This book took me awhile, course historical non-fiction usually does cause I want to take in as much detail as I can. I served and LDS mission in the Manila Philippines mission. While I was over there we had a chance to tour the US Embassy and our tour guide was the first person to introduce me to the Bataan death march, "High Pockets" and the Japanese occupation in the Philippines. My interest was instantly peaked; so naturally when I found this book I felt like I needed to read it.
Reading about the atrocities that these POW's went through and the scale of the rescue mission and the determination of the first Army Rangers to free them is both awe inspiring as well as gut retching. Hampton Sides does s great job at helping you to understand and "see" what was going on. At times I felt like I was watching a documentary in a way rather than reading a book. I really loved learning about all these brave soldiers and look forward to studying this subject in further detail.
