Book Description
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’s most voluble people have kept silent so long.
Ghosts of Spain is the fascinating result of that journey. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spain’s Moorish past, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctor’s white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing.
Drawing on the author’s twenty years of experience living in Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe’s most exciting countries.
Customer Reviews:
An outsider's insight.......2007-05-28
A British journalist who has lived 20 years in Spain, married and raising his 2 children in Madrid, the author investigates, reveals and muses upon Spanish culture, history and the forces of the "two Spains" as they come together, or rub against each other, in forming the modern Spanish world. A fascinating look at Spain, its subcultures from the Basques to the Catalans to flamenco to the Galicians, to drug culture to tourism and the very difficult and delicate process of choosing to forget the differences of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime in order to move forward in a country that was once the most powerful on earth.
I like Spain and its history. This is one of the very best insights into modern Spain. Highly recommended.
A Pale Secret.......2007-05-22
A liberal British newspaper reporter's hit and miss attempt at a book explaining Spain (his nearly adopted country) to us outsiders. Some hits (like how modern Spain handles the dark legacy of Franco) are offset by a number of misses.
Historical facts, or guesses as to historical facts, get thrown in as space fillers; events that catch Mr. Tremlett's fancy are highlighted, whether reflective of the whole Spanish society or not; the level of writing is often barely above that of a talented reporter on deadline. The final meandering chapter entitled "Moderns and Ruins", especially, cries out for editing.
Great book about a fascinating country.......2007-05-19
This is a great journalistic account of the social and political changes that have transformed Spain up to the present day. Tremlett discusses the country's past and present in fairly equal measure. He begins by looking at the legacies of the Spanish Civil War, discussing how only in the past decade has the full scale of the atrocities that took place come to light. He discusses how Spaniards whose relatives were killed by the Francoists have pushed in recent years for their relatives to be given decent burials. He also writes an interesting chapter on Franco's overall legacy, arguing that after his death and the country's transition to democracy he has been largely purged from public discourse. Despite this collective amnesia that he identifies, Tremlett points out that the same left-right cleavage that drove the war still lurks below the surface of Spanish society. The book also contains chapters on the Basque, Catalan, and Galician regions. Tremlett provides very insightful analysis of the origins of and main forces behind Basque and Catalan nationalism, while his chapter on Galicia details that region's emergence as a conduit for Columbian cocaine. One of my favorite chapters looked at gender relations in Spain, in which Tremlett provides some very amusing anecdotes that reveal contrasts between Spain and his native Britain. This chapter also discusses Tremlett's quest to understand the paradox of how a country can be so awash in brothels (which, he reports, 1/4 of Spanish men visited) yet relatively conservative in terms of the sexual mores of its people.
Other subjects covered here include Spain's emergence as a global tourism magnet (and the corruption that has often emerged alongside it) and the 2004 Madrid train bombing, which indirectly led to the defeat of the ruling party in the elections several days later. This was an interesting chapter, in which Tramlett looked at the ways in which the main parties tried to capitalize on this tragedy for political gain. Overall, I found Tremlett to be a very keen analyst of social and political relations, and there weren't really any weak chapters. For instance, I considered skipping a chapter on flamenco music, not being particularly interested in the musical form itself, but the chapter ended up including a fascinating discussion of the social history of Spain's gypsies.
Overall, I would heartily recommend this book to anybody interested in Spanish history, culture, and/or politics. I would NOT recommend it to those expecting more of a travel guide type of book; although Tremlett does visit and write evocatively about numerous regions, such descriptions are not the main substance of this book. If I had to make one minor criticism, it is that the chapters themselves were often not tightly organized. For example, the chapter on the Basques jumps from past to present and does not really follow any sort of structure. This wasn't really a problem for me, because Tremlett writes well and never bored me, but it might be a problem to some. Another minor complaint is that the book doesn't include a map, which might have been useful for readers like me who aren't intimately familiar with Spain's geography. Overall, though, I think that this is social and political journalism at its finest, and anybody wishing to learn more about this fascinating country could do worse than to start here!
Spain's a Fun Country to Visit.......2007-04-29
The first time tht I went to Spain the country was still under Franco. When getting off the plane, every arriving passenger was photographed. This set a tone that made you never forget where you were. Now going to Spain is like going to any other country. There is no problem going from one city to another. The people are friendly to Americans. The food, trains, hotels, highways are all good.
This book looks underneath these obvious outward trappings to the held over anguish from the Franco time. He also looks further backwards to the regional conflicts with Basque seperatists, and more recently to the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people using bomb attacks in 2004.
Spain remains a little bit different than the rest of Western Europe. Mr. Tremlett has lived in Spain for twenty years and has done an excellent job of bringing together the history and the current situation to explain the current country that is Spain.
The Real Spain.......2007-04-15
Giles Tremlett has written a highly readable, incisive portrait of Spain today--its problems and its pleasures. His presentation of the manner in which Spain has chosen to deal with the aftermath of Francisco Franco's death is particularly well written and revealing. He examines how the decades of dictatorship and brutal repression have been swept under the rug of collective consciousness by Spaniards choosing not to confront it or attempt to reconcile themselves with this difficult episode in their nation's history. The author's years of closely observing Spain, and reporting on its politics and culture for Britain's most respected newspaper, The Guardian, have given him a wonderful sense of both the large picture and the quotidian details, which do so much to bring this book to life.
Anyone wanting a sense of what today's Spain is all about will find it in these pages.
Book Description
A thrilling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London-and a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.
From the dynamic thinker routinely compared to Malcolm Gladwell, E. O. Wilson, and James Gleick, The Ghost Map is a riveting page-turner with a real-life historical hero that brilliantly illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of viruses, rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry. These are topics that have long obsessed Steven Johnson, and The Ghost Map is a true triumph of the kind of multidisciplinary thinking for which he's become famous-a book that, like the work of Jared Diamond, presents both vivid history and a powerful and provocative explanation of what it means for the world we live in.
The Ghost Map takes place in the summer of 1854. A devastating cholera outbreak seizes London just as it is emerging as a modern city: more than 2 million people packed into a ten-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, teeming with people from all over the world, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Dr. John Snow-whose ideas about contagion had been dismissed by the scientific community-is spurred to intense action when the people in his neighborhood begin dying. With enthralling suspense, Johnson chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts, as he risks his own life to prove how the epidemic is being spread.
