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Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors
"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Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account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.
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.
530 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2006
379 people are currently reading
3795 people want to read
About the author
James D. Hornfischer
16 books400 followersJames D. Hornfischer was an American literary agent, author, and naval historian.
A one-time book editor at the publishing company HarperCollins in New York, Hornfischer was later president of Hornfischer Literary Management, a literary agency in Austin, Texas.
A one-time book editor at the publishing company HarperCollins in New York, Hornfischer was later president of Hornfischer Literary Management, a literary agency in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
October 24, 2023
What a great story about the will to live. The story focuses mainly on the men of the USS Houston who was one of the last ships to be sunk by the Japanese during the ill-fated Dutch East Indies Campaign in 1942 and their ordeal as prisoners-of-war. Yet the book contains so much more.
It is about the history of the USS Houston and its links to President Roosevelt who used the ship as his official means of transport (and his unofficial means of fishing) and its pre-war heyday as lead ship of the US Asiatic Fleet and the unpreparedness of this same fleet and other Allied forces for the fight against the Japanese. The story also covers the start of the war and the futile, yet brave battles fought by the ABDA forces and the losses of most of the ships of this multinational force and of the Houston's great captain, Albert Rooks and his posthumous award of the Medal of Honor.
Intertwined with the survivors of the USS Houston is the stories of both the HMAS Perth's men and the men of the Lost Battalion (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) who suffered alongside them on the construction of the Death Railway between Thailand and Burma, which horrors are unimaginable in modern times.
The book follows all of these men across Asia to where they were imprisoned and forced into slavery by their Japanese captors. Each of these stories deserves its own book, but the author has crafted a wonderful book out of all of them. Highly recommended reading to learn what the human spirit can endure.
It is about the history of the USS Houston and its links to President Roosevelt who used the ship as his official means of transport (and his unofficial means of fishing) and its pre-war heyday as lead ship of the US Asiatic Fleet and the unpreparedness of this same fleet and other Allied forces for the fight against the Japanese. The story also covers the start of the war and the futile, yet brave battles fought by the ABDA forces and the losses of most of the ships of this multinational force and of the Houston's great captain, Albert Rooks and his posthumous award of the Medal of Honor.
Intertwined with the survivors of the USS Houston is the stories of both the HMAS Perth's men and the men of the Lost Battalion (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) who suffered alongside them on the construction of the Death Railway between Thailand and Burma, which horrors are unimaginable in modern times.
The book follows all of these men across Asia to where they were imprisoned and forced into slavery by their Japanese captors. Each of these stories deserves its own book, but the author has crafted a wonderful book out of all of them. Highly recommended reading to learn what the human spirit can endure.
November 11, 2013
Reads like Band of Brothers. Sounds like "the horror...the horror."
All the pieces are here: the finely crafted storytelling with intentionally-though-seamlessly placed details all fitting together and falling into place so that you hardly notice the author's hand, as you should not. You should be focused on the story, and that's not difficult as this is a terrible, true tale of war and human perseverance through some of the harshest treatment man has ever doled out to man.
Reading Ship of Ghosts you get the sense that James D. Hornfischer spent an appropriately long, careful time putting this together. From its entrance into World War II, its naval battles, its surviving crew members turned prisoners of war and their interminable struggle for survival at the hands of their inhumane captors, every facet of the USS Houston's story receives its due.
Is this book perfect? I don't know, but I couldn't think of any reason not to give it 5 stars, so I did.
All the pieces are here: the finely crafted storytelling with intentionally-though-seamlessly placed details all fitting together and falling into place so that you hardly notice the author's hand, as you should not. You should be focused on the story, and that's not difficult as this is a terrible, true tale of war and human perseverance through some of the harshest treatment man has ever doled out to man.
Reading Ship of Ghosts you get the sense that James D. Hornfischer spent an appropriately long, careful time putting this together. From its entrance into World War II, its naval battles, its surviving crew members turned prisoners of war and their interminable struggle for survival at the hands of their inhumane captors, every facet of the USS Houston's story receives its due.
Is this book perfect? I don't know, but I couldn't think of any reason not to give it 5 stars, so I did.
September 5, 2019
Non-fiction account of one of the lesser known events in WWII: the sinking of the USS Houston, covering the history of the ship itself, first-person accounts of its battles, and the crew’s harrowing experiences as prisoners of war after its sinking. The ship was part of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in 1942, when the Allies were organizing into a joint fighting force of American, Australian, British, and Dutch. While navigating the Sunda Strait, the USS Houston and HMAS Perth interrupted a large-scale Japanese invasion of Java, were involved in a terrifying night-time battle, and were both sunk. The bulk of the narrative then follows the survivors, who are eventually captured and sent to various POW camps. Many are used as forced labor to build (by hand) the Thai-Burma Railway. The final portions of the book cover the end of the war and how the remaining survivors fared upon returning home.
Hornfischer excels at describing the sounds, sights, smells of the battle scenes:
He brings the fears of the sailors to the forefront as they struggle to survive the sinking:
He vividly describes their horrific ordeal on the Thai-Burma Railway, where they endure forced labor, starvation, disease, brutality, and the perils of the jungle:
Hornfischer has assembled a cohesive and compelling narrative based upon official documents, a compiled library of participants’ voice recordings, and the author’s own interviews many years later. Both the small details of personal stories and the larger context of military strategy are covered. I appreciated the author’s inclusion of insights into how these courageous captives survived such inhumane conditions. The account becomes more fragmented as it progresses. It may have been more cohesive if the author had focused on a more limited number of personal stories in each section. It could also have benefitted by the inclusion of more photos and maps. This book is an absorbing tribute to the men of the USS Houston. Though it can be gut-wrenching to read about the horrors of war, it is ultimately a testament to the triumph of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity.
Hornfischer excels at describing the sounds, sights, smells of the battle scenes:
“The Houston took her first hit when a projectile struck the forecastle, starting fires in the paint locker that danced brightly for about a quarter of an hour. The night air was rancid with cordite. Though the winds were still, the wisps of gray-white muzzle smoke flying from the Houston’s guns fell quickly away, left behind like an airborne wake covering her trail of foam.”
He brings the fears of the sailors to the forefront as they struggle to survive the sinking:
“Lungs burning, Gillan felt himself bump up against the ship’s rail. He was finally free of the enclosed torpedo space. The cord to his miner’s lamp snagged momentarily on the rail, but then he was floating again, being washed up and down, unsure of which direction the surface was. He felt currents whirlpooling around him. The sensation evoked an amusement park ride before the flashing of red, green, and purple lights marked the possibility that his brain was starving for oxygen as he drowned.”
