Fugitives: Evading and Escaping the Japanese [Hardcover]

Bob Stahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2001

" When the Japanese Imperial Forces invaded the Philippine Islands at the onset of World War II, they quickly rounded up Allied citizens on Luzon and imprisoned them as enemy aliens. These captured civilians were treated inhumanely from the start, and news of the atrocities committed by the enemy soon spread to the more remote islands to the south. Hearing this, many of the expatriates living there refused to surrender as their islands were occupied. Fugitives, based on the memoir of Jordan A. Hamner, tells the true story of a young civilian mining engineer trapped on the islands during the Japanese invasion. Instead of surrendering, he and two American co-workers volunteered their services to the Allied armed forces engaged in the futile effort to stave off the enemy onslaught. When the overwhelmed defenders surrendered to the invaders, the three men fled farther into the disease-ridden mountainous jungle. After nearly a year of nomadic wandering, they found a derelict, twenty-one foot long lifeboat in a secluded coastal bay. Hoping to sail to freedom in Australia, the trio converted the craft into a sailboat, and called it the "Or Else." They would make it to Australia -- or else. With only a National Geographic magazine map of the Malacca Islands for navigation, Hamner, his two compatriots, and two Filipino crewmen sailed their unseaworthy craft fifteen hundred nautical miles over seas controlled by the Japanese navy, touching land only briefly to replenish meager rations or evade enemy vessels. After thirty perilous days at sea, marked by nearly disastrous encounters with hostile islanders, imminent starvation, and tropical storms, the desperate fugitives reached the welcome shores of Australia.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Stahl's short, agreeable book adds considerably to knowledge of the World War II experience of American expatriate civilians in the Philippines. When the Japanese came, mining engineer Jordan A. Hamner was on an island so isolated that it was months before the invaders bothered to occupy it permanently. By then, Hamner, a faithful diarist, was determined not to become a prisoner, and with two other Americans and two Filipinos evaded the Japanese until the five men found a small boat that could be made seaworthy. In that converted lifeboat, Or Else, the five motored, sailed, and rowed through 1,500 miles of Japanese-held waters to Northern Australia. Later, Hamner returned to the Philippines to work with guerrillas there. Stahl fills his recounting of Hamner's adventure with details of wartime life but not with either pure heroes or villains, and he proves informative and balanced on the ways Filipinos responded to their unenviable situation. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"An intriguing tale of wartime adventure, bravery and luck. The narration is admirable: clear, direct, and moving." -- Bernard Norling

"Stahl's short, agreeable book adds considerably to the knowledge of the World War II experience of American expatriate civilians in the Philippines." -- Booklist

"The description of his odyssey makes fascinating reading." -- Canadian Military History

"Although numerous books have been written during and after World War II on a variety of subjects, comparatively little attention has been paid to American expatriates who were caught up in the war and who desperately tried to survive. A worthy companion on any World War II bookshelf." -- Douglas E. Clanin

"It is unique in that the civilian side of the Americans under Japanese threat or worse is fully and firmly portrayed; the determination and courage of these men and women is undeniable." -- Frank F. Mathias

"Tells the true story of a daring flight toward freedom." -- McCormick (SC) Messenger

"Recounts many gripping episodes -- including brushes with Moro tribesmen, encounters with the guerrilla chieftain Morgan, a 'thieving, murdering, power-mad rogue,' and a miniature Bataan Death March that took place around the Fourth of July, 1942." -- Military History of the West

"One of the most incredible escape voyages of WWII. The success of this open-boat journey from the Philippines to Australia enabled General MacArthur to confirm the existence of an active guerrilla presence on Mindanao. This account is long overdue and Stahl has given us an important contribution to the history of the resistance movement -- as well as a jolly good yarn." -- Peter Parsons

"Hammer's story is unique in that they were the first Americans to successfully escape from Mindanao." -- Reviews of Historical Books

"The first Americans to succeed in escaping from the Philippine Islands.... An exciting account." -- Virginia Quarterly Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (November 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813122244
• ISBN-13: 978-0813122243
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,722,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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