Sides weaves American Caesar Douglas MacArthur's departure, the 1942 fall of Bataan, and the prisoners' three-year aftermath into the effort by untested Rangers to rescue the POWs in late January 1945, when only 500 sickly men survived in an old camp north of Manila. In some respects, these POWs were the lucky ones, even as they lost hope in a rescue thirty-three months in the offing. Moving back and forth between prison life and the rescue effort, Sides builds the story well. The joy of rescue mingles with the possiblity of a last-minute massacre.

The Japanese treatment of American POWs in WWII holds a special place of horror in the minds of Americans of "the greatest generation", and this book makes the terror real. At the same time, the Japanese are not all portrayed as monsters or torturers. In fact, it's the humanity amidst the stark terror and misery that surfaces in this book, the small acts of kindness, the apparently random administration of mercy, and the kindred spirit of POWs.

The Ranger rescue demonstrates American soldiering at its best, at a time when wounds about actions in Vietnam not only remain, they have recently resurfaced. Sides makes it clear war is based on hate and horror but honor as well. More students of history need to read and know this story, somewhat forgotten or overlooked in the magnitude of events that followed: V-E Day, Hiroshima, V-J Day.

The book falls a bit in its narrative. I felt like this was destined if not designed to be a magazine or a movie treatment more than an historic analysis. Despite meticulous attention to tracking down details, Sides' writing left me feeling a bit flat, unconnected to the key figures. Sure, I cried at the end. I was moved by the heroism and commitment of the Rangers. But I thirsted for more, even knowing that reconstructing events is difficult fifty-plus years out.

The veterans of this rescue deserve the accolades. They deserve your reading this book.

102 of 105 found the following review helpful:

Don't miss the experience...  May 21, 2001
By Don Barzyk
I'm not a fan of War stories or history books. I am not easily moved emotionally. I read this because it seemed like an interesting story. I was astounded by this book. It actually gave me chills in the end. It was shocking how cruel the Japanese captors were to the Americans and gave me a deep respect for the American POW's of World War II. The book is well researched, intelligently written and emotionally stimulating. It reads like a fast paced action novel, the character development makes you feel like you know these people personally and the mood of dread, fear and hope are touchingly communicated to the reader. Don't get me wrong, this is not a tear jerker story, it is an accurate account of history as told by people who actually lived through the ordeal. It has intrigue, spies, guerrillas, culture clashes, desperation and most of all - courage. It is a rewarding read in the end and an adventure from the beginning. Highly recommended!

102 of 107 found the following review helpful:

How much can man endure?  May 19, 2001

Disappointment and shame for having to surrender at Bataan; humiliation and abuse from the Japanese captors who treated those who surrendered as less than worthy opponents; starvation, exhaustion, and torture on the 70 mile forced trek, known and immortalized as the Bataan death march; punishing, back breaking labor in slave camps. So it was for US servicemen who surrendered at Bataan or who were captured elsewhere in the Philippines in 1942. For one such Army private - Eugene Nielsen, whose story makes up one of the narratives of GHOST SOLDIERS, the three years of his life spent in the Philippines was a perpetual nightmare.

Beginning with a description of the torture and execution of prisoners at the Puerto Princesa Prison Camp on Palawan, Philippines, the book describes the daily ordeal - it can't be called life - that these men endured. By December 1944 the Japanese on Palawan knew that it was only a matter of time before the Americans returned. The officer in charge, the one the men called the 'buzzard' decided to rid himself of his prisoner problem. From their positions in trenches the Americans watched as Japanese carrying liquid filled buckets approached. "With a quick jerk of the hands, they flung the contents into the openings of the trenches. By the smell of it on their skin, the Americans instantly recognized what it was - high octane aviation fuel from the airstrip. Before they could apprehend the full significance of it, other soldiers tossed in lighted bamboo torches." The details provided by the book are obviously gruesome. That Nielsen and 10 others survived the incineration is miraculous. It was these survivors' accounts as told to Army intelligence that prompted the US to send in Rangers to free the 513 Americans held prisoner at Cabanatuan.

The narratives of four other survivors is interwoven with the exploits of the Ranger officer who led the mission. "Little MacArthur's" story and that of the other 120 Rangers and 200 Filipino guerrillas who successfully freed the prisoners, is as heroic and as uplifting a story as the survivors tales are grim and gruesome.

The author is correct in calling these men the "ultimate survivors." We can only be glad that there are a few still alive today to retell their story. The author spoke to 30 in researching his book. Similarly with IN HARM'S WAY, this WWII narrative is written by a young man (the author is 39). These survivors who refer to themselves as "Ghosts" because they felt abandoned should take some gratification in knowing that their story is still of great interest and their courage a source of inspiration to young writers today.

"It is with books as with men; a very small number play a great part." (Voltaire)

I salute the GHOST SOLDIERS.

57 of 61 found the following review helpful:

The story really grabs you  Jan 19, 2005
By M. Strong
I picked up Ghost Soldiers because it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the Bataan Death March, one of those historic events you hear of, but never know much about. The book tells the story of how many US soldiers ended up in the Bataan Death March and their experiences during and after that trail, as well as their eventual rescue.

For those of us who live in an era of comfort unlike any known before our time, it's intersting and important to glimpse into the lives of people who endured things that almost seem surreal to us now. The description of arbitrary brutality really makes you appreciate the perils endured by those who came before us for our sake.

Sides tells the story gracefully and paces the story steadily. Highly recommended for history buffs, anyone who wants to understand the meaning behing the Bataan Death March, or who values the sacrifices made by others for us.

37 of 38 found the following review helpful:

Every American Should Read This Book  Jul 10, 2001
By Kirk L.
Why?

How is it that we are who we are, or do what we wish, or live in a nation where the words "choice" and "freedom" are taken for granted?

My grandfather was not one of the Bataan survivors, nor did he ever have to endure the horrors of captivity at the hands of the Japanese Army. However, as a veteran of the Americal Division, he saw enough bloodshed and death to last him a lifetime. Because of him, I take the opportunity to read as much as I can on the Pacific War so that I may better understand his experiences in battle as a young man not all that older than myself today.

"Ghost Soldiers" is one of those books that grabs you from the first sentence and does not let go until the final page has been turned. Masterfully written, exhaustively researched, and superbly paced, Hampton Sides employs the same technique that Mark Bowden used in 1999's "Black Hawk Down" in that the historical account reads more like a novel than a work of military history. The characters and events however, are entirely real. Sadly, many of the true heroes of "Ghost Soliders" did not survive their ordeal and never returned home.

Every American should read this book. Not just those who are interested in military history, or those professionals in this country's armed forces who seek to further develop and immerse themselves in the profession of arms.

No, the ones who need to read this book are those who abhor war and who cannot even begin imagine the unthinkable acts of cruelty and suffering heaped upon young men whose only crime was that they were on the losing side in the early going of the Pacific War. The ones who need to read this book are the ones who show little interest in the history of this great nation that they are citizens of, yet show little appreciation or knowledge of how America got here. Only after reading "Ghost Soldiers" will those begin to understand the meaning of the popular catchphrase "freedom isn't free."

To the brave prisoners who suffered, yet lived, and all of those who endeavoured to bring them out of their hell before it was too late, they have finally received their just due. However, for this grateful son and soldier, this book doesn't even begin to make up for their selfless service and sacrifices to preserve our way of life.

But it is a very good start...

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