He vividly describes their horrific ordeal on the Thai-Burma Railway, where they endure forced labor, starvation, disease, brutality, and the perils of the jungle:
“Pressured to perform five years of work in twelve short months, they would be given over to the jungle and left to wrestle it toward civilization. They would contend with all its elements—its hardwoods, rocks, and vines, its predators both mammalian and bacterial, under the lash of their enemy and assault from the elements. The work would harden some and consume others. They would forget all but the most basic memories of home, picking their way through a life in captivity that would become the grist for sleepless nights ever afterward.”
Hornfischer has assembled a cohesive and compelling narrative based upon official documents, a compiled library of participants’ voice recordings, and the author’s own interviews many years later. Both the small details of personal stories and the larger context of military strategy are covered. I appreciated the author’s inclusion of insights into how these courageous captives survived such inhumane conditions. The account becomes more fragmented as it progresses. It may have been more cohesive if the author had focused on a more limited number of personal stories in each section. It could also have benefitted by the inclusion of more photos and maps. This book is an absorbing tribute to the men of the USS Houston. Though it can be gut-wrenching to read about the horrors of war, it is ultimately a testament to the triumph of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity.
November 25, 2019
Hornfischer, doesn't a name of that caliber sound like it should be Admiral Hornfischer?
'Ship of Ghosts' is a definite goodread. You usually pick up a history book because you are interested in the subject, but sometimes text is a bit dry and tough to get through, well that's no problem here. I was always looking forward to time to continue reading.
Hornfischer selected a perfect niche with this early days of the war in the Pacific, which in the shadow of tales of the later war years of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, hasn't been covered much.
One facet that keeps the story interesting is that the scene continually changes with the author easily moving you around the theater with the various links across the world to the Ghost Sailors. For example, when the sailors are POWs, some are in Burma, Java, and Japan; there are perspectives from all their experiences, as well as their relatives on the home front who are looking for clues as to their fate. Also some fascinating personal asides, such as when an officer's Naval Academy ring makes the journey from Java through the Japanese Army to his widow in Pennsylvania.
An added interest for me, one of the Army Artillery units also captured on Java, the 'Lost Battalion', was from Texas and their camp is just down the road from where I live, Camp Mabry, which is still operational.
The chapters are short, which i know is mostly shrinkological, but it makes it easier to get in a chapter or two at lunch or halftime. The pics are great and the maps are well placed, which I find real helpful in venturing around the Pacific.
I'm looking forward to 'Neptune's Inferno' Hornfischer's latest book.
'Ship of Ghosts' is a definite goodread. You usually pick up a history book because you are interested in the subject, but sometimes text is a bit dry and tough to get through, well that's no problem here. I was always looking forward to time to continue reading.
Hornfischer selected a perfect niche with this early days of the war in the Pacific, which in the shadow of tales of the later war years of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, hasn't been covered much.
One facet that keeps the story interesting is that the scene continually changes with the author easily moving you around the theater with the various links across the world to the Ghost Sailors. For example, when the sailors are POWs, some are in Burma, Java, and Japan; there are perspectives from all their experiences, as well as their relatives on the home front who are looking for clues as to their fate. Also some fascinating personal asides, such as when an officer's Naval Academy ring makes the journey from Java through the Japanese Army to his widow in Pennsylvania.
An added interest for me, one of the Army Artillery units also captured on Java, the 'Lost Battalion', was from Texas and their camp is just down the road from where I live, Camp Mabry, which is still operational.
The chapters are short, which i know is mostly shrinkological, but it makes it easier to get in a chapter or two at lunch or halftime. The pics are great and the maps are well placed, which I find real helpful in venturing around the Pacific.
I'm looking forward to 'Neptune's Inferno' Hornfischer's latest book.
April 26, 2019
I’ve read several books by Hornfischer and they’ve all been good. This one was no exception, although I think I would have enjoyed it even more had I read it instead of listening to it (there was a large cast, and it was sometimes a challenge to keep track of them all, and extremely hard to flip back a few pages on an audiobook).
The book focuses on the story of the USS Houston, the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet at the beginning of WWII. (Confession: I didn’t know there was an Asiatic Fleet, despite having read many books on WWII. I thought everything in that part of the world was part of the Pacific Fleet. Now I know better.) The US Navy was woefully unprepared to fight the Japanese Navy in late 1941/early 1942, and the sailors of the Asiatic fleet paid a high price in a series of mismatched encounters.
Hornfischer really brings to life the naval battles fought by the Houston, then its sinking, along with the HMAS Perth, at the Battle of Sunda Strait. The Houston and Perth also sunk several Japanese ships, leaving a sea full of survivors trying to make their way to land. Some did, some didn’t. Some were shot by their enemy as they tried to stay afloat.
Most of the shipwrecked men who survived ended up in a Japanese-run prison camp. There they were joined, eventually, by artillery crews from Texas who were captured when the Dutch forces they were supporting surrendered to the Japanese. The artillerymen, part of a nationalized Texas National Guard unit, were ordered to turn over all their equipment to the Japanese. The men from Texas instead tried to ruin as much of it as possible. They did things like seeing which type of vehicle engine lasted the longest when run without oil. (But I can’t remember which ran longest—the Fords or the Chevys or something else. Again, audiobooks are great for multitasking but not so great for looking up things I don’t quite remember.)
Some of the prisoners eventually were sent to Japan, where they worked as slaves in a variety of mines and factories. Most of them—American, Australian, and British—were sent to build the Burma-Thailand Railway, also known as the Burma-Thailand Death Railway. The guards were brutal. The rations were small. Disease was rampant. Medical supplies were scarce. The work was long and hard and dangerous.
The plight of the POWs was later depicted in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Hollywood didn’t get it right—it glossed over things like tropical ulcers and the skeletons the men turned into as they were starved of food. But maybe Hollywood isn’t completely to blame. Most of the men didn’t talk about it when they got home. Or if they did, they didn’t share much of the hardships—instead focusing on stories of getting back at the guards, like the times they peed in the guard’s bathwater or stole food out from under their noses.
For years, family back home had no idea what really happened to the sailors and soldiers. Were they alive? Were they dead? Hornfischer covers a little of what they faced while waiting and wondering about the fate of their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers.
This was a good book, highlighting courage and endurance, and helping keep in memory the sacrifices those men made and the challenges they endured. It's not my favorite from Hornfischer (that's still The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour), but it easily rounds up to 5 stars.