When he creates the map that traces the pattern of outbreak back to its source, Dr. Snow didn't just solve the most pressing medical riddle of his time. He ultimately established a precedent for the way modern city-dwellers, city planners, physicians, and public officials think about the spread of disease and the development of the modern urban environment.
The Ghost Map is an endlessly compelling and utterly gripping account of that London summer of 1854, from the microbial level to the macrourban-theory level-including, most important, the human level.
Customer Reviews:
A Solid History of Science Book.......2007-09-07
This is the story of Dr. John Snow and the development of modern epidemiology and germ theory. As a history of science read, this book is very good. It has lots of drama and reads like a mystery. I did learn about Snows research into anesthesia, something I didn't know about. Most of the book centers around the cholera outbreak in London and Snow's work to counter the generally accepted miasma theory. This is a great book for young researchers to see how prevailing paradigms can be completely wrong, yet generally accepted and even unquestioned.
Thinking outside the box.......2007-09-06
This is a very interesting book on several levels. It is a fairly detailed case study of a cholera outbreak in London in 1854 and of the attempts of two dedicated men, one an esteemed physician and the other a neighborhood Anglican priest, to determine the cause, which turned out to be contaminated water. Once they do determine the cause, they run headlong into the established scientific orthodoxies of the day, which center around the "miasma" theory, a vague notion that such epidemics are caused by the overall environment in which they occur, sometimes the air, sometimes living conditions, and even, in a classic case of blaming the victims, by the characters of the victims. Eventually the scientific establishment is won over to the waterborne theory, but not after long hard fights, and not until after many more deaths could have been prevented.
The central points that I got out of this book are these:
1) Pre-scientific modes of thinking prevailed in the scientific establishment until well into the 19th century, or 1854 as we see here. The idea of empirically testing hypotheses seems not to have occurred to many scientists of the day.
2) The importance of "thinking outside the box," of not accepting conventional or established ideas just because they are established.
3) Revolutions in scientific thinking, or paradigm shifts, as Thomas Kuhn called them, rarely occur easily. Often the revolutionary idea is ignored, then ridiculed, then fought against, then eventually accepted, often by a later generation which had not been schooled in the conventional ways of thinking.
All told an interesting book, well recommended. I did not give it 5 stars because the author can at times move away from the immediate narrative to more abstract matters that can often be tedious. The book can be redundant as well. But altogether a good read.
Fascinating topic, redundant writing style, too little about the map.......2007-07-28
I will omit a synopsis of the book. This book has been assigned as incoming Freshman reading for my local university, thus my specific purpose in reading it. The general idea of an "historical medical mystery" presented in non-fiction form was a very reasonable one for a book. The quest for the origin of the Cholera epidemic in 1854 London by Whitehead and Snow was presented in a an exciting captivating way. The writing style was painful for me. Quite a bit of the material was repeated over and over in subsequent chapters. When I put the book down and picked it up again, I would wonder if I had lost my place (ie, a deja vu-type of experience) as I was certain I had read the material previously. Although there is some info on the making of the map, it was a small part of the book's focus. Truly, my greatest objection is the way the editor allowed the author to roam wildly. I believe this book will be viewed as a painful reading experience for 18 yo college students, not one that would offer stimulation for future reading of medical mysteries nor historical fiction. In general, I could not recommend this book to the general public; those interested in medicine/epidemics/certain mysteries, might enjoy it.
A rare find.......2007-07-24
This book was one of those rare finds tht do not come along very often. I read it in 2 days - I simply could not put it down. In the beginning of the book, when he was describing London in the early 19th century, I was reading along while crinkling my nose and whispering "oh my gosh" the whole time. I was simply entranced.
Johnson did start to pontificate a bit at the end - this could easily have been left out, and frankly I finally gave up reading all of his views at the end of the book. But, that is certainly no reason to miss this fantastic read ... and gritty and real historical view of what 19th century cities were TRULY like.
Overall a fantastic book!
Wonderful storyteller but with a broken crystal ball perhaps.......2007-07-09
This was a very well written book about a subject that could cause stomaches to turn. The way the author told the story kept it interesting in spite of the sordid details of the disease and it's ravages on the human body.
Several have commented about the ending of the book where the author takes out his crystal ball and sort of predicts the future of the urban environment, but even that I found fascinating, if not a bit hopeful.
He did touch on the use of fossil fuels, but he seems to think that term only means gasoline ( his mention of New York City being the greenest city on the planet since it's citizens have a low gasoline consumption ) when in fact fossil fuels include, but are not limited to; fuel oil, natural gas, coal, gasoline, diesel and turbine fuels. All of which New Yorkers are huge consumers.
If the cost of energy becomes as expensive as some pessimists suggest, then I think the huge cities will once again become dark, dirty places which will lose huge numbers of citizens.
This book also makes me wonder if 200 years from now algore will be today's Dr. John Snow or Edwin Chadwick in regards to Gullible Warming. My belief is that he and the other Gullible Warming fanatics will be no different than those who subscribed to the "miasma theory of disease" as detailed in this book.
A great read, highly recommended!!
Book Description
"Son, we’re going to Hell."
The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.
Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.
In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail.
Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2007-09-28
Excellent write-up on a little-known story. I had read of the Houston, but not of the fate of the survivors.
Ship of Ghosts - A Must Read for all Generations.......2007-07-31
Mr. Hornfischer graced my University Area Rotary Club in Austin, his home town, with an excellent talk about the saga of some of our bravest men from the greatest generation. Of course, I bought a copy of the book and it took me a few days to get through it before I hand it to my father to read. Hornfisher shows an unlikely ability to truly connect the facts of the USS Houston and her POW survivors together to tell a compelling human story of the horrors of war and the ability of man to overcome any adversity. Hornfischer is a true patriot for documenting the courage of these brave men, and I am a better man for reading this great book.
