Customer Reviews

Shadows In The Jungle: The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines In World War II

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There is an exhilarating scene in John Dahl's 2005 wartime film, The Great Raid (Full Screen Edition) when soldiers swarm the Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp. Dressed as local farmers, the Alamo Scouts pretended to work in the cultivated fields next to the camp all the while reconnoitering its defenses. With this information, the main attack by Rangers and Filipino guerrillas set free 561 suffering men, many who had survived the Bataan Death March.

Larry Alexander has chosen to build his rousing war narrative "Shadows In the Jungle" around those Alamo Scouts. Mr. Alexander's book tells us pacific war adventure stories straight from the 108 missions carried out by Gen. Kruegar's Alamo Scouts (named for the shrine in Kruegar's hometown of San Antonio, Texas).

"They collected data on possible invasion beaches, tides and currents, troop numbers and locations, enemy morale, defensive positions, the availability of roads and fresh water, and other much-needed information. While their main mission was to collect intelligence and not fight the enemy, they were sometimes called upon to perform raider duties, such as destroying enemy supply depots, and rescuing civilian hostages and prisoners of war from the Japanese", states the author.

Mr. Alexander is the talented author of Biggest Brother : The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers. There is great attention to historic detail and graphic story telling of these deadly men paddling ashore, lurking in the shadows, then leaping up to attack unwary Japanese soldiers.

"Shadows In the Jungle" contains a gallery of twenty-six photographs of the Alamo Scouts, three area maps, and an appendix of the Alamo Scouts team roster.

Just halfway through this fascinating account of the Alamo Scouts, I am greatly impressed by the work that this Special Forces Unit did to help prepare the way for the US combat troops during WWII. Praise goes to the author who carefully unearthed the unheralded and little-known work of the Alamo Scouts. These average men were transformed into brave heroes during the war years, and then returned to their everyday lives as upstanding American citizens and family men.

The story of the Alamo Scouts is definitely a 5 but the writing is only a 3 for me. It is unfortunate that the exploits of Alamo Scouts was kept secret so long, which of course wasn't necessary but typical of the government. The scouts were an all volunteer group of very young, very couragous Americans. Their feats were literally amazing. 108 missions behind enemy lines and never lost a man while providing Gen. Krueger vital information which no doubt save many lives. I have read a lot on WWII and knew very little about this group. It is a fascinating story.

I did however have a problem with the writing particularily the narrative style with lots of direct quotes. It read more like a historical fiction book where real events are told through fictional characters so dialog can be made up. I just find it hard to believe that a lot of dialog wasn't made up. These were events that happened 60 years ago. Most of the scouts were dead and I can't imagine that the ones that were interviewed remembered all this dialog that they said at the time. It seems more likely to be a literary device to make it a narrative style of writing. I don't think it was necessary at all since it was a great story. I can remember what I did last week but not much of the dialog. I can't remember very much of what I did 40 years ago even the really important things, except in very broad strokes.

The Alamo Scouts were the real deal. If you are a WWII buff read this book.

I picked this book up on Amazon.com. I read this book quickly for a couple of reasons, it was about an interesting subject that I hadn't read about before, and the book was a well written balance between high level strategy and personal experiences. The subject of this book is SIMILAR to that of a book I hated concerning the Australian commandos. [The reason that I hated the Australian commando book was that it was written entirely from the after action reports from the war. There were NO first person accounts in it.]

The author of the Alamo scouts book used a few diaries, and interviewed a lot of the surviving Alamo Scouts in order to get his information. Since the book was written in 2009 and since the Alamo Scouts worked in small groups (4-12), Larry was unable to get a full history of the scouts. Considering that the only losses of the Alamo Scouts were in training, this is an important book for a Special Forces type to read. The book as written is a 5, but since everyone waited until the half of the scouts had died of old age to write the book, it got a 4.

Mike

I bought the book because I know the gentleman the intro was written about. A true American Hero......I read the book because it was very well written and so interesting I couldn't stop reading it.

In 1944, American General Walter Krueger developed the idea of a unique force of scouts and raiders who would infiltrate behind Japanese lines to scout enemy locations, troop strength, strongholds, and aid guerrilla groups. This idea turned into the Alamo Scouts, and "Shadows in the Jungle" describes the birth of this outfit and the numerous missions they conducted behind enemy lines.

These men were the toughest the army had to offer. Their job was to slip in behind enemy lines and assess enemy troop strength, morale, and conditions, while at the same time, remaining undetected by the enemy. To accomplish this task, the teams were made up of only six men. They were usually dropped off by PT boat and picked up at the end of their mission. The scouts went ashore in rubber rafts and rowed back to the waiting PT boat. The scouts conducted over 100 missions behind enemy lines and, miraculously, didn't have a single member killed in combat. Conversely, the scouts killed over 500 Japanese soldiers, took many others prisoner, and participated in several prisoner liberation raids, the most famous being at Cabanatuan prison camp. Here, many of the survivors of the Bataan Death March were kept. The scouts, in conjunction with the Army Rangers, led a surprise attack against the camp and freed 516 prisoners.

I was fascinated by author Larry Alexander's story of the Alamo Scouts. This is the first book I've read that has been totally devoted to their story. I found the reading informative and exciting, and I've developed a new respect for these brave men. I have read previous books about the raid on Cabanatuan prison, and these only mention the Alamo Scouts. Alexander has dug much deeper, and this fine book gives a complete history of the scouts. The book is well-researched and well-written, and I learned about a group of soldiers that I knew little of before. Highly recommended.

Stories from the Alamo Scouts, an intelligence-gathering unit which served in the Pacific in covert operations during WWII. The beginning of the book starts off with a big WOW!, recounting the story of an elderly man with a cane being attacked by a mugger - and then promptly taking down the mugger using his cane. Immediately following that is another exciting story of an actual jungle operation. Compared to that incredible beginning, it gets a little dull while it explains the history behind the founding, recruitment, and early training of the Scouts. But it doesn't last long before getting back to exciting stories of dangerous missions.

For most of their history, the Alamo Scouts were considered secret and they and their heroic stories remained largely unknown. So it's unfortunate that by the time this book was written most of the men had already passed away. But Larry Alexander makes the most of the information he was able to get from the surviving members. There's a lot of dialog in the book, which seems a bit dubious given the 60 years that have elapsed since the events, and much of it sounds very Hollywoodish, but it's still a very exciting read. Readers who enjoyed Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides will likely enjoy this one, too.

I found the book to be accurate. The book had quotes that my Father had made. It sounded just like him talking. I would like to thank the author for his detailed research and honest protrayal of these unsung Heroes!!!

One of the best books on WW II I have ever read and I have read extensively on this subject.

It is great to know someone is still uncovering stories that for so many years were "Top Secret" and are only of late becoming available to writers...late because most of these men are now dead of natural causes.

A must read for WW-II readers on another special group of men who led the way by working behind the lines of the enemy to get vital information for both minor and major campaigns (landings) in the Pacific Theatre.

Mr Alexander has outdone himself once again!

Excellent account of the Alamo Scouts from their humble beginnings to their importance to the war effort in the Pacific. The book depicts many of their missions behind the enemy lines and the perils they faced. These were the first of many were to be called "Special Forces". Many of their tactics are still in use today.