The book focuses on the story of the USS Houston, the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet at the beginning of WWII. (Confession: I didn’t know there was an Asiatic Fleet, despite having read many books on WWII. I thought everything in that part of the world was part of the Pacific Fleet. Now I know better.) The US Navy was woefully unprepared to fight the Japanese Navy in late 1941/early 1942, and the sailors of the Asiatic fleet paid a high price in a series of mismatched encounters.
Hornfischer really brings to life the naval battles fought by the Houston, then its sinking, along with the HMAS Perth, at the Battle of Sunda Strait. The Houston and Perth also sunk several Japanese ships, leaving a sea full of survivors trying to make their way to land. Some did, some didn’t. Some were shot by their enemy as they tried to stay afloat.
Most of the shipwrecked men who survived ended up in a Japanese-run prison camp. There they were joined, eventually, by artillery crews from Texas who were captured when the Dutch forces they were supporting surrendered to the Japanese. The artillerymen, part of a nationalized Texas National Guard unit, were ordered to turn over all their equipment to the Japanese. The men from Texas instead tried to ruin as much of it as possible. They did things like seeing which type of vehicle engine lasted the longest when run without oil. (But I can’t remember which ran longest—the Fords or the Chevys or something else. Again, audiobooks are great for multitasking but not so great for looking up things I don’t quite remember.)
Some of the prisoners eventually were sent to Japan, where they worked as slaves in a variety of mines and factories. Most of them—American, Australian, and British—were sent to build the Burma-Thailand Railway, also known as the Burma-Thailand Death Railway. The guards were brutal. The rations were small. Disease was rampant. Medical supplies were scarce. The work was long and hard and dangerous.
The plight of the POWs was later depicted in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Hollywood didn’t get it right—it glossed over things like tropical ulcers and the skeletons the men turned into as they were starved of food. But maybe Hollywood isn’t completely to blame. Most of the men didn’t talk about it when they got home. Or if they did, they didn’t share much of the hardships—instead focusing on stories of getting back at the guards, like the times they peed in the guard’s bathwater or stole food out from under their noses.
For years, family back home had no idea what really happened to the sailors and soldiers. Were they alive? Were they dead? Hornfischer covers a little of what they faced while waiting and wondering about the fate of their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers.
This was a good book, highlighting courage and endurance, and helping keep in memory the sacrifices those men made and the challenges they endured. It's not my favorite from Hornfischer (that's still The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour), but it easily rounds up to 5 stars.
September 5, 2007
I picked this book up primarily as it was my father's first ship in 37, right off the tobacco farm. fortunately for me he was transferred off before the beginning of the war. unfortunately for him, he was transferred to Pearl Harbor, and was still there Dec. 7th. But he made it through in one piece. I still have my father's souvenir photo album from the Houston in my closet, and many of the photos in it and stories I heard growing up appear in the book. So, as you might imagine, the book resonates with me. It's an extremely well told story of events that were largely unknown during the war, and forgotten afterwards as there are no victories against all odds in this story. However the men onboard fought valiently with very little chance of survival and richly deserve to have their story told so well.
January 19, 2016
I believe that the USN Houston was the first American capital ship to take on the Imperial Japanese surface navy. This story is told from the mouths of those who lived through the ordeal. The ship and crew acquitted themselves according to the highest standards of the United States Navy until they were sunk and survivors were captured. Captivity was horrible and Hornfischer brings all this back to life.
I do not know if it is the Pacific War I love reading about or if it is the way that Hornfischer can tell a story? Chapters are short and manageable and filled with interesting personal accounts. Like the Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Neptune’s Inferno, Ship of Ghosts is another winner. In my mind, James Hornfischer is batting 1,000. If there were a James D. Hornfischer book club where members are automatically shipped and billed every new release, I would join it. Pick a copy up. It is hard to put down.
I do not know if it is the Pacific War I love reading about or if it is the way that Hornfischer can tell a story? Chapters are short and manageable and filled with interesting personal accounts. Like the Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Neptune’s Inferno, Ship of Ghosts is another winner. In my mind, James Hornfischer is batting 1,000. If there were a James D. Hornfischer book club where members are automatically shipped and billed every new release, I would join it. Pick a copy up. It is hard to put down.
August 16, 2021
What a story! James Hornfischer and Bernard Cornwell can write riveting battle scenes. But Cornwell writes fiction while Hornfischer brings true accounts to such heart-pounding intensity that I always have to put the book down after the battle. It was so here after the Battle of Sunda Strait. The Houston and the Perth go down fighting. Hornfischer also gives appropriate attention to the very skilled and courageous Japanese sailors. After the battle, his description of the cruel Japanese treatment of the captured sailors and soldiers will harden your heart. And at the end he tells some stories that will soften hard feelings somewhat. This is a 5 Star book, so well done.
The Americans arrive in Australia and each side has to educate the other:
The close relationship between the Aussies and the Americans is revealed early:
The POWs, army and navy alike, are shipped to Burma and Thailand to help build the railroad depicted in the “The Bridge over the River Kwai”. Hornfischer provides a lot of information on the construction of the railroad and sharp critiques of the iconic movie—which was not accurate. The Japanese had ways of encouraging work, usually not pleasant but the Aussies provide a prophecy:
It was interesting to see the differences in the Eastern and Western minds towards each other. And occasionally, the meeting of like minds. An encounter later in the war after the railroad project had been completed and the Japanese were losing:
A tremendous story that had been lost and Hornfischer brought back to life. His untimely passing leaves us all poorer for the stories and accounts that will not be written.
The Americans arrive in Australia and each side has to educate the other:
The close relationship between the Aussies and the Americans is revealed early:
The POWs, army and navy alike, are shipped to Burma and Thailand to help build the railroad depicted in the “The Bridge over the River Kwai”. Hornfischer provides a lot of information on the construction of the railroad and sharp critiques of the iconic movie—which was not accurate. The Japanese had ways of encouraging work, usually not pleasant but the Aussies provide a prophecy:
It was interesting to see the differences in the Eastern and Western minds towards each other. And occasionally, the meeting of like minds. An encounter later in the war after the railroad project had been completed and the Japanese were losing:
A tremendous story that had been lost and Hornfischer brought back to life. His untimely passing leaves us all poorer for the stories and accounts that will not be written.
October 19, 2024
Hornfischer seems to have made his dime writing about WWII, and Ship of Fools chronicles the Huston light cruiser, an aging ship that became the flagship of sorts for the Asiatic US fleet. Before WWII kicked off with Japan, the US possessed a small fleet in the Asiatic region, primarily vintage WWI 'cans' (destroyers) and some other rather obsolete craft. The imperial powers, primarily Britain and the Dutch, also had some naval ships there, and when the war in Europe started, they comprised a loose alliance of the allies. One of the reasons I picked this up involves the awesome Destroyermen series, which starts with Into the Storm. In this series, a few of these US Asiatic destroyers crossed/entered into a parallel Earth while fleeing from the Japanese navy; Anderson provides a very detailed depiction of life aboard one of these 'cans'.