A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew.......2007-06-18
Ship of Ghosts is Mr. Hornfischer telling of the USS Houston and her crew during WWII. The USS Houston, known as the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast (because of how many times the Japanese reported her sunk) was the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet. In WWII she was responsible for holding and delaying the Japanese in taking Indonesia. Any ways, Mr. Hornfischer opens by telling us the early pre-war history of the USS Houston, how she was used by FDR as his yacht, and the history of the gentlemen whom Mr. Hornfischer interviewed.
After telling us about the pre-war years, Mr. Hornfisher jumps into the action of the Battle of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. This is then followed by telling us about the crews time as POW's and working on the "Death Railway". Most of this book deals with their experience as POW's (btw, the crew of the HMAS Perth has coverage in this book, not as much as the USS Houston, but it is recognized. Also, Mr. Hornfischer cover the men of the 2nd battalion, 131st Field Artillery). In the chapters dealing with the men being prisoners of war we learn about the poor conditions they kept in and how terrible it was working in Burma on the railway (interestingly, the conditions in Thailand were worse). An interesting fact the Mr. Hornfischer points out several times is how the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai poorly represented the conditions the men served under.
Rating wise this book was very easy for me. A solid 4.5 stars. While Mr. Hornfischer did a commendable job telling us about the crew, I had two problems. First, was his book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors was more solidly written than this one. There I felt as if I was there, this time I had someone telling me of the tale. My primary reason though for only 4.5 stars is that I'd read The Ghost That Died at Sunda Strait(by W.G. Winslow, a true 5 star book). Since I can't leave this as a half star I need to round the number. If I hadn't read Mr. Winslow's book prior, I might round up, however since I've read his book, this one gets rounded down. Sorry Mr. Hornfischer. A very good book though! It complements Mr. Winslow's nicely and picks up where Mr. Winslow chose to leave off. A very good job!
A Last-Minute Tribute.......2007-04-26
With America's WW II veterans dying at the rate of 1,500 a day, we are clearly into "the last lap". Therefore, Jim Hornfischer's excellent treatment of the cruiser Houston comes none too soon. His taut narrative actually involves two stories between the covers of one book: the ship's early combat in the Pacific and the surviving crew members' 3 1/2 year struggle for survival ashore.
There's a lesson for other researchers and authors: "the greatest generation" is fading fast, and its memories are fading even faster. Now is the time to grab the tape recorder or notepad and get the remaining veterans' stories while they are still accessible.
A Missing Piece of History.......2007-04-09
Americans generally think they know about world War II if they know about Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Front, and the Pacific War from the perspective of island hopping coming from the east side of the Pacific. What we usually overlook is the war in Southeast Asia. John Hornfischer has written what might be two books, one about the nearly-solo fight of an isloated ship in the face of the Japanese onslsught in 1942, and the other about the unbelievable suffering of prisoners of war in Japanese prison camps building the Thailand-Burma Railroad - familiar to most of us from the sanitized version seen in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The writing is good (though not overly great); but it is the content that makes this one of the best books written about World War II, the early struggle to give ground only very dearly, the suffering enduured by our soldiers, and finally the failure to meet the real needs of soldiers trying to readjust to society after three years of captivity.
Amazon.com
King Leopold of Belgium, writes historian Adam Hochschild in this grim history, did not much care for his native land or his subjects, all of which he dismissed as "small country, small people." Even so, he searched the globe to find a colony for Belgium, frantic that the scramble of other European powers for overseas dominions in Africa and Asia would leave nothing for himself or his people. When he eventually found a suitable location in what would become the Belgian Congo, later known as Zaire and now simply as Congo, Leopold set about establishing a rule of terror that would culminate in the deaths of 4 to 8 million indigenous people, "a death toll," Hochschild writes, "of Holocaust dimensions." Those who survived went to work mining ore or harvesting rubber, yielding a fortune for the Belgian king, who salted away billions of dollars in hidden bank accounts throughout the world. Hochschild's fine book of historical inquiry, which draws heavily on eyewitness accounts of the colonialists' savagery, brings this little-studied episode in European and African history into new light. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who fought Leopold: a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure and unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust. Adam Hochschild brings this largely untold story alive with the wit and skill of a Barbara Tuchman. Like her, he knows that history often provides a far richer cast of characters than any novelist could invent. Chief among them is Edmund Morel, a young British shipping agent who went on to lead the international crusade against Leopold. Another hero of this tale, the Irish patriot Roger Casement, ended his life on a London gallows. Two courageous black Americans, George Washington Williams and William Sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the Congo atrocities to the outside world. Sailing into the middle of the story was a young Congo River steamboat officer named Joseph Conrad. And looming above them all, the duplicitous billionaire King Leopold II. With great power and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West.
Customer Reviews:
the heart of man is desperately wicked.......2007-09-25
If you have somehow achieved sufficient literacy to read user reviews on Amazon, and still believe that people are basically good, now's your chance to read a book that will relieve you of this misconception. King Leopold's Ghost gives historical proof that there is no problem in recruiting enough people to torture, humiliate, and kill perfectly innocent Africans by the millions.
All I can say is thank God for the press and for Christian missionaries. If it hadn't been for those two institutions, the horror in Africa perpetrated by the Belgian king would have continued unabated until all of the land drained by the Congo river was stripped of all human inhabitants.
Ashes from the White Sepulcher .......2007-08-16
A masterful work. Hochschild outlines an entire world duped by charms and charming sentiments. Millions perished while Leopold gains wealth untold. Maiming, murder, mayhem and the crooked world of Presidents, Kings and Congresses. Leopold mastery of the world stage lasted decades. Long term lessons on how governments manage what is perceived to be the gospel truth. Hochschild deserves high recognition for this introduction into the world of tycoons and titans plundering a nation in the name of Christianity. Hochschild's assessment of current Zaire affairs are disturbing. Cobalt, uranium and a host of lesser necessities available to the of best armed encampments from the native riches of this African country. The plunder continues
The True Story Behind Heart of Darkness.......2007-07-14
In the annals of atrocities committed by human beings against ourselves, the historic and ongoing mistreatment of Africa by the Industrialized World takes the (highly dubious) prize. While an extremely generous revision of history might forgive the arrogance and naivety of the colonial powers for believing that clothing, Christianity, modern weapons and free markets would be enough to make Africa like Europe, King Leopold II of Belgium seems to stand out ahead of the pack. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild, in one respect, is a depressing narrative about how MILLIONS of Africans were "civilized" by trading their lives and liberty to grow Leopold's personal fortune. But it is also an inspiring story about how a few people, through their passion for the inalienable rights endowed to all people, shook Europe and America awake and their efforts to bring about real change in the Congo.
