Bruce Henderson has managed to pull one of the most daring rescue missions in military history out of obscurity and turn it into a solid book of passion and fascinating detail. He has done his readers - and military history buffs in general - a great service.
The agony and anguish for the Japanese-held Los Banos internees - all civilians and including children and small babies - is almost beyond belief. The raid by U.S. paratroopers that set them free is breathtaking.
Rescue at Los Banos hits the drop zone. Extensively researched and extremely well-written, Bruce Henderson’s riveting account of the historic events of 23 February 1945 finally does justice to the greatest airborne operation in U.S. military history.
Reads like an adventure thriller and sheds new light on one of the most compelling stories of World War II. ... Anyone who enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken or Mitchell Zuckoff’s Lost in Shangri-La should check this one out.
Riveting…Bruce Henderson does it again with his account of the prisoners at Los Banos. I felt their agonies, sacrifices, and exhilaration. Any reader would love this account of individuals triumphing over seemingly impossible obstacles.
Bruce Henderson has told a wonderfully exciting story of one of war’s greatest rescues with verve, style, and panache. I didn’t even stop for coffee during my reading: it was so classically unputdownable.
An epic survival story of men and women held captive in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines until their remarkable rescue by U.S. paratroopers and Filipino guerrillas three years later. Fast-paced and compelling, Rescue at Los Banos is as gripping as any suspense novel.
Riveting. ... Opens our eyes to... amazing bravery in the midst of a greater war. ... Readers [will] be both shocked by the conditions that POWs had to endure and appreciative of the bravery and ingenuity of that generation we have come to call the greatest.
Riveting. ... Opens our eyes to... amazing bravery in the midst of a greater war. ... Readers [will] be both shocked by the conditions that POWs had to endure and appreciative of the bravery and ingenuity of that generation we have come to call the greatest.” — Washington Post
“Bruce Henderson has told a wonderfully exciting story of one of war’s greatest rescues with verve, style, and panache. I didn’t even stop for coffee during my reading: it was so classically unputdownable.” — Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Men Who United the States
“Rescue at Los Banos will swell your chest. Bruce Henderson’s powerful account has earned a place on the top shelf of World War II nonfiction narratives.” — Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La
“An epic survival story of men and women held captive in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines until their remarkable rescue by U.S. paratroopers and Filipino guerrillas three years later. Fast-paced and compelling, Rescue at Los Banos is as gripping as any suspense novel.” — Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter and Reclaiming History
“Rescue at Los Banos hits the drop zone. Extensively researched and extremely well-written, Bruce Henderson’s riveting account of the historic events of 23 February 1945 finally does justice to the greatest airborne operation in U.S. military history.” — John D. Lukacs, author of Escape from Davao
“Riveting…Bruce Henderson does it again with his account of the prisoners at Los Banos. I felt their agonies, sacrifices, and exhilaration. Any reader would love this account of individuals triumphing over seemingly impossible obstacles.” — John Wukovits, author of Hell From the Heavens
“The agony and anguish for the Japanese-held Los Banos internees - all civilians and including children and small babies - is almost beyond belief. The raid by U.S. paratroopers that set them free is breathtaking.” — Bill Sloan, author of Undefeated
“Bruce Henderson has managed to pull one of the most daring rescue missions in military history out of obscurity and turn it into a solid book of passion and fascinating detail. He has done his readers - and military history buffs in general - a great service.” — Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret), author of Contra File and other Shake Davis novels and Hollywood military adviser
“Riveting. ... Achieves a high standard of popular history. Rescue at Los Banos artfully blends vibrant character sketches with equally clear military fact, all rendered in vivid color.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Gripping. ... A heartrending tale of... survival.” — Library Journal
“Reads like an adventure thriller and sheds new light on one of the most compelling stories of World War II. ... Anyone who enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken or Mitchell Zuckoff’s Lost in Shangri-La should check this one out.” — Military.com
Riveting. ... Opens our eyes to... amazing bravery in the midst of a greater war. ... Readers [will] be both shocked by the conditions that POWs had to endure and appreciative of the bravery and ingenuity of that generation we have come to call the greatest.
03/15/2015
Journalist and veteran Henderson, author or coauthor of more than 20 nonfiction books (Hero Found; Down to the Sea), provides greater recognition of the gripping story of the recovery on February 23, 1945 of 2,146 mostly American, mostly civilian men, women, and children imprisoned in a Japanese-run internment camp in the Philippines. Both the U.S. 11th Airborne Division, tasked by General MacArthur, and a diverse group of Filipino guerillas released the deliberately starved and medicine-deprived internees from a repurposed college campus on Luzon set ironically in a lush agricultural area. The author uses oral interviews, written and photographic documentation, and secondary sources for historical context (endnoted but without page references) in this heartrending tale of abusive treatment and ultimate survival. VERDICT This narrative of one event depicting the horrors of war and its resolution should broaden the perspective of general readers of 20th-century military history. Although a monument, a ceremony, and a joint U.S. congressional resolution honored this liberation on its 60th anniversary, the event was underpublicized at the time since Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima taken the same day received more media coverage. [See Prepub Alert, 9/14/14.]—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC
