The USS Houston was a personal favorite of FDR. He was a VIP passenger on her many times before World War II. Assigned to the Asiatic Station at the outbreak of the war, the Houston was part of an ill fated mixed force of Australian, British, Dutch & American (ABDA) ships defending Java and other Indonesian islands and the convoy routes between Java, New Guinea and Australia.The Japanese falsely claimed to sink the Houston many times, earning her the nickname "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast." Damaged by a bomb hit that disabled her stern turret, and unable to reach a safe place to be repaired, the Houston and the HMAS Perth survived a naval battle off the east end of Java only to stumble across the Japanese invasion at the west end of Java. The Perth and the Houston sunk several Japanese ships (and many other Japanese ships were sunk or damaged by Japanese torpedos when they were caught in the crossfire) before they were sunk.Most of the book tells the various stories of the crew members of the Houston and the Perth that survived the sinkings. Many of them died before reaching shore. Those that did eventually surrendered to the Japanese along with the rest of the Allied forces on Java. Initially imprisoned on Java, the prisoners were split up and sent to Singapore, Japan, Burma and Thailand. Those in Burma and Thailand were slave laborers building the railroad featured in the film "Bridge Over The River Kwai."Many of the prisoners died from disease or at the hands of the Japanese. Others were killed during Allied bombing raids or when American subs sank Japanese ships without their knowing that the ships were full of POWs.Although much of what happened to the prisoners was tragic, the book does include many lighter moments of acts of defiance against their guards. The book concludes by telling what happened to several of the crew after the war.This book is well worth reading.
I think I learned more about this era in history by listening to this abridged version of a great book than I ever did in history class!I don't usually listen to abridged audio books of texts. I figure that if the author wrote a whole book -- the reader should read it; however when I requested the audio book through the InterLibrary Loan system, this is what I received. So I noted that James Hornfischer approved of the abridgement so I guess I had to accept it!As I said in most of my history classes the huge focus is on what happened in Europe ... weeks of what happened in Europe and the bombing of Britain and how the Americans went to the factories and the women built bombers and boats and the bombing of Pearl Harbor and a "Day that Shall Live in Infamy" and then we fast forward to Hiroshima. Well at least in my history class, your history class may have been different.This research was amazing -- so in-depth and meticulous and you could tell that through interviews and journals Hornfischer truly cared about sharing this very important story of a real part of American history. I think it is essential that these stories be collected and told because only when we understand what happened can we hope that we won't repeat the same situations of the past. Human nature is what it is, but we can hope that we can eventually change.To anyone who wants to learn more about this time in history, I highly recommend this book. To anyone who wants to learn about courage in the face of adversity, I highly recommend this book. To anyone who wants to read a book with lots of heart and much documentation, I highly recommend this book.
What happened to the POWs described in this book should not have happened to anyone.Hornfischer tells the story of the USS Houston, which was FDR's favorite naval vessel before the US entered World War II. After Pearl Harbor, the Houston was in the middle of the Pacific and made part of a poorly-organized multinational attack force that attempted, poorly, to keep the massive Japanese invasion fleet away from the island of Java.The mission was doomed from the start for a wide variety of reasons. Suffice to say, the Houston, though one of the last ships still afloat with the Australian vessel, the HMS Perth was sunk trying to slip back to Australia in the dead of night just before Java fell.The rest of the book becomes about the survivors, taken captive by the Japanese and forced into incredibly hard labor building a railroad through the jungle, the basic synopsis to The Bridge on the River Kwai, which took some major liberties with the historic events.The book from here is a story of survival for all the Allied POWs, American, Dutch, Australian, and British. If anything, this is actually the book's weak point. Hornfischer only sporadically goes back to this being the story of the Houston, and to a lesser extent some Texas artillery soldiers dubbed "The Lost Battalion". This book does very well discussing many of the more colorful prisoners (the Australians managed to stay rebellious in their own way long past their capture), such that I wonder why it had to be the story of the Houston. I would have loved to learned the final fate of some of those other soldiers, such as the Dutch doctor and the Japanese-American soldier, who had memorable moments but whose final fate was left unrecorded. Remembering the Houston and its crew is important; remembering the others is every bit as important.
—Tom
This is a long book, but amazing. The whole time I read it I kept thinking about what to say about it. There is so much to say. How grateful I am for those who went to war so we can enjoy the freedoms we enjoy today. When I read about the atrocities that thes POW's experienced, it riped me up inside. I was in tears by the last few chapters because it became increasingly difficult to hear about what they went through. I felt part of their lives as I continued to hear about their individual experiences. I am grateful for the knowledge and insight I gained from this book.
—Cindy
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/
—Janet
