe, this was the most successful military hostage rescue mission of all times. And it's all about an event that in most cases, didn't even become a sub note in most military histories. It explores in vivid detail the fall of the Philippines and the day fight to survive under the brutal conditions of a Japanese POW camp.
An awesome read for any serious student of World War II.
I find Ghost Soldiers to be an excellent account of the rescue of Allied POWs, many held since the outset of the U.S. involvement in World War II, from the infamous Cabanatuan Japanese Prisoner of War Camp in central Luzon in the Philippines. Based upon interviews of those involved, it would be used as one of two true-to-life books to create the 2005 movie The Great Raid. This book has a strong place in my heart since Ed Babler was marched to this POW camp soon after surrendering on the offshore island of Corregidor and would spend at least…
From Robert's list on World War II POWs.
If you love Ghost Soldiers...
I only had to read the headline to know this was the book for me. The Americans handpicked 121 soldiers to slip behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission seemed impossible; another reason I chose this book. It was to march thirty miles in rugged terrain, and at the end, rescue over 500 POWs, amongst them the last survivors of the Bataan Death March.
I recommend this book because it engrossed me from page one to the last. The realistic imagery depicting how the prisoners lived in the camp, how they bonded together, and survived despite starvation, tropical diseases,…
From Jana's list on great stories in WW2.
This book reads as a gripping thriller rooted in gruesome fact in the Philippine jungle. I’ve read this book several times for inspiration in crafting my books. A great balance between the necessary detail to establish the context and the laser focus on remarkable devotion to duty.
From Scott's list on human struggle and achievement in war.
I was only eight days shy of the Vietnam war draft when it was halted, and it instilled in me profound respect, admiration, and a sense of debt to the brave men and women who answered the call of duty sacrificed in duty to our nation. I'm drawn to historical works, be it historical fiction or nonfiction accounts, of wartime through the ages. My fiance's father was the youngest US Army Ranger during WWII in the story that this book recounts, so reading it brought a special significance to me.
From Paul's list on the Greatest Generation.
If you love Hampton Sides...
This is a story of heroism on an epic scale, engrossing as well as uplifting, exactly what we need during this prolonged pandemic induced “captivity”…. Hollywood: Are you working on a major feature film to tell this story on the big screen, as we speak?
From Shouhua's list on the Pacific Theater in WW2.
If you love Ghost Soldiers...
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