Anyway, the Huston was perhaps the most powerful allied naval ship there, but during the Japanese initial push to conquer Asia, became one of the first casualties of the war; of her 1000+ crew, some three to four hundred became Japanese POWs, and spent the entire war as POWs. This book essentially tells the tales of these sailors, first aboard the ship, then their lives as prisoners. To say the sailors had it rough woefully underestimates what these people lived through. After being moved around to various hell hole prison camps, most of the crew eventually became forced labor on the Thailand/Burma rail line, made famous after the war by the book/film The Bridge over the River Kwai. Hornfischer repeatedly trashes this book/novel for being inaccurate, but I will skip those details.
While the tales of the naval battles in the first part of the novel made me grimace at what these sailors went through, the sinking of the ship and their capture made it even worse. The Japanese did not really have a concept of POWs, as their troops were not expected to surrender. Forget the Geneva conventions, which Japan never adopted; the prisoners became an expendable cheap labor force for shitty jobs, cheap because they did not have to feed them much. The starvation diets and hard labor meant the prisoners died like flies. The building of the railway was harrowing! Over 20% of the POWs involved died, and over 200,000 thousand 'slaves' (e.g., the local populations coerced to work on the rail line) did also.
In effect, Hornfischer tells the tale of WWII from a very localized perspective, namely the crew of the Huston. Well researched to a fault, Hornfisher fills the texts with quotes from interviews, surviving documents, and even a couple dozen pictures from the era. Quite a tale of survival for those who lived through it, an on the flip side, an epic eulogy for those that died. 4 serious stars!
Anyway, the Huston was perhaps the most powerful allied naval ship there, but during the Japanese initial push to conquer Asia, became one of the first casualties of the war; of her 1000+ crew, some three to four hundred became Japanese POWs, and spent the entire war as POWs. This book essentially tells the tales of these sailors, first aboard the ship, then their lives as prisoners. To say the sailors had it rough woefully underestimates what these people lived through. After being moved around to various hell hole prison camps, most of the crew eventually became forced labor on the Thailand/Burma rail line, made famous after the war by the book/film The Bridge over the River Kwai. Hornfischer repeatedly trashes this book/novel for being inaccurate, but I will skip those details.
While the tales of the naval battles in the first part of the novel made me grimace at what these sailors went through, the sinking of the ship and their capture made it even worse. The Japanese did not really have a concept of POWs, as their troops were not expected to surrender. Forget the Geneva conventions, which Japan never adopted; the prisoners became an expendable cheap labor force for shitty jobs, cheap because they did not have to feed them much. The starvation diets and hard labor meant the prisoners died like flies. The building of the railway was harrowing! Over 20% of the POWs involved died, and over 200,000 thousand 'slaves' (e.g., the local populations coerced to work on the rail line) did also.
In effect, Hornfischer tells the tale of WWII from a very localized perspective, namely the crew of the Huston. Well researched to a fault, Hornfisher fills the texts with quotes from interviews, surviving documents, and even a couple dozen pictures from the era. Quite a tale of survival for those who lived through it, an on the flip side, an epic eulogy for those that died. 4 serious stars!
August 28, 2014
Fantastic history!
Incredibly well researched, organized. An excellent story of the men of the Houston who found themselves working on the Burma railroad.
What a remarkable story, and how well told!
My only comment is that the title might be a little misleading. The book is devoted mostly to the trials of the men after the ship was lost. Though they may have maintained a personal identification with the Houston, it is not the main emphasis of the book. 'The Epic Saga of Her Survivors' should be the title, not the subtitle.
I cannot recommend this highly enough as a thoroughly well documented and gripping story.
Incredibly well researched, organized. An excellent story of the men of the Houston who found themselves working on the Burma railroad.
What a remarkable story, and how well told!
My only comment is that the title might be a little misleading. The book is devoted mostly to the trials of the men after the ship was lost. Though they may have maintained a personal identification with the Houston, it is not the main emphasis of the book. 'The Epic Saga of Her Survivors' should be the title, not the subtitle.
I cannot recommend this highly enough as a thoroughly well documented and gripping story.
October 21, 2016
Very well written book. Lots of info I didn't know about. I would recommend this to those interested in WWII history.
October 30, 2008
Very interesting book. I have never read any naval history so the first part took me a bit to get through; I didn't understand a lot of the terms and/or couldn't visualize what they were talking about. However, it picked up for me a bit once the ship was sunk and they were captured and transferred to the POW camps. The author really does a great job wrapping up the book. He lets you know how these soldiers/POWs did after the war and talks about the lifelong impact that their experiences had on them. He also talks about the importance of recording histories and not letting these things be forgotten. I enjoyed the book but the ending took it up even another notch for me. Horfischer really did the USS Houston and its men justice.
April 27, 2019
Excellent Recounting
I will admit when I bought this book, I was clueless about the USS Houston and its plight. I did not know it was FDR’s favorite ship. I did not know it was stationed in the South China Seas under a fractured command structure or that it was the first Untied States Warship to be sunk by Japanese gunfire.
This is a compelling tale of the men who served and died on her during the early days of World War Two. If you haven’t read this book and are looking for a rare find, I can’t recommend it highly enough. This book will never see the shelves of “Half Priced Books” or any other retail outlet as long as I live.
Five stars.
I will admit when I bought this book, I was clueless about the USS Houston and its plight. I did not know it was FDR’s favorite ship. I did not know it was stationed in the South China Seas under a fractured command structure or that it was the first Untied States Warship to be sunk by Japanese gunfire.
This is a compelling tale of the men who served and died on her during the early days of World War Two. If you haven’t read this book and are looking for a rare find, I can’t recommend it highly enough. This book will never see the shelves of “Half Priced Books” or any other retail outlet as long as I live.
Five stars.
July 15, 2017
In reading James Hornfishers’ Ship of Ghost, I had two visceral reactions:
I felt embarrassed to put down the book long enough to get lunch. A simple privilege that was not available to these good people.
If America is ever called before a celestial court to account for it actions. America can be nothing but proud that it helped to systematically and by a humiliating degree destroy Japanese militarism.
