Nonfiction Book Reviews
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides
Doubleday, May, 2001Hardcover, 342 pages
ISBN: 0385495641
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
In World War II some American soldiers
became overwhelmed by the Japanese forces
in the Philippines.
The American soldiers fought hard and
bravely, but a lack of supplies and
reinforcements led to an eventual surrender
with thousands of Americans were taken prisoner.
The conditions these men had to endure as prisoners
was horrific. Some prisoners were beheaded with
machetes, beaten and tortured. One of the
tortures (which seems even more sadistic today
because of our knowledge of skin cancer)
was what the soldiers called the "sun treatment", where
soldiers were forced to stand in the sun
for long periods of time without water.
One particularly dreadful event was
the Bataan Death March, in which thousands of
prisoners were forced to walk hundreds of
miles with very little food and water.
Men who stopped marching were either slain
or left to die.
Ghost Soldiers then goes on to tell the tale of
the prisoners who survived the Bataan Death March
and gives extensive details of
every aspect of the soldiers' imprisonment --
from what they ate to the many terrible diseases
they endured. At the same time it also tells a tale of
the men's incredible spirit, what they did to survive
and the heroic U.S Army 6th Ranger Battalion
who came to rescue them.
Ghost Soldiers is an amazing tale of some very heroic Americans during the unusual and violent times of World War II in the South Pacific. Author Hampton Sides shows remarkable skill in bringing this story to life, making the reader feel a part of these soldiers' lives and reliving the war all over again. The book also gives an interesting account about how the men interacted with their captors, and also looks at the personalities of the Japanese soldiers who were in charge of them. Some were unnecessarily cruel, some were indifferent and a few were even sensitive to the prisoners' needs. Hampton Sides also explains how the opposing armies misunderstood each other. For example, Japanese soldiers would rather die than be taken prisoner, and would often eviscerate themselves rather then be captured. The story of the Rangers coming to rescue them is just as interesting, because if they had been discovered at any time during their covert journey to the prison camp they would have annihilated. Sides also gives the big picture of World War II and the role the Ghost Soldiers story played in the War. Anyone interested in World War II, war stories or history will find Ghost Soldiers fascinating. Highly recommended.
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