On April 9, 1942, more than 76,000 American and Filipino soldiers on the island of Batan surrendered to the Japanese, who set them walking 66 miles to prison camp, a notorious walk that came to be known as "The Bataan Death March". Their surrender meant defeat in the first major land battle for America in World War II. Tears in the Darkness, the result of 10 years' research and interviews, weaves a strikingly vivid tapestry of voices from all sides to bring this crucial episode to life. Its central narrative traces new Army Air Corp recruit Ben Steele from his cowboy upbringing in Montana to his shattering experience as a prisoner of war. From this quintessential American tale, other individual stories including those of Filipinos and the Japanese hang together, fleshing out the narrative and providing a remarkably rounded account. This balance is an important part of the book; although there are many detailed descriptions of the inhuman acts committed against prisoners, the authors treat the Japanese with sympathy and respect.
Michael Pritchard's delivery encompasses the campfire setting of Steele's Montana youth equally as well as the General Masaharu Homma's addresses to his Japanese troops, or the harrowing descriptions of the execution of surrendered captives. Pritchard's audiobook credits include titles by Zane Grey, Tom Clancy, and numerous works on American history, and it's not hard to see why: his dust-dry voice has a no-nonsense authority, an unforced sturdiness that honors the book's military milieu without ever being starchy or dull.
Tears in the Darkness stands apart from many military histories through the pungency of its writing: the steaming jungle, agonising thirsts, and overwhelming desperation are conveyed with a color that is more common to novels than history texts. However, the main achievement of the book is the cohesion of its myriad fragments: we get an appraisal of US military strategy in the Southwest Pacific, Filipino children running through Japanese soldiers' legs to get banana-leaves and handfuls of rice to their starving fathers, one survivor's agonisingly slow crawl to safety from under the corpses of executed captives. And throughout, the book's hold never flags, due as much to Pritchard's powerful yet restrained narration as to the sense of unflinching truth. Dafydd Phillips
From then until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the prisoners of war suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: 41 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.
©2009 Michael and Elizabeth Norman; (P)2009 Tantor
the book was such an eye opener..i travel to the philippines evey year as my husband was born there..i will never see that part of the world in the same light...inhumane treatment of the p.o.w.s
I will recommend Audible to anyone who loves multi-tasking. I am able to learn while being active. It takes away my stress, totally!
Vivid story telling of Bataan death march and
its brave people.
I am a hospice chaplain. I find reading difficult, however, audio books have truly been a blessing. I especially enjoy historical biography
Greatly recommend this book. This book brings history to life! I have often wondered why we needed to drop the bombs on Japan. After listening to this book I truly began to understand the cruelty inflicted by the Japanese war machine on our troops. Japan did not consider our captured servicemen as Prisoners of War. They did not follow the guidelines of the Geneva Convention for POWs. Although I wouldn't want us to ever have to use this type of weapon ever again, I now realize it was the most efficient and probably the only way to end that war. This book gives a greater understanding of what our troops endured as "captives." THANK YOU TO EVERY SERVICEMAN AND WOMAN FOR YOUR GREAT SACRIFICE TO KEEP US FREE!
An unflinching look at the betrayal of the service men on Bataan in being left behind and the ensuing long ordeal they went through in captivity. Only one in four of them survived the cruel imprisonment of extreme hunger and thirst days filled with death marches and oxygen deprived confinement in ship hulls just to name a few atrocities. The decent of humanity into animalistic behavior as they fought for survival made for an engrossing read.
This was a bit of history that I wasn't very familiar with. I appreciated the flat, dispassionate narration. I also liked hearing about Japanese military culture.
The Bataan Death March explination and visualizations were the depth of the story. It remained intriguing yet not sensationalized. This book is a great history lesson from a generation of people almost gone.
This is my second attempt to write this review. To begin, this is an inciteful book o great compassion, a deep sense of empathy. A story of a substantial sense of the importance of life, indeed a passion for life, how else could servicemen in this position for an extended time maintain a stoasim such that he could find the strength to carry on living? I found this book to be informative, and timely. Certainly it records events that took place some seventy years ago but surely it reminds us all, of the courage of all allied servicemen who found themselves in such an apauling situation. Well done the authors and narrator
"Oh, Dear God"
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Both are incredible stories of survival and the will to live in the harshest realities known to mankind.
As I have not read the book I cannot really say, but I do enjoy Mr.Prichard's style of narration. I tend to find it relaxing, or maybe familiar, like the voice of an old friend.
Yes, very much. Near the end when the Doctor found out he had survived the Bataan Death March. I found that very emotional.
A good listen. Something to look back on when you think your having a bad day.
When I first considered purchasing this audiobook I was hesitant. Anyone slightly familiar with the Bataan Death March knows that it's not exactly a pick me up story. But after reading the reviews I gave it a shot, and I don't regret it one bit. Yes, there are moments in the book that can be graphic and unpleasant, however, the authors do a superb job of transitioning into a positive subject directly afterwards. Which I found helped me b/c no one wants to hear so much of how people suffered to the point where you can't bear to read the book anymore. The authors blend each piece of the story nicely and write descriptions that are detailed, but they withhold it to the point that they know when the reader is saying "Ok, I get it, they suffered." If you liked "Unbroken", then you'll also enjoy this book as well. The narrator does an excellent job and I can say that now I'm a fan of his. Overall: Well written, easy to understand, not too gory, excellent narration, and definitely worth a read.
Highly recommend this for it's excellent story-telling and vivid accounting of the Bataan Death March and after-effects. I appreciated the authors weaving in flashbacks to "previous life" as it gave a break from the accounting and provided a stark contrast to the POW experience. I thought the book was well-performed (although we did speed it up just a little). My husband and I read, watch and listen to many books and documentaries about WWII and think this one is just terrific. It is horrifying, yet inspiring as you listen to the stories of the triumph of humans and the human spirit in the face of an horrific experience.
Report Inappropriate Content