I wish to be clear on this second point. As a Midshipman I visited modern Japan and enjoyed myself and liked the people. I have owned (and own) Japanese cars and a variety of Japanese made products. The Japanese people since WWII are as good a people as any people of any nation. The Japan of General Tojo and the twisted Bushido code they perpetuated was evil. Nothing less than a humiliating defeat would clear this philosophy away and make room for the better nature of Japan to make itself known.
What Prof Hornfisher has written is that powerful. It cannot be read without provoking this kind of reaction. It is not because his words are selected to create emotional responses, it is because he has depended on the simple, matter of fact statements of the survivors.
Ship of Ghosts is written in three unequal parts.
The prewar years the USS Houston, a heavy cruiser, hull number CA 30 was the preferred ship of President Franklin Roosevelt. In it he made presidential trips and did some personal fishing. Later the Houston was selected as Flagship of the US Far Eastern Fleet.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and their later attacks across the South Pacific led to the Houston being attached to a scratch fleet of US, British, Australian and Dutch ships. This fleet, operating with no common doctrine, training, air cover or adequate supplies was cut to pieces by the Japanese Navy.
Among the last major units of this fleet, the Houston and the HMAS Perth (Australian Navy) were overwhelmed and sunk in the Battle of the Sunda Straight Feb 28/Mar 1 1942. The Australian survivors would note that their ship’s engines never stopes, such that she was not sunk, she drove herself down. The American survivors took heart that the Houston went down, her colors still flying and at least one set of guns still firing. That this was a .50 caliber machine gun mount (Marine Gunnery Sgt. Standish) speaks of how close fought was this last battle.
The loss, during a surface battle of a steel warship can result in death by almost every way a person can die in or as a result of battle. About ¾ of the Houston’s Crew was lost that night. The battle space was so crowded with shipping that another ship lost was the troop ship carrying the Japanese Commanding General of the landing force that was to invade and take Java. This loss was the result of a Japanese torpedo. One of four Japanese troop ships lost to Japanese fire.
Heavy loss of life in this kind of battle is the butcher’s bill. It is the risk of war. It has to be part of what decision makers and voters have to consider as a legitimate result of going to war. The fighting crew of the Houston and the Perth gave as much death as was in their power. Therefore the losses among the crew are honorable and not a fault of the superior forces then available to the Japanese’s Imperial Navy.
The second part of Ship of Ghosts, concerns what happened to the roughly 700 survivors of the two ships. Virtually nothing that these people were made to endure honors Japan. That so few ever made it back to their homes is a sickening testimony. Hornfisher rightfully draws his testimony from the people who were there.
This portion of the book cannot be summarized. It should be read.
A question Hornfisher asks and repeats is how can men endure so much? Survivors give several answers, it is for the reader to choose.
Ultimately some men do survive. A caution that anyone commanding this much abuse should remember.
At this time there was little understanding of how to help survivors return to civilian life. The Third part of Ship of Ghosts is this story. Post war years were as individual to these men as were their prisoner experience. They were all part of providing evidence against specific Japanese officers who were most egregious in their lack of humanity. War can be terrible, treatment of prisoners need not be.
Another achievement of Hornfisher is that this book is not obviously gruesome. The recitation by the survivors can be hard to read. Not because the men speak of dripping blood and torn viscera, but because the reader will know what smells and sights have to attend what is related. It may not be as easy to imagine the pain, hunger and exhaustion.
No person with any natural sense of sympathy can read this book unaffected. No person who has to think about why and when to go to war should ignore its lessons. No one should read this book and speak lightly of abusing prisoners. Every American should be proud of these Americans and in America’s role in World War II.
I felt embarrassed to put down the book long enough to get lunch. A simple privilege that was not available to these good people.
If America is ever called before a celestial court to account for it actions. America can be nothing but proud that it helped to systematically and by a humiliating degree destroy Japanese militarism.
I wish to be clear on this second point. As a Midshipman I visited modern Japan and enjoyed myself and liked the people. I have owned (and own) Japanese cars and a variety of Japanese made products. The Japanese people since WWII are as good a people as any people of any nation. The Japan of General Tojo and the twisted Bushido code they perpetuated was evil. Nothing less than a humiliating defeat would clear this philosophy away and make room for the better nature of Japan to make itself known.
What Prof Hornfisher has written is that powerful. It cannot be read without provoking this kind of reaction. It is not because his words are selected to create emotional responses, it is because he has depended on the simple, matter of fact statements of the survivors.
Ship of Ghosts is written in three unequal parts.
The prewar years the USS Houston, a heavy cruiser, hull number CA 30 was the preferred ship of President Franklin Roosevelt. In it he made presidential trips and did some personal fishing. Later the Houston was selected as Flagship of the US Far Eastern Fleet.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and their later attacks across the South Pacific led to the Houston being attached to a scratch fleet of US, British, Australian and Dutch ships. This fleet, operating with no common doctrine, training, air cover or adequate supplies was cut to pieces by the Japanese Navy.
Among the last major units of this fleet, the Houston and the HMAS Perth (Australian Navy) were overwhelmed and sunk in the Battle of the Sunda Straight Feb 28/Mar 1 1942. The Australian survivors would note that their ship’s engines never stopes, such that she was not sunk, she drove herself down. The American survivors took heart that the Houston went down, her colors still flying and at least one set of guns still firing. That this was a .50 caliber machine gun mount (Marine Gunnery Sgt. Standish) speaks of how close fought was this last battle.
The loss, during a surface battle of a steel warship can result in death by almost every way a person can die in or as a result of battle. About ¾ of the Houston’s Crew was lost that night. The battle space was so crowded with shipping that another ship lost was the troop ship carrying the Japanese Commanding General of the landing force that was to invade and take Java. This loss was the result of a Japanese torpedo. One of four Japanese troop ships lost to Japanese fire.
Heavy loss of life in this kind of battle is the butcher’s bill. It is the risk of war. It has to be part of what decision makers and voters have to consider as a legitimate result of going to war. The fighting crew of the Houston and the Perth gave as much death as was in their power. Therefore the losses among the crew are honorable and not a fault of the superior forces then available to the Japanese’s Imperial Navy.
The second part of Ship of Ghosts, concerns what happened to the roughly 700 survivors of the two ships. Virtually nothing that these people were made to endure honors Japan. That so few ever made it back to their homes is a sickening testimony. Hornfisher rightfully draws his testimony from the people who were there.
This portion of the book cannot be summarized. It should be read.
A question Hornfisher asks and repeats is how can men endure so much? Survivors give several answers, it is for the reader to choose.
Ultimately some men do survive. A caution that anyone commanding this much abuse should remember.