Hochschild, as he explains in his preface, first became aware of the crimes against humanity instigated by King Leopold by accident. A quote from Mark Twain (active in the Congo Movement during the decades around the turn of the 20th century) about the 8-10 million people that were helped to their graves by Leopold's regime in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Such a tragically huge tally is striking, and it inspired Hochschild to find out as much as he could. King Leopold's Ghost begins with a whirlwind synopsis of the first 400 years of European imposition upon Central Africa -- the Portuguese, Afoso, Prester John, the Colonial Era. The pace slows once Henry M. Stanley and Leopold enter the picture.
The lives of Stanley and Leopold, the two major do-ers in the tale of the subjugation of the Congo, are discussed in detail. Stanley, the explorer, ended up on Leopold's payroll because he really didn't have much else to do. His explorations down the Congo, though courageous and admired, did not raise the kind of interest he though it should in the Foreign Office of his native Britain. Stanley became available for employment just as Leopold's machinations and Machiavellian dealings were justifying (among his fellow monarchs) his desire to take over control of the Congo. Of course, according to Leopold, this was all just so that he could lift up the poor Africans and encourage free trade. Leopold, who never actually visited his kingdom in Africa, needed a surrogate in-country to clear the bush and establish trading stations. Stanley was his man.
Once trading stations were established in the Congo, Europeans came to trade. At first, the primary object of plunder was ivory, but then, with the advent of bicycles (and later automobiles) with inflatable tires, wild rubber became the main export. And so began the "Rubber Terror," where the people of the Congo were forced upon pain and death to harvest the latex. The result, as described by Hochschild, was unbelievable savagery on the part of the civilized world.
Fortunately for the world, the tale of the subjugation of the congo has some undo-ers as well, foremost among them E.D. Morel. The Congo Reform Movement had a worldwide following that made Leopold miserable. Unfortunately for the cause of justice, Leopold died and the Congo Free State (as it was then known) was merely transferred to Belgium -- Leopold was never punished for his crimes against humanity. In 1960, with the rising tide of anti-colonialism beginning to wax all over Africa, Belgium handed power over to the Congolese to rule themselves and try to pull a reasonable government of the people from the humid air. That has not faired particularly well either.
Adam Hochschild's book is well written and engaging. He made a valiant effort to find the words of actual Africans describing their plight during their struggle -- rather than just the victors, or, at best, some sympathetic compatriots of the victors. The paperback edition comes with an extended afterward where the author describes some of the consequences of bringing this too long forgotten take to the forefront again.
Detailed Readable History.......2007-07-05
Positives:
Detailed, readable history about Belgium's Scramble for Africa in the Congo. Hochschild does an excellent job of introducing key figures who aid King Leopold in getting 'his colony' in Africa as well as those who fought against the Belgian King's enslavement of the Congolese people. In addition, Hochschild intersperses the general experience of the colonizers and the Congolese with personal stories from sadistic colonizers, missionaries, the King's lobbyists, and most critically, some of the 10 million people devastated by King Leopold II's obsession.
Negatives:
Hochschild often distracts from the history he is so effectively telling through tangential introductions of more contemporary history and through personal analysis of historical events being presented. His personal analysis interrupts the pace of the history being told, and causes suspiscion about how the author chose to use the facts he researched.
THE ANATOMY OF TRAGEDIES.......2007-05-13
BEYOND THE FINE PRINTS OF COLONIAL EXPANSION IN AFRICA LIES THE TERMINAL SCARS OF CONQUEST TO WHICH AFRICA NOW PAYS HANSOMELY.
Amazon.com
Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani, and U.S. agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, is not solely a critique of the agency. Coll balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, like the capture of Mir Amal Kasi. Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani, and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities like George Tenet, William Casey, and anti-terrorism czar, Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess. While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9-11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan, and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a critique of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Coll details the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the failed efforts by U.S. forces to find and assassinate bin Laden in Afghanistan.
Customer Reviews:
a fine place to start at understanding 9/11.......2007-09-30
on 9/12/2001 i figured that i should take a stab at getting a better picture in my head of the political turbulence that storms through the middle east. but i'm a lazy person. and such an undertaking seemed a chore. i have enough chores in my life, so i procrastinated. i bought a small stack of books on the topic over the years, but they only served to make me feel bad, because i really didn't want to read any of them. but this month, about 6 years later than it should have been, i took the plunge. I picked up steve coll's "Ghost Wars," and started reading the thing. well, lo and behold it was not a chore at all. the first 475 pages flew by with ease, pulling me along eagerly. mr coll builds a narrative momentum here, while threading complex strands of people, countries and events into a coherent whole, that is superlative. his portrait of the saudi, afganistan, and pakistani governments, and their interactions with the united states government was particularly well done and fascinating. my only complaint (and the reason i give this book 4 stars instead of 5) is that after the bombing of our warship in yemen by bin laden's group, the narrative suddenly grinds to a halt and becomes bogged down in about a hundred pages of overly detailed description relating to unsuccessful plots to get bin laden himself. since we all know that bin laden was not caught, this long stretch of failed planning simply takes up too much space at the end of the book, and is not all that interesting. that said, by all means read this book for the excitement and enlightenment cast in the first 475 pages or so. i believe this book to be about as good a place to start as any for someone looking to better understand the road that led us to 9/11.
issues to be informed about.............2007-09-23
Interesting. A must read. I hope Mr. Coll writes the next segment of Afghanistan's history from September 11, 2001 onward.
The book covers a lot of ground and is lengthy, but is well written and reads quickly. Coll outlines the people and policies (or, the lack thereof) from the Soviet chapter in Afghanistan until the day before September 11, 2001. Throughout the historical narrative, the book covers and addresses scary amounts of money flowing in and out of Afghanistan, the conflicts between the CIA, the State Dept. and other U.S. agencies/policymakers in addressing issues related to Afghanistan, the Taleban, Al Q, and Bin Laden, and who understood what and when related to Al Q, Bin Laden, et al. Coll also critically addresses the roles of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in U.S. policy considerations, and those countries policies toward Afghanistan/knowledge of Al Q and Bin Laden.
