Sides - Ghost soldiers: the epic account of World War IIs greatest rescue mission

Acclaim for Hampton Sides

Told with skill and intelligence, this is the story of a stirring and heroic rescue operation in World War II. Ghost Soldiers belongs on a shelf with General Hal Moore and Joe Galloways We Were Soldiers Once And Young and Mark Bowdens Black Hawk Down.

David Halberstam, author of Playing for Keeps
and The Best and the Brightest

Ghost Soldiers is a great war story, and Mr. Sides tells it well, giving texture to the personalities of captives, captors, and rescuers alike.

The Wall Street Journal

An anguished look into a pit of despair and an examination of the power of the human soul to create, destroyand endure.

The Sunday Oregonian

Ghost Soldiers is destined to become a classic of its genre. The heartwarming World War II book is becoming a tiresome clich, but youd have to have a heart of stone not to be movedand inspiredby this book.

Salon

Well-researched and skillfully crafted, Ghost Soldiers is an unforgettable journey.

The Christian Science Monitor

A riveting tale of American courage and heroism. In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides brings to life a forgotten adventure of World War II that you will always remember.

James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers

Chock-full of dialogue, anecdotes, and meticulous detail. Sides has done us quite a favor in bringing to our attention physical and psychological hardships that have gone unnoticed for over 50 years.

National Review

Ghost Soldiers is an enthralling, deeply disturbing look at the horrors of war. It is impossible to read this book without wondering uneasily how you, the reader, would respond if forced to undergo the monstrous trials described with such immediacy by Hampton Sides.

Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air

Hard to put down, engrossing to read, and impossible to forget.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Ghost Soldiers is both disturbing and uplifting. For anyone interested in war stories, it is a must read.

Winston-Salem Journal

Ghost Soldiers took me on a queasy journey deep into the realm of pure evilthen rescued me in a blaze of heroics and righteous vengeance. Theres grief, despair, and terror here, but also adventure, courage, and joy. Its a Great Escape for the Pacific Theater, but with a much more satisfying ending.

Erik Larson, author of Isaacs Storm

Vibrantly, powerfully alive on the page.

Entertainment Weekly

With deft use of the memories of actual survivors, Hampton Sides has forged a white-knuckled thriller that conjures this forgotten saga in all its horrifying and moving detail.

Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance

Ghost Soldiers is expertly told by a skilled writer who, although he wasnt there, makes us feel as though we were. Far from the run-of-the-mill war story, Ghost Soldiers stands out on the long shelf of popular military histories.

The Deseret News

Ghost Soldiers is exciting, inspiring reading that doesnt depend on nostalgia for its impact.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A dazzling account of one of the greatest rescue missions in history. In Ghost Soldiers, we witness the true depth of the human spirit to survive.

Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking

Ghost Soldiers is a compelling work of history in microcosm a remarkable book.

The New Statesman

It is the war story to read this year, and it is one youll remember for years to come.

The Sunday Republican

Sides tells his story dramatically, cinematically. Its a tale worth telling, which in this case was helped by several surviving, self-proclaimed Ghost Soldiers.

Time

Few stories are as gripping as the one that Sides tells here. Ghost Soldiers, well-crafted and feelingly told, is an earnest response to the most crucial duty imposed on us by war, which is never to forget.

New York

An extraordinary tale of bravery under fire and the will to endure. This is an exceptionally valuable addition to the popular literature surrounding WWII.

Kirkus Reviews

HAMPTON SIDES

A native of Memphis, Hampton Sides is an award-winning editor of Outside and the author of the bestselling histories Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Anne, and their three sons.

Also by Hampton Sides

STOMPING GROUNDS

AMERICANA

GHOST SOLDIERS

BLOOD AND THUNDER

FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, MAY 2002

Copyright 2001 by Hampton Sides

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2001.

Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Excerpts from the poetry of Henry Lee are taken from the collection Nothing But Praise, and reprinted with permission of the Philippine Arts Council, Pacific Asia Museum.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Doubleday edition as follows:
Sides, Hampton.
Ghost soldiers: the forgotten epic story of World War IIs most dramatic mission / Hampton Sides.
p. cm.
1. World War, 19391945CampaignsPhilippinesCabanatuan. 2. United States. Army. Ranger Battalion, 6thHistory. 3. World War, 19391945Regimental HistoriesUnited States. 4. World War, 19391945Concentration campsPhilippinesCabanatuan. 5. World War, 19391945Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 6. Cabanatuan (Philippines)History, Military20th century. 7. World War, 19391945Atrocities. I. Title.
D767.4 .S54 2001
940.5425dc21

eISBN: 978-1-4000-3340-9

Maps designed by Jeffrey L. Ward

www.anchorbooks.com

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To my Mother,

for her grace and equanimity,

and for teaching me to keep my eyes open

And to the mothers and wives of the men of Bataan