At this time there was little understanding of how to help survivors return to civilian life. The Third part of Ship of Ghosts is this story. Post war years were as individual to these men as were their prisoner experience. They were all part of providing evidence against specific Japanese officers who were most egregious in their lack of humanity. War can be terrible, treatment of prisoners need not be.
Another achievement of Hornfisher is that this book is not obviously gruesome. The recitation by the survivors can be hard to read. Not because the men speak of dripping blood and torn viscera, but because the reader will know what smells and sights have to attend what is related. It may not be as easy to imagine the pain, hunger and exhaustion.
No person with any natural sense of sympathy can read this book unaffected. No person who has to think about why and when to go to war should ignore its lessons. No one should read this book and speak lightly of abusing prisoners. Every American should be proud of these Americans and in America’s role in World War II.
April 28, 2019
Ship of Ghosts is both smaller and bigger than Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Hornfisher focuses on the men of the USS Houston, a heavy cruiser assigned to the Asiatic Fleet at the start of the Second World War. Previously President Roosevelt's favorite cruiser, in the dark days of the initial Japanese assaults, the Houston was the lynchpin of the defense of the island of Java.
Part of an ad hoc American-Dutch-British-Australian command, the Houston and the other defenders of Java faced terrible odds against an enemy with absolute air superiority. The Houston dodged bombs and fought a single significant engagement at the Battle of the Java Sea. The Allies didn't have the strength to resist a multipronged Japanese invasion, and in retreating the USS Houston and HMAS Perth sailed right into one of the landing fleets. Houston and Perth gave their best before sinking, but the long ordeal of the survivors had only just begun.
Captured by the Japanese along with the 131st Field Artillery (the Lost Battalion) and the other defenders of Java, the crew of the Houston were shipped to Singapore and an archipelago of Japanese POW camps. The worst of these were along the Railway of Death, a roughly 200 km cut through untracked jungle between Thailand and Burma that would be immortalized (and thoroughly fictionalized) as The Bridge Over The River Kwai. Roughly 20% of the men died of starvation, disease, beatings administered by their captors, and simple hopelessness. Perhaps 200,000 people in total died, mostly native laborers without military discipline to help them maintain field sanitation. Other survivors were dispatched to Japan, and some suffered the supreme misfortune of being killed by Allied bombs and torpedoes, as Japan did not mark their POW transports, one final mark in a litany of Geneva Code violations.
Hornfischer gives his all in commemorating these old veterans, in the years when the WW2 generation passed out of life and into memory. The prose gets a little purple at times, but serves to convey the pride of the pre-War Houston, the desperation of its last battle, and the endurance of its crew in captivity.
Part of an ad hoc American-Dutch-British-Australian command, the Houston and the other defenders of Java faced terrible odds against an enemy with absolute air superiority. The Houston dodged bombs and fought a single significant engagement at the Battle of the Java Sea. The Allies didn't have the strength to resist a multipronged Japanese invasion, and in retreating the USS Houston and HMAS Perth sailed right into one of the landing fleets. Houston and Perth gave their best before sinking, but the long ordeal of the survivors had only just begun.
Captured by the Japanese along with the 131st Field Artillery (the Lost Battalion) and the other defenders of Java, the crew of the Houston were shipped to Singapore and an archipelago of Japanese POW camps. The worst of these were along the Railway of Death, a roughly 200 km cut through untracked jungle between Thailand and Burma that would be immortalized (and thoroughly fictionalized) as The Bridge Over The River Kwai. Roughly 20% of the men died of starvation, disease, beatings administered by their captors, and simple hopelessness. Perhaps 200,000 people in total died, mostly native laborers without military discipline to help them maintain field sanitation. Other survivors were dispatched to Japan, and some suffered the supreme misfortune of being killed by Allied bombs and torpedoes, as Japan did not mark their POW transports, one final mark in a litany of Geneva Code violations.
Hornfischer gives his all in commemorating these old veterans, in the years when the WW2 generation passed out of life and into memory. The prose gets a little purple at times, but serves to convey the pride of the pre-War Houston, the desperation of its last battle, and the endurance of its crew in captivity.
June 29, 2018
The USS Houston was sunk near Sumatra in the early part of the Pacific conflict when it surprised a small fleet of Japanese troop transports and their escorts. Although it and the HMS Perth were sunk, they took a number of enemy ships down with them. Of the ship’s crew of well over 1000, less than 400 survived the sinking and were captured, only to be sent to Burma where they worked as slaves in the horrendous conditions on the Burma-Thailand Death Railway. (The British film “Bridge on the River Kwai” was apparently an inaccurate and romanticized view which offended many of those who had been actual POWs on the railway.)
I’ve had this book on my shelves for many years, and I love Hornfischer’s books, but I’d put it off because of the POW story. I read Ghost Soldiers many years ago, and although it’s a great book, it’s also a difficult read due to the brutality the POWs faced. Hornfischer doesn’t ignore that aspect of the story, but he doesn’t dwell on it inordinately either. In that way I thought it was similar to Return from the River Kwai. But either way, this is a very good book that makes you appreciate the sacrifices of so many in WWII.
I’ve had this book on my shelves for many years, and I love Hornfischer’s books, but I’d put it off because of the POW story. I read Ghost Soldiers many years ago, and although it’s a great book, it’s also a difficult read due to the brutality the POWs faced. Hornfischer doesn’t ignore that aspect of the story, but he doesn’t dwell on it inordinately either. In that way I thought it was similar to Return from the River Kwai. But either way, this is a very good book that makes you appreciate the sacrifices of so many in WWII.
March 3, 2017
The USS Houston was serving in the South Pacific when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. As such it immediately started the fight against the Japanese, but was far from resupply lines. On February 28, 1942 the USS Houston and the Australian ship Perth were sunk off the coast of Indonesia as they battled the Japanese landing fleet. Survivors of both ships were taken prisoners and served the remainder of the war as Japanese slave labor.
Why I started this book: Hornfischer is one of my new history-crushes. He has an amazing ability to place the individual in broad context of the war without losing details or interest.
Why I ended this book: The Pacific campaign of World War II was bloody and brutal. It showed just how close the monster under the skin is, in all of us... this is history that needs to be know, forgetting is a betrayal to all those that suffered and endured.
Why I started this book: Hornfischer is one of my new history-crushes. He has an amazing ability to place the individual in broad context of the war without losing details or interest.
Why I ended this book: The Pacific campaign of World War II was bloody and brutal. It showed just how close the monster under the skin is, in all of us... this is history that needs to be know, forgetting is a betrayal to all those that suffered and endured.
