{"product_id":"ship-of-ghosts-james-d-hornfischer-9780553384505","title":"Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, Fdr's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Son, we're going to Hell.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The navigator of the USS \u003ci\u003eHouston\u003c\/i\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eHouston\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eHouston\u003c\/i\u003e was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as \u003ci\u003eThe Bridge on the River Kwai\u003c\/i\u003e, the war continued for the men of the \u003ci\u003eHouston\u003c\/i\u003e--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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of \u003ci\u003eHouston\u003c\/i\u003e's survivors, James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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James D. Hornfischer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0553384503\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780553384505\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bantam\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/28\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 576\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.30d","brand":"James D. Hornfischer","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44051877789951,"sku":"9780553384505","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e5bdd312-ca29-4516-b831-78d8081f1f52.jpg?v=1685015707","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ship-of-ghosts-james-d-hornfischer-9780553384505","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}