Short Synopsis
In the tradition of All Quiet on the Western Front and Hiroshima, this major new work about World War II exposes the myths of military heroism as shallow and inadequate, and makes clear that war causes suffering for people on all sides.

Full Synopsis
For the first four months of 1942, U.S., Filipino, and Japanese soldiers fought what was America's first major land battle of World War II, the battle for the tiny Philippine peninsula of Bataan. It ended with the surrender of 76,000 Filipinos and Americans, the single largest defeat in American military history.

The defeat, though, was only the beginning, as Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman make dramatically clear in this powerfully original book. From then until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the prisoners of war suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: forty-one months of captivity, starvation rations, dehydration, hard labor, deadly disease, and torture—far from the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur.

The Normans bring to the story remarkable feats of reportage and literary empathy. Their protagonist, Ben Steele, is a figure out of Hemingway: a young cowboy turned sketch artist from Montana who joined the army to see the world. Juxtaposed against Steele's story and the sobering tale of the Death March and its aftermath is the story of a number of Japanese soldiers.

The result is an altogether new and original World War II book: it exposes the myths of military heroism as shallow and inadequate; and it makes clear, with great literary and human power, that war causes suffering for people on all sides.

"The narrative even humanizes the anguished Japanese commanders condemned by a victor's justice that held them accountable for offenses of out-of-control subordinates.... Indispensable." ---Booklist Starred Review

"A narrative achievement.... If you aren't weeping openly by the book's final scenes...then you have a hard crust of salt around your soul." ---The New York Times

"A well-told, well-researched, and moving narrative." ---Peter Matthiessen, author of the National Book Award winner Shadow Country

"Highly recommended." ---Kirkus

"Prichard's serious presence fades into the background as the authors' tales of brutality, disease, starvation, and death take the spotlight." ---AudioFile

"[An] absorbing history." ---Publishers Weekly

American Heritage Top 25 History Book 2009

New York Times Bestseller

Audie Winner

Booklist Review

New York Times' Dwight Garner's Top 10 Book

Amazon Bestseller

Audible Bestseller