Beyond the headlines, I was not very well informed on the history of Afghanistan. This book will bring the reader up to speed very quickly.
Unbeliveable history of Afghanistan.......2007-08-17
Don't be scared away by the 600+ pages. It flows freely and is really a riviting historical read. It provides quite a narrative on the history of this area and the difficult political and military situations that the US, Pakistan, Soviet Union and other influcencal Middle East countries had in this area of the world..
Ghost Wars.......2007-07-14
Ghost Wars is an account of U.S. assistance to the mujahedin during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and U.S. attempts to curtail Osama bin Laden's influence. Ghost Wars focuses on the CIA but author Steve Coll, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered Afghanistan for the Washington Post between 1989 and 1992, also covers the interagency policy making process in Washington.
The U.S. policy of helping the mujahedin in Afghanistan harass and ultimately defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan was, of course, a success. U.S. officials realized that the contending forces in Afghanistan were unlikely to form a unified national government after the Soviet's departure, but the United States was in Afghanistan to hurt the Soviet Union, not to build a new nation in Afghanistan. U.S. assistance efforts in Afghanistan were advanced by two allies, in particular, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Coll argues that, while the allies' interests coincided in containing Soviet expansion, U.S. interests were hurt by the efforts of Pakistan's intelligence service (the ISI) to strengthen radical Islamists after the Soviet collapse in Afghanistan and by Saudi Arabia's unwillingness to confront radical Islamists at home and in Afghanistan.
Coll criticizes U.S. policy in Afghanistan on several grounds. First, the United States relied heavily on the ISI to deliver assistance to the mujahedin, despite the ISI's preference for radical jihadists. Second, the United States' reliance on Saudi oil made it too hard for the United States to confront its ally over terrorism policies. Third, the United States missed opportunities to engage India as a democratic ally in South Asia. Fourth, the United States failed to develop "a strategy for engagement, democratization, secular education, and economic development among the peaceful but demoralized populations of the Islamic world."
U.S. policy toward bin Laden, in particular, could also be criticized for a lack of coherence. Coll's narrative describes a reluctance to give unambiguous instructions to kill bin Laden, even though capturing him alive would have been nearly impossible. Numerous opportunities arose to attack bin Laden but policymakers always demurred because they were reluctant to offend other governments or risk civilian deaths. At one point, referring to bin Laden, CIA director George Tenet announces that "We are at war," but the resources and single-minded determination that this announcement implies never materialized.
Long telling.......2007-06-14
This book is very long in reading. It does not follow any folw to be seen but jumps around. It is informative on a historical view however, to get to the few usfull items the reader has to read one mans musing.
Amazon.com
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare now sweeping Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the twentieth century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy.
This enthralling and often chilling political travelogue fully deciphers the Balkans' ancient passions and intractable hatreds for outsiders. For as Kaplan travels among the vibrantly-adorned churches and soul-destroying slums of the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, he allows us to see the region's history as a time warp in which Slobodan Milosevic becomes the reincarnation of a fourteenth-century Serbian martyr; Nicolae Ceaucescu is called "Drac," or "the Devil"; and the one-time Soviet Union turns out to be a continuation of the Ottoman Empire.
Book Description
This new edition includes six opinion pieces written by Robert Kaplan about the Balkans between l996 and 2000 beginning just after the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and ending after the conclusion of the Kosovo war, with the removal of Slobodan Milosevic from power
Customer Reviews:
"Ghosts" Flawed but Interesting at Times.......2007-09-18
I found Balkan Ghosts mildly enjoyable, and it accurately describes many of the fomenting trends that exploded in the 1990s in the region.
Stylistically, there are reasons for pause. It is somewhat schizophrenic, darting between history and travelogue. Others may be more fond of this hybrid history / travel genre, but I found it somewhat forced.
I also found the book overly fanciful and stereotypical at times. Kaplan finds much of what he sees alien, but to the extent that this is a travel book, Kaplan is entitled (and expected) to convey his Western sensibilities to his Western audience. Overall, I suspect there are better choices for many readers.
Interesting and entertaining introduction.......2007-01-12
Though slightly dated now, this work is an interesting and entertaining introduction to the complex political movements in the Balkans. This is not in depth on any one of the myriad of questions needing answers in the Balkans but is simply a quick overview in the form of a travelogue that gives you a feel for travelling through this fascinating part of the world where Ottoman and European cultures met and mingled.
Well Written but shallow.......2007-01-12
The quality of his writing style aside, the book promotes the dangerously deceptive notion that the war in the former Yugoslavia was a distinctly "Balkan" phenomenon. Its romantic and sexy theory of a bloody history that returns to wreck havoc on the region paints people from the Balkans as two dimensional characters who are naturally given to violence. Anyone who has visited the region knows this is not the case. The fact is that what happened in the Balkans can happen anywhere under the right (or wrong) circumstances, and indeed has happened across the world many times before and since. If you buy the book, enjoy the writing, but remain skeptical of his theories and read other words on the subject like Balkan Babel or Love thy Neighbor for a more complete view.
About Robert D. Kaplan.......2007-01-11
I have previously heard about Robert D. Kaplan from my guests. That's right I am running a small hostel in Suceava Romania and I have seen Balkan Ghosts and talked about it with my guests. I actually wanted to read it for a long long time but it wasn't really possible as AMAZON was not distributing to Romania until very very recently.
I have managed to read only the chapter about Romania in the 90's and I was simply amazed with the genius with which Kaplan combines opinions of people he met at that time and his knowledge on history of this part of the world. I will definitely read it all and I can't wait to get more of this combination.
So That's the Balkans???.......2007-01-04
This is a very well written book about the region known as the Balkans. Some call it a travel book; some a history book; some a current affairs book. I say yes to them all and add that it is also a book of cultural anthropology.
It all sounds like heady stuff about a very complicated region but Mr. Kaplan makes it all very readable and understandable with his personal anecdotes. You can almost smell the dank smoke filled room that he exchanges drinks and stories in but stories that helped me understand the pyche of the people in the region.
