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Gary_Graf
Posted March 30, 2009
This is the most complete account yet of the USS Houston, her sinking in 1942, and the fate of her surviving crew members as Japanese prisoners.
The USS Houston was flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack in December, 1941. She survived the Japanese assault on the Philippine Islands and led the fight against Japan until finally sunk by overwhealming Japanese Navy forces near the Sunda Strait in early March, 1942. The Japanese claimed to have sunk her on several occasions prior to that time so she acquired the nickname "Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast" -- thus Ghost Ship.
This book is divided into three parts -- service prior to World War 2, the war against Japan, and the fate of her crew. The Houston was fitted as a flagship and served as President Roosevelt's personal yacht on several occasions while assigned to the Atlantic fleet in the 1930's. In 1940 she was transferred to the Philippines to serve as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. After Pearl Harbor she steamed thousands of miles through the Philippines, Dutch East Indies, and Australian waters fighting Japanese forces. She was severely damaged by air attack on February 4, 1942, but continued to fight until sunk by Japanes ships on March 2, 1942. The last part of the book tells what happenned to the suvivors.
This story has been told before but never in this much detail. The author's research is outstanding, uncovering and connecting much new information. He interviewed all available survivors of the ship and researched all the records made available since World War. The Houston survivors are a closeknit group and continue to meet today (2009). There is a great bibliography and several appendices including one listing the fate of every crew member at the time she was sunk. If you are interested in history or tales of human survival this is a great book!2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 28, 2006
Lest We Forget...
Mr. Hornfischer has done it again with a well-written, stirring narrative of the sacrifice made by those who served in USS Houston, the 'Lost Battalion', and others serving in this particular theater of war during the early period of U.S. involvement in WWII. 'Ship of Ghosts' fills an information gap compared to the more publicized operations. In the aftermath of the sinking of the Houston and HMAS Perth, the grueling POW experience in Thailand & Burma is vividly recounted with a real feel of the anguish that had to be encountered. This account is much more than just a normal history book with dull chronology. As with his 'Last Stand' book, this is a must read not only for history lovers, but for all those that need a refresher course as to the sacrifices of the 'Greatest Generation'.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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silencedogoodreturns
Posted August 4, 2010
Another gem
Mr. Hornfischer has done it again. This excellent book is a worthy companion to his "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors." Both recount periods of incredible heroism and human drama, yet both are relatively little known to the general public. This book would make a great TV miniseries, a la The Pacific or Band of Brothers. A great read, it details the harrowing battles of the Battle of Java Sea and Sunda Strait, the sinking of HOUSTON, and the ordeal its survivors underwent as POW slave workers for the Japanese. I'll never watch "Bridge Over the River Kwai" again without considerable skepticism and disdain. Read this book. The men of HOUSTON deserve history remember them for their valor and sacrifice.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 18, 2008
This should be a movie
A wonderful story of heroism, history and the USS Houston. This gripping story reads like a novel but, at at the same time shows a richness of research that does any history book justice. It should be a movie!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted June 13, 2013
Savannah im in
The book called the lore of the ghost ship
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