I can't believe that I am just now posting this review. It was probably two years ago when, I believe, both Mike Arnold and Doug Clark at The Chapel highly recommended the book Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. At the time, I wasn't very interested in reading books about war. For whatever reason, over the past year, I have developed an interest in reading books about war. So I picked up a copy of Ghost Soldiers and started there. I like to go with books that someone I respect has recommended, so here's the respect for Mike and Doug. Ghost Soldiers is about a rescue mission that took place during World War II in the Philippines. Hampton Sides takes you into the life and experiences of what it's like to be a prisoner of war in the worst kind of circumstances. There were times while reading that I found myself crying or catching my breath. Much of the book surrounded the famous "death march" that the Japanese captors led these prisoners on from camp to camp.
The background, characterization, and historical information leading up to the attempted rescue by the 6th Ranger Battalion under the direction of General Henry Mucci was incredible. The strategy, testimonies, and intensity of the attack on the Japanese was a thrill to read.
Today, I saw the commercial for a new movie called The Great Raid. The movie is BASED on the book by Hampton Sides, and yes, I cannot wait to see it. It opens this Friday.
I thought the book was terrific, inspiring, and engaging - and I appreciated the fact that this was well-researched history, not conjecture or opinion.
If you are interested in being inspired, encouraged, and frankly "grossed out" - it is a book about War, mind you - then I'd highly encourage picking up a copy of Ghost Soldiers. It's one of the few books that I've read before seeing the movie. I suppose I can do a movie review in a couple of weeks after I've seen the movie... but, as I was reading the book, I thought several times how there's literally no way to get all of this stuff - especially the important history, thoughts, and personalities of some of the key characters (uh, I mean - actual people) - into a movie. So, even a fully-stocked DVD with lots of interviews has a lot to live up to with this book.
Since reading this book, I have picked up a couple of other war-recommended books like Band of Brothers and D-Day but have yet to start them. I'm not ready to dive head-first into this genre, nor do I have the time. Maybe one good war book a year. Ghost Soldiers was an excellent one to start with.
3 comments:
Speaking of reviews, Wailer, we're all eagerly awaiting the verdict.
Don't leave us hangin'!
Jeaoure, you are awesome. I'll have you know that I was the first one to buy one from Wal-Mart in town today, the day the CD released. I am still amazed that I only bought one copy!
Still an enormous Hootie fan am I.
I know, you're surprised they're still kickin.
But they are outstanding, and another review is brewing.
First, I must copy the CD to my iTunes and my iPod Shuffle.
That's a great book--it was yours truely who recommended it to Doug several years ago. I think he read it in a weekend. I'm reading one now by Winston Groom (author of Forest Gump) about the oft-overlooked World War I. It's not fiction, it's history. It is written specifically for those Americans like me who know very little about the first world war. It's called "A Storm in Flanders." I think there's a movie out about the story of "Ghost Soldiers." I can't think of the name of it--I think it's something like "the raid." OK, I'll look it up...Yes...it's "The Great Raid" You can see the trailer at the iTunes music store in the trailer section.
Brian
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