Quite honestly if he did not write in this style it would have been difficult to follow all the history, anger and angst of the area. 2 years ago I travelled to Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia and read portions of this book to try and understand where I was heading to. After I returned from the trip I read the entire book and I feel that the combination has been great. There is no way I could have appreciated and understood the people without reading this book.
It also doesn't hurt when Porter Goss the former CIA director endorses the book as one not only of great understanding but great foresight into the future's chaos in the region.
Want to learn about a region and people you do not know? This is a great book to start with.
Average customer rating:
- Relentless Narcissism
- disappointing
- really interesting
- Don't believe the hype.
- Extremely overrated
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Ghost World
Daniel Clowes
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Ghost World
ASIN: 1560974273 |
Amazon.com
Dan Clowes described the story in Ghost World as the examination of "the lives of two recent high school graduates from the advantaged perch of a constant and (mostly) undetectable eavesdropper, with the shaky detachment of a scientist who has grown fond of the prize microbes in his petri dish." From this perch comes a revelation about adolescence that is both subtle and coolly beautiful. Critics have pointed out Clowes's cynicism and vicious social commentary, but if you concentrate on those aspects, you'll miss the exquisite whole that Clowes has captured. Each chapter ends with melancholia that builds towards the amazing, detached, ghostlike ending.
Book Description
One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories.
Already one of the most heavily-publicized graphic novels in history, this new edition (featuring new covers by Clowes) should make the book more popular than ever. With lengthy write-ups in Time, Newsweek, Publisher's Weekly, Details, Vogue, Jane, and many others, press interest in the book and film promises to be higher than ever this spring.
Customer Reviews:
Relentless Narcissism.......2007-06-15
This is the affectedly vulgar tale of two young women who need some discipline. Those who feel they have the credentials to declare other human beings "ugly" will probably see themselves in the main characters and find them hilarious. For those who have grown up, the shtick will wear thin quickly. The art is beautiful and the writing definitely has its moments, but I guess I just can remember actually being a stupid jerk when I was younger and don't look back on those days with much fondness.
disappointing.......2007-05-15
I found "Ghost World" mentioned in an article listing
"top 10 books" for various people. Being no stranger to
graphic art books (aka "comics" :), I thought I'd try it.
I regret that the person recommending it apparently hadn't
read many books. The story failed to capture my interest, and the art didn't redeem it. I'd recommend anything by Will Eisner instead (e.g., A Contract With God).
really interesting.......2007-04-10
Clowes has managed to perfectly portrait the development of a teenage friendship and how it is affected by the transition of the main characters into adulthood. In this boom era of comics I seldom find works that touch upon a subject that most of us can relate to. It also has in my opinion a perfect and realistic ending. I would definitely recommend it.
Don't believe the hype........2007-01-25
I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn't my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But, I convinced myself a while back, there's no way I could NOT read the critically acclaimed graphic novel it was based on, right?
Best friends Enid and Rebecca are two unappealingly self-absorbed teenagers who project their own self-loathing onto everyone around them, stumbling through their final year of high school while slowly drifting apart from each other. Daniel Clowes chooses to tell their story almost too-subtly, offering discordant slice of life vignettes that attempt to illustrate their "growth" but mainly serve to remind the reader how annoying and shallow they are. It falls into the same trap many autobiographical efforts do, in every medium, of believing one's life is more interesting than it actually is, and I came close to putting it down, unfinished, several times.
Clowes' artwork is the main highlight here -- clean and, at times, unexpectedly emotive -- but it's neither enough to inject life into his dull, plodding story nor make his lead characters the least bit interesting. Charles Burns' Black Hole covers similar ground in a much more intriguing fashion, with a compelling story that is equal to his impressive artwork.
Ghost World: Don't believe the hype.
Extremely overrated.......2006-10-22
I am usually not so hard when reviewing, but I truly disliked this one. While the artwork is good, the storytelling is not and the literary sophistication, so highly praised among other reviewers, is at best ok. But I am not going to analize it so throughly because it doesn't even deseve it. It's the typical portrayal of the emptiness of adolescence and the reluctance of the two characters to enter an equally empty and depraved adult world.
I just found it without any substance whatsoever.
Book Description
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation.
In
Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring,
Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.
Download Description
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation.
In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.
"[Sides] liberates his story from documentary and turns it into epic.... More than any monument, Ghost Soldiers is the memorial both prisoners and liberators deserve."
THE SEATTLE TIMES
"The greatest World War II story never told."
ESQUIRE
"[A] beautiful account of heroism.... Sure to be a classic."
MEN'S JOURNAL
"Riveting and patriotically stirring without ever slipping into mawkishness or sentimentality."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Thoroughly researched and artfully told.... A compelling story filled with colorful characters."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding book.......2007-09-03
This was an outstanding book, about a real WW2 event. The author (Sides) does a terrific job of balancing the details of the raid itself, the personal story of a lot of the main figures, and the overall "big picture" of the Pacific war. He also addresses the cultural differences between the Empire of Japan and the USA that played so strong an underlying part in the Cabanatuan experience (or, for that matter, any prison camp run by the Japanese).
He is objective - he doesn't "slam" the Japs but attempts to explain the mindset they were in, while at the same time not letting them off the hook for atrocities.
Wonderful job in presenting this little-remembered but important American event in WW2...this book is well-worth the purchase and could be used as an historical textbook.
Gripping, Intense Account of Human Survival.......2007-07-28
Hampton Sides does an outstanding job of weaving past and present in this story of a World War II rescue mission. The unspeakable suffering endured by the POWs only makes their remarkable spirit more inspiring, and the author's in-depth research enables a comprehensive treatment of a complex story. Also fascinating were the exploits of little-known heroes like Claire Phillips and the chaplains who smuggled news and life-prolonging materials into the Cabanatuan camp. The description of the role played by Filipino guerrillas, the chronicle of the prisoners' homecoming, and especially the haunting quotations from prisoners' poignant diaries and poetry round out a very satisfying read. Highly recommended.
