Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

This History Book Club I've become a part of is truly fantastic. The titles we're reading this school year have all been really interesting. The latest is Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides. This nonfiction book's title is a mouthful, but the story itself is amazing.

In 1942, the US was forced to surrender its hold on the Philippines. General MacArthur promised to return but the surrender left hundreds of American soldiers at the mercy of the Japanese. And the Japanese did not prove too merciful. After the Bataan Death March and years of hard work, beatings, and malnutrition, hundreds of US soldiers had died. But a few hundred more survived as POWs. As 1945 opens, and the US military is returning in full force to the area, US Intelligence fears the Japanese might attempt to massacre all POWs before they can be liberated. Thus opens the story of the daring rescue and liberation of the Cabanatuan POW Camp.

Author Hampton Sides does a great job of shifting the story between the perspective/story of the prisoners themselves and the Army Rangers who led the rescue. His writing style gets a little verbose at times, but not to the extent that you'd call him pretentious. I especially liked his use of firsthand accounts, in their own words, from the people actually involved in the story. The beginning moves a little slow, but by page 123 I was riveted and didn't want to put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story, and/or US History.

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