May 22, 2023
An audiobook that kept me occupied while building a rock garden and hefting 30 lb. bags of decorative rocks and driving the lawn tractor and mowing the back 40.
Great historical account of the officers and men of the USS Houston during WW2. Sunk in battle, the men of the Houston are taken prisoner by the Japanese and sent to a forced labor camp that would build a railroad through the jungles of Thailand and Burma. If you saw the movie "Bridge over the River Kwai" (with Alex "Obiwan Kinobi" Guinness) this tells part of the real life, no-fictionalized version and the author documents the differences for you.
This is similar to the POW story in "Unbroken" about the brutality and dehumanizing of the Japanese military during World War 2. It really hits home for those of us who've served in the armed forces.
Great historical account of the officers and men of the USS Houston during WW2. Sunk in battle, the men of the Houston are taken prisoner by the Japanese and sent to a forced labor camp that would build a railroad through the jungles of Thailand and Burma. If you saw the movie "Bridge over the River Kwai" (with Alex "Obiwan Kinobi" Guinness) this tells part of the real life, no-fictionalized version and the author documents the differences for you.
This is similar to the POW story in "Unbroken" about the brutality and dehumanizing of the Japanese military during World War 2. It really hits home for those of us who've served in the armed forces.
September 7, 2015
Two tremendous stories - the story of the USS Houston and its crew as it battled with the doomed ABDA fleet in the first months of WWII. The first 6 months of the war, particularly in the western Pacific, were a chaotic time for the Allies as they tried to slow the Japanese advance. The Houston literally went down, flags flying, in an effort to stop a Japanese invasion fleet in Indonesia.
The 2nd story is that of her crew that survived and were captured. They faced the full gamut of the Allied POW experience - some were in a ship torpedoed by Allied submarines (unknown to the sub); some were in a ship bombed by Allied planes (unknown to the planes); all spent time in Japanese POW camps; some spent time as slave labor in shipyards and factories in Japan; and many served on the Death Railway that is part of the story told by the movie Bridge over the River Kwai - an estimated 400+ people (Allied POWS + Locals) died per mile of that railway connecting Burma and Thailand.
Well-written - a good mix of the overall situation, narrative and individual stories.
The 2nd story is that of her crew that survived and were captured. They faced the full gamut of the Allied POW experience - some were in a ship torpedoed by Allied submarines (unknown to the sub); some were in a ship bombed by Allied planes (unknown to the planes); all spent time in Japanese POW camps; some spent time as slave labor in shipyards and factories in Japan; and many served on the Death Railway that is part of the story told by the movie Bridge over the River Kwai - an estimated 400+ people (Allied POWS + Locals) died per mile of that railway connecting Burma and Thailand.
Well-written - a good mix of the overall situation, narrative and individual stories.
February 10, 2012
This a really good read. The amount of detail in the first several chapters seemed daunting at first but soon I got hooked on the stories and hated to reach the end. The book begins with the saga of the USS Houston and follows the crew until the end of WWII. The story of The Lost Battalion (131st Artillery, 36th Infantry Division, Texas National Guard) is interwoven. The two groups shared many POW experiences. Hornfischer provides enough "big picture" information (strategies, planning, major battles, overviews of the navel war in the Pacific Theater and so on) to follow the war. But, the hook of the book is the way specific individuals experience the war and captivity. Careful historical research utilizing interviews with survivors, diaries, letters and other personal sources as well as appropriate public documents make this edge-of-the seat captivating.
I have already bought Hornfischer's Neptune,s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, and will read it soon.
I have already bought Hornfischer's Neptune,s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, and will read it soon.
May 31, 2022
Appropriately, I just finished this book on Memorial Day. In this book James Hornfischer presents the story of the crew of the USS Houston which was sunk by the Japanese in 1942. Many of the crew perished immediately, but three hundred and sixty-eight survived and were captured by the Japanese. Their treatment was horrific as they were forced into slave labor in southeast asia and many died. I read this book with some trepidation as I feared it might simply be a recounting of their misery and abuse. The book was dramatically better than that.
Hornfischer was able to tell the story, but he made it readable by describing how these men supported each other, and what motivated them. Their story does not end with war, but goes on to tell how these men returned to America and learned to deal with their past and re-create their lives after the war.
I am very glad to have read this book - It tells an amazing story of determination and survival. I am also glad the story was not lost.
Hornfischer was able to tell the story, but he made it readable by describing how these men supported each other, and what motivated them. Their story does not end with war, but goes on to tell how these men returned to America and learned to deal with their past and re-create their lives after the war.
I am very glad to have read this book - It tells an amazing story of determination and survival. I am also glad the story was not lost.
May 11, 2009
Ship of Ghosts is a rather unfortunate title for “the story of the USS Houston, FDR’s legendary cruiser, and the epic saga of her survivors.” There are no ghosts. There are, however, harrowing tales of bravery, sacrifice, and human dignity in the face of unbelievable hardships and suffering. This book fits in nicely with Flags of Our Fathers and Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor. There are many aspects of the WW2 era that today’s generations seem woefully ignorant about… such as the Gulag Archipelago in Russia, the brutality of the Japanese, and the fascist legacy of Mussolini, Author, James D. Hornfischer answers that ignorance with fact. So ghosts, no, memories, yes, as we recall the timeless sacrifices of men who have made America great.
http://www.usshouston.org/
http://www.usshouston.org/
December 14, 2014
If you ever read "Bridge on the River Kwai" or saw the movie this book will tell you the back story about the Americans that endured that hell.
February 14, 2014
The Houston was lost in the battle of the Java Sea as part of a badly overmatched Anglo-Dutch-American force, but it left a reputationfor valor.
September 11, 2014
Fabulous story. What these brave men endured should never be forgotten in an America obsessed with growing mediocrity.
June 1, 2017
The movie "The Bridge over the River Kwai" is the framing device as to why the author wrote this book. In the movie the character played by William Holden states that he is from the USS Houston, CA-30. Which confused the author since he naturally assumed that the Houston was lost later in the conflict. Instead he finds a horror story that the crew went thru after their ship, along with the HMAS Perth (D-93) were sunk while off the Sunda Strait near the island of Java. After the crew is captured and initially interned near Batavia (now Jakarta) on the island of Java. After which these survivors of the sinking of the ship as well as men captured from the "Lost Battalion of the Pacific" are used for slave labor in building the railroad thru Burma into Thailand.