Important story, well told.......2007-07-05
I found this on a young adult reading list, but it is suitable for adults as well. A warning for young people and especially those who want to suggest it to young people, it is very violent and graphic in some places. That is appropriate for the subject matter, but some readers might be disturbed by it. Those who expect a ghost story will be disappointed. I found it a fascinating and compelling story, very well told. I don't usually read war fiction, so I don't have the same standards as those who are looking for more technical information. It is an important story that needed to be told. Reading it in these times brings all sorts of modern resonances about war, prisoners, cultural differences to mind. The two one star reviews that this book has received so far seem to be from people who don't understand the rating system.
A little known epic recue.......2007-06-03
Being a self proclaimed WWII buff, I was surprised by how little I knew about the events that are covered in this book. It's an amazingly heart wretching story of survival and heroism in the Pacific Theatre of the war. The book is very readable and enjoyable. Definatly recommended.
Heroic.......2007-05-20
After being abandoned in the Philippines during WWII, our surrendered soldiers endured unbelievable brutality that started with the Bataan Death March and ended with a three year stint at the Cabanatuan prison camp. With disease, torture, starvation and madness, the soldiers hang on to hope, unaware that America was finally back to save them; led by the 6th Rangers and a group of Philippine Guerillas. Hampton Sides re-telling of one of the biggest rescue missions of WWII is superbly crafted and researched.
Heroism is the key theme in this book. The prisoners of war who witnessed mass executions, degrading torture and slow physical deterioration showed great courage in the face of death on a daily basis. The Rangers and Guerillas who were dispatched to save them also showed tremendous courage to execute a rescue mission where the odds were stacked against them. To save 150 soldiers that remained at Cabanatuan, the small group of rescuers had to attack a camp run by Japanese, with 7,000 Japanese troops only a few miles away. Anything less than a perfectly executed attack, along with a few lucky breaks along the way, would have resulted in the death of the prisoners and their liberators.
An amazing story told effectively by Hampton Sides who places the reader in the Philippines by using shifting views and strong character development. Just another story from the great Pacific War that will make the patriotism in your heart soar. Not only for the men left to die, but for those that sacrificed everything to bring home the startling few that remained behind.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The Bataan Death March was just the beginning of the woes American soldiers captured by the Japanese army in the Philippines had to endure. The survivors of the march faced not only their captors' regular brutality (having surrendered, they were considered to be less than honorable foes), but also a host of illnesses such as dysentery and malaria. For three years these "ghost soldiers" lived in misery, suffering terrible losses.
When Army Rangers among Douglas MacArthur's forces arrived in the Philippines, they hatched a daring plan to liberate their captured comrades, a mission that, if successful, would prove to be a tremendous morale booster at the front and at home. Led by a young officer named Henry Mucci (called "Little MacArthur" for his constant pipe as well as his brilliance as a strategist), a combined Ranger and Filipino guerrilla force penetrated far behind enemy lines, attacked Japanese forces guarding Allied prisoners at a jungle outpost called Cabanatuan, and shepherded hundreds of prisoners to safety, with an angry Japanese army in hot pursuit. Amazingly, they suffered only light casualties.
In Ghost Soldiers, journalist Hampton Sides recounts that daring rescue, once known to every American schoolchild but now long forgotten. A gifted storyteller, Sides packs his narrative with detailed descriptions of the principal actors on both sides of the struggle and with moments of danger and exhilaration. Thrilling from start to finish, his book celebrates the heroism of hundreds of warriors and brings renewed attention to one of the Rangers' finest hours. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
A tense, powerful, grand account of one of the most daring exploits of World War II.
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected troops from the elite U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty miles in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POWs who had spent three years in a surreally hellish camp near the city of Cabanatuan. The prisoners included the last survivors of the Bataan Death March left in the camp, and their extraordinary will to live might soon count for nothing—elsewhere in the Philippines, the Japanese Army had already executed American prisoners as it retreated from the advancing U.S. Army. As the Rangers stealthily moved through enemy-occupied territory, they learned that Cabanatuan had become a major transshipment point for the Japanese retreat, and instead of facing the few dozen prison guards, they could possibly confront as many as 8,000 battle-hardened enemy troops.
Hampton Sides's vivid minute-by-minute narration of the raid and his chronicle of the prisoners' wrenching experiences are masterful. But
Ghost Soldiers is far more than a thrilling battle saga. Hampton Sides explores the mystery of human behavior under extreme duress—the resilience of the prisoners, who defied the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and unspeakable tortures; the violent cultural clashes with Japanese guards and soldiers steeped in the warrior ethic of Bushido; the remarkable heroism of the Rangers and Filipino guerrillas; the complex motivations of the U.S. high command, some of whom could justly be charged with abandoning the men of Bataan in 1942; and the nearly suicidal bravado of several spies, including priests and a cabaret owner, who risked their lives to help the prisoners during their long ordeal.
At once a gripping depiction of men at war and a compelling story of redemption,
Ghost Soldiers joins such landmark books as
Flags of Our Fathers,
The Greatest Generation,
The Rape of Nanking, and
D-Day in preserving the legacy of World War II for future generations.
Customer Reviews:
gripping, heroic WWII tale.......2007-04-26
My father had a friend who he always identified as "that guy survived the Bataan Death March". I was too young to really understand what that was but the way my dad became so reverand about it I knew it must have been bad. I now finally know just how bad it was. In a gripping, harrowing, page turner of a book follow the rescue attempt of American GI's from
Cabanatuan death camp in the Philippines. Unforgettable.
Worth the read, but not perfect........2007-03-17
This is more of the story about the prison camp and the prisoners themselves, so if you are looking for a super dramatic battle story this is not it. The raid is not an easy or boring one by any means, but it is no huge conflict. That said, it doesnt take away from the story, because while I started the book looking for a big battle, i later found myself interested in the life of the prison camp. Also, the book does tend to slow down to a halt in a few places, but it does not kill the read. Anyway, it truly is worth the read and i give it four good stars, pick it up.
Very well written.......2007-01-14
This is a fascinating, extremely well-written (an easy read) book about an interesting subject (though I hear the movie based on the book is not very good). I am giving it 4 1/2 stars rather arbitrarily, because the author does not appear to be a professional historian, does appear to make a few historical errors, and because I like to save 5 stars for professional historians. After all, they make less money than regular authors and have to teach students for a living on top of that!
More than just a flight to freedom..........2006-09-11
Ghost Soldiers is an excellent account of the liberation of the allied POW's from the Cabanatuan death camp in the Philippines. The book consists of a very large part of primary material, the authors interviews with the former prisoners and in some cases their surviving relatives.
