2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pssst....hey you! Want to market a few gold bullion?, January 5, 2004
I noticed this book while food shopping at a local market. The cover was sufficiently intriguing that I dropped the book in my basket. Later, when I started reading the book, I found the subject utterly fascinating. Knowing relatively nothing of Hirohito's gold, the mass burying of stolen WWII gold throughout the Philippines, the M Fund, and other facets related to this subject and time period, I was confused as to where the melding of fiction and fact began and ended. But this confusion did not detract from the book-it only served to whet my curiosity and to urge me to continue onward, page after page.
To readers who need constant action in order to keep reading a book, this novel may not be for them, as there are long (but captivating) narrations on the history of Hirohito's gold. But to those who enjoy a blending of historical fact with a snappy plot line, this book will give them a good read. Much of the action, both historical and in the present, is in the Philippines. Having been to the Philippines, I have to admire Mr. Hoyt's descriptions of the country and the people...I was soon sweating from his descriptions of the high heat and thick humidity (even while it was snowing here in Alaska), enjoying again the views of the verdant mountains and turquoise blue ocean waters, and reliving my own wonderful times with the truly unique and joyful Filipino people. In fact, I am now craving a San Miguel beer, and may have to just go back to the Philippines to get one.
As an interesting aside, when I was last in the Philippines (about 4 years ago), I was approached by a supposedly religious organization with a most unusual request: could I help them market an enormous load of gold bars found on a coconut farm in Mindanao? They had pictures of countless gold bars in some sort of bunker that they gave to me. I declined the offer. After reading Mr. Hoyt's account of the lost Japanese golden loot, the difficulties (to put it mildly) encountered by anyone, even former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in attempting to market stolen gold, I was relieved and gratified at my decision to have nothing to do with the purported unearthing of Japanese gold.
The three principal characters in the book-a former, disillusioned CIA operative, a history professor and a Filipino farmer-are well rounded and the types of folks that I (and probably you) would like to socialize with (preferably in an open air bar in the Philippines overlooking the sea). You care about them, their quest, and you hope that they come out of this dangerous business in one piece.
This is a good book, and you learn a great deal about an alarming historical deception while you are roundly entertained.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Is Really Bad, November 23, 2003
This review is from: Old Soldiers Sometimes Lie (Mass Market Paperback)
The only reason I actually finished this boring, convoluted, uninteresting book was because I was stuck on an airplane with nothing else to read. I should have just gone to sleep. The plot (if there really is one) centers around the attempt to recover gold stolen by Japanese military leaders and buried in the Philippines during World War II. There is virtually no action or drama in the book--just long, drawn-out explanations of historical activity by the main characters. I completely lost track of why some of the characters were in the book. Most of the activity (not action) is implausible and generally disconnected with the main theme. Don't waste your time or money on this book.
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