It is the details that the story gets bogged down into and disjointed. Rather than being wholly about the USS Houston, her history, her crew and its time in the war with how the crew surviving the Japanese POW interment. Instead we get a short little bit about how the ship was built, how she became the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet and then while home in the US she became the favorite of the President, Franklin Roosevelt. After which we stumble into the war and the failures of the ABDA command in trying to defend the Pacific Colonies from the onslaught of the Japanese advances. It is some of this exposition with the discussion of the HMAS Perth, the various Dutch naval forces, the politics of the ABDA leadership in getting the US Commanders on scene fired, and finally the field artillery battalion was wasted in the defense of Java. This filler for the first half of the book adds so many characters that I had to start to add a running program of people and who they were in the second half of the book. Just so I could keep names, ranks, and events of the USS Houston crew separate from the other Americans of the US Army and the Australians introduced quickly in the book. It is the discussion of the building of the railroad thru Burma to connect to Thailand that the book really takes off and shows that not only where British Commonwealth citizens and soldiers caught during the fall of Malaysia and Singapore were involved with the railroad but also Americans captured during the defense of the Dutch East Indies were there too.
Overall, the story is interesting and the information is enlightening. Yet, the author buries a really good story about just the ship and some of the men involved on her in peace and war; with all manner of others from the Australians and a US Army unit captured at the same time. In addition the author uses some purple prose in some of the chapters that makes it hard to imagine the setting or even the characters defined. Still worthwhile to read, but I hope the author got better with some of his later books.
It is the details that the story gets bogged down into and disjointed. Rather than being wholly about the USS Houston, her history, her crew and its time in the war with how the crew surviving the Japanese POW interment. Instead we get a short little bit about how the ship was built, how she became the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet and then while home in the US she became the favorite of the President, Franklin Roosevelt. After which we stumble into the war and the failures of the ABDA command in trying to defend the Pacific Colonies from the onslaught of the Japanese advances. It is some of this exposition with the discussion of the HMAS Perth, the various Dutch naval forces, the politics of the ABDA leadership in getting the US Commanders on scene fired, and finally the field artillery battalion was wasted in the defense of Java. This filler for the first half of the book adds so many characters that I had to start to add a running program of people and who they were in the second half of the book. Just so I could keep names, ranks, and events of the USS Houston crew separate from the other Americans of the US Army and the Australians introduced quickly in the book. It is the discussion of the building of the railroad thru Burma to connect to Thailand that the book really takes off and shows that not only where British Commonwealth citizens and soldiers caught during the fall of Malaysia and Singapore were involved with the railroad but also Americans captured during the defense of the Dutch East Indies were there too.
Overall, the story is interesting and the information is enlightening. Yet, the author buries a really good story about just the ship and some of the men involved on her in peace and war; with all manner of others from the Australians and a US Army unit captured at the same time. In addition the author uses some purple prose in some of the chapters that makes it hard to imagine the setting or even the characters defined. Still worthwhile to read, but I hope the author got better with some of his later books.
July 20, 2021
I read one of his other books The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and that was amazing. I came in with high expectations and this didn't disappoint. This really is a 4.25 to 4.5 rating. The story itself of the sinking of the USS Houston and Perth were carefully detailed in the events leading up to it. The story afterwards is about how they survived while being POW and how careful they had to be in order to live and not die in the jungle. There are a lot of names of who lived through it and those who died as hero's. The research for this in getting so many direct of indirect quotes or story telling is nothing short of incredible. I can't imagine how long this took in writing this book.
But this is something that today's people (especially the younger ones) will never understand. I have read A LOT of books on WWII and I wish school systems (especially what is happening in today's world) would make it mandatory for the kids to read. They would get a better understanding of how proud they should be of this country and stop looking for ways that it is not. It will only be in a matter of years before the last of the WWII vets will be around and my hope or wish would be for people to talk to them and thank them for making America free.
But this is something that today's people (especially the younger ones) will never understand. I have read A LOT of books on WWII and I wish school systems (especially what is happening in today's world) would make it mandatory for the kids to read. They would get a better understanding of how proud they should be of this country and stop looking for ways that it is not. It will only be in a matter of years before the last of the WWII vets will be around and my hope or wish would be for people to talk to them and thank them for making America free.
March 8, 2021
This book tells the unique story of the USS Houston and her crew. The descriptions of the ship and the battles it took place in and other operations were very detailed and extraordinarily interesting. After the ship was sunk, only around 400 of the original crew of 1,100 survived. People often think that when a ship is sunk, it just slips beneath the waves, but that is certainly not the case for a warship in battle. There is oil in the water, ordinance that is exploding from battle, setting the oil on fire. These survivors of the initial sinking had to swim through burning oil, explosions, sucking water from the sinking ships, enemy fire...all of this while trying to avoid capture. Unfortunately, most of them were captured by the Japanese and sent to POW camps. There they endured the typical amount of torture and starvation, and many were put into forced labor on the Death Railway. I just watched a documentary series about that not long ago. This was a really good book, and terribly sad.
November 29, 2014
A story to be remembered
The men of the Houston had many distinctions, a few unfortunate. It was FDR'S favorite ship, well run with great morale. They fought in the first great naval battle in the Pacific war in 1942, the Sunda straight, fighting bravely but sunk. The unfortunate bits were the timing.... this happened at the start of WW II, little as known of them, and the survivors liberated after VE day, when the nation's attention was turned to celebration. I'm between they suffered, died, persevered, and worked on part of the railroad depicted in "Bridge On The River Kwai". Hormfischer does a great job of depicting the horror and the humanity, as he did in his book on WW I. It is amazing what you can live through.....
The men of the Houston had many distinctions, a few unfortunate. It was FDR'S favorite ship, well run with great morale. They fought in the first great naval battle in the Pacific war in 1942, the Sunda straight, fighting bravely but sunk. The unfortunate bits were the timing.... this happened at the start of WW II, little as known of them, and the survivors liberated after VE day, when the nation's attention was turned to celebration. I'm between they suffered, died, persevered, and worked on part of the railroad depicted in "Bridge On The River Kwai". Hormfischer does a great job of depicting the horror and the humanity, as he did in his book on WW I. It is amazing what you can live through.....
September 28, 2013
James Hornfischer does it again. An amazing survival story that lasted almost the entire Pacific War. I was surprised at the real story behind the film and novel "Bridge on the River Kwai", and how HOUSTON survivors played a part. They suffered a truly torturous existence at the hands of Japanese slave drivers (a.k.a. POW guards). After reading this I feel even more honored to have been given the opportunity to return one of the USS HOUSTON survivors to a final rest with his shipmates. In 2008, as the lay leader for the ship, I performed a burial at sea for a veteran as we passed through the Sunda Strait. I highly recommend this book to all.
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