Where most of the healthier POWs had been shipped elsewhere at the time, including to Japan, those remaining in the Cabanatuan camp towards the end of January 1945 were the "sick and the dregs, the sickest and the weakest." As the book also states "They were a special lot, a subset of a subset of bad fortune, an elite of the damned."
General Walter Kruger was General MacArthur's commander of the U.S. Sixth Army. He was tasked by MacArthur to "Go to Manila. Go around them, go through them, but go to Manila." This presented General Kruger with a problem when he received intelligence of a prison camp just over 30 miles away from his forces, that contained the remaining 500 or so allied POW's, mostly survivors from the infamous Bataan death march. The intelligence indicated that the Japanese were likely to execute all prisoners if the allies got too close to Cabanatuan.
Since they could not slow down their advance, the General quickly dispatched an outfit of 121 Rangers of the 6th Ranger Battalion. The rangers were at the time a new and largely unproven elite force of highly trained soldiers, that would work together with the local guerilla to liberate the POWs. The urgency of the mission was immense. Intelligence indicated that they had less than 3 days before the Japanese were likely to start massacring these prisoners due to the proximity of allied forces.
This book describes the events leading up to the surrender of the American forces in the Philippines and the subsequent march that has been referred to as the "Bataan death march". The book's focus switches frequently between the lives of the prisoners in the camp, and the actions of their liberators led by Colonel Henry Mucci. The book culminates with the actual prison break and the harrowing flight back to allied lines with these 513 men, many too weak to walk, with the Japanese in hot pursuit.
The book does a very good job at giving a good insight into the daily lives of the prisoners. It contains sometimes tragic but also comical accounts of how the prisoners were affected by countless infections and severe vitamin deficiency. It shows how the prisoners managed to retain a sort of normalcy in the situation they were in, and how their amazing ingenuity helped make it their "home" for three years.
I found every aspect of this book exciting, whether it was about the history leading up to Bataan march, information about the daily lives of the prisoners, or the actual rescue. It becomes obvious that the rescue could not have been undertaken without the help of the two Philippine guerilla units lead by Eduardo Joson and Juan Pajota. These are given their due credit in this book as well.
I do not hesitate to give the book 5 stars - highly recommended.
A gruesome POW journey and the great raid that liberated those that survived........2006-05-16
This is a great book that goes back and forward detailing two journeys that finally meet at the end.
The first journey was made by American troops from the battles of Battan and Corregidor that surrendered to the Japanese army in the Philippines, confronting a gruesome reality of suffering and misery that placed them face to face with the Japanese Imperial Army that at the time was brain washed by a society heavily influenced by the military and believed they were a superior race and that surrender was one of the worst disgraces a human being could do to their divine emperor, family and country. This grandiose mentality automatically categorized the newly surrender American as an insignificant race not worthy of humane treatment. As a consequence, they experienced starvation, torture and death by a variety of methods including: bad nutrition, tropical diseases, decapitation and shooting.
The second journey is the preparation and execution of a courageous raid by the 6th Ranger Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci and their assault commander Capitan Robert Prince and supported by equally courage's Philippines' guerrillas, that finally ended with the liberation of POW's of the Cabanatuan camp and their slow and dangerous trip back to the American lines with the help of brave Philippines' civilians.
This is one of those well written amazing true stories, which everyone should read.
Book Description
Ghostly legends abound wherever history has made its mark-from battlefields to monuments, prisons to inns. If these places have existed for centuries or more, and if they are where history-especially tragic history-was made, ghost stories will inevitably follow. The World's Most Haunted Places: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com explores the history, folklore, and ghostly legends behind some of the world's most fascinating points of interest. Objective, educational, and entertaining, Ghostvillage.com's founder, Jeff Belanger, speaks with witnesses, psychics, and ghost hunters who tell their stories and share their research on haunted places around the globe. Take a world tour of history, the supernatural, and the macabre. You will explore libraries, museums, restaurants, inns, and landmarks from North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. But be careful: The World's Most Haunted Places may make you a believer!
Customer Reviews:
Interesting book.......2007-05-22
For some reason this book really made me want to travel and visit some of these places, I plan to start with the Whaley house next month and Queen Mary after that.
The book doesn't go into more than a few pages per place, but it makes you want to research more about each place, it certainly sparks interest, and even if you do not believe in ghost it's just a cool little bit of history mixed with folklore.
One really great thing about this book, the author gives you contact information, so if you are like me and wish to visit, you can contact them.
The Worlds Most Haunted Places.......2006-11-10
I really enjoyed this book. It goes to show you that haunted places
are all over, not in just one place.
If you are interested in this subject at all, I would suggest you get
this book.
You will enjoy it I'm sure.
Scary and Satisfying!.......2006-08-04
Jeff Belanger writes about the world's most haunted places in this book with satisfying detail and supporting stories from people who experienced the haunting. This book covers castles, mansions, pubs, hotels and more. He delves into the history of each place - something that is often missing from other books about ghosts. I highly recommend this book if you love to read about ghosts.
Misleading Title & Poorly Written.......2006-06-28
I did not particularly care for this book for three reasons. First, most of the locations listed certainly do not fall into the "World's Most Haunted Places" category. Second, the locations are well-known to those with an interest in true ghost stories--in other words, nothing new. And third, the author makes numerous grammatical errors and his writing style/ability is about that of a high school student. Mr. Belanger just doesn't have what it takes to tell a good ghost story.
Like others.......2006-06-27
Although I enjoyed this book, alot of it was like other haunted listing books. Too repetitive. Good addition to your paranormal library.
Books:
- Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Secret Past
- He Chose the Nails
- Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- House of M: World of M, Featuring Wolverine
- How to Draw Action Dragonball Z (Dragonball Z)
- I Wish I Were a Butterfly
- If Wishes Were Horses
- In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- Communion with God: An Uncommon Dialogue
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- Applied Numerical Methods with MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists
- Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World
- Elizabeth I: Collected Works
- Through T'Mill
- Guess I'm Lucky: My Life in Horseracing
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
The New Spaniards, 2nd Edition
Iberia
Paris: The Secret History
Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life
