Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This engrossing WWII epic by Hornfischer (TheLast Stand of the Tin Can Sailors) recounts the exploits of the Houston, mainstay of the skimpy Allied fleet opposing the Japanese onslaught in the war's early days, until her sinking in a desperate battle with overwhelming Japanese forces in the Java Sea in 1942. This part of the story features a superb evocation of naval combat as the harnessing of immense destructive forces—booming eight-inch guns, plunging bombs, stealthy torpedoes—by the crew's frenzied yet meticulous choreography. The narrative then shifts gears to follow the Houston's several hundred survivors through Japanese POW camps in Southeast Asia, focusing on the labor camps on the Burma-Thailand railway (glamorized in the movie Bridge on the River Kwai). Shorn of their weapons and confronting starvation, disease and the brutality of Japanese guards, the prisoners cultivated a different kind of heroism, where survival hung on the ability to absorb hardship and humiliation without complaint, and the pilfering of an egg or a can of condensed milk for the dying was the ultimate act of courage. The result is a gripping, well-told memorial to Greatest Generation martyrdom. Photos. (Nov. 7)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* The author of Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors (2004) gives us another excellent volume of World War II naval history. His subject is now the heavy cruiser Houston--before the war, FDR's favorite ship for a Caribbean cruise and, in 1941, flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Her crew was prewar navy almost to a man, as well as being part of the peculiar subculture of the Asiatic Fleet. When war came, the surface vessels of the fleet sailed south to join in the defense of the Dutch East Indies, which has been described as "a magnificent display of very bad strategy." Houston fought long and well, taking major damage in a Japanese air attack and fighting in the Battle of the Java Sea. She and HMS Perth encountered the Japanese invasion of Java, and both went down fighting. Most of Houston's crew went down with her or died as Japanese POWs. Drawing on the survivors' accounts and extensive published resources, Hornfischer has painted a compelling picture of one of the most gallant ships and one of the grimmest campaigns in American naval history. He has a positive genius for depicting the surface-warfare sailor in a tight spot. May he write long and give them more memorials. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1ST edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553803905
• ISBN-13: 978-0553803907
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #287,907 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ship of Ghosts: Crew of Valor, November 27, 2006

By	Michael Diehl - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hornfischer's new history of the last days of USS Houston (CA30) covers the story of USS Houston from her launch through her sinking at the Battle of Sunda Strait, Java, February 1942. Most of the volume covers her wartime service with the United States Asiatic fleet, and the subsequent ordeals of her surviving crewmembers as prisoners of war in Java, Burma, Thailand and Japan. The tales of valor, resistence, and survival in the face of the impossible circumstances of Asiatic Fleet, and of her crew's survival in prisoner of war camps, have long awaited telling. Hornfischer deserves great credit for obtaining and presenting the tale, and for honoring the last great men of a generation of WW2 veterans who are rapidly dwindling in number.

The story of USS Houston's service as Asiatic Fleet's flagship when America entered the war has only been told once before with any competence (E.P. Hoyt's "The Lonely Ships") -- but not with the detail provided by Hornfischer. More importantly, the story of USS Houston's survivors, as they worked on the Burma-Thai death railway, and in at least one instance, as slave labor in a Japanese shipyard, and the endurance, resistence to Imperial Japanese Army sadistic brutality, and the prisoners' acts of defiance has never been told before.

This is Hornfischer's second widely available entry exploring the courage and valor of men of the US Navy in WW2 who, in some circumstances, faced very long odds and survived. Those who have read Hornfischer's "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" will be pleased with this new entry. "Ship of Ghosts" is sure to be another candidate for the Samuel E. Morison award for naval history.

77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HEROIC Ghost of the Java Coast!, November 15, 2006

By	Michael J. Maxwell (orlando) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first read the sample pgs on Amazon, it reminded me of those Civil War books w/ the flowery language in place of facts/1st hand experiences - but I was going to get this book cause there are rarely new WWII stories. The only thing I had know about the Houston was that it had been lost early in the war & had only seen that 1 Japanese photo of it engulfed in shell splashes (not incl here unfort - prob too sensitive!)
Well, I was wrong! This IS an epic story, more involved than the bks I have on the Indianapolis, Juneau or Bismark, written in an easy-reading style,(different than most of my WWII books) full of human interest stories & personal experiences - I read it in 10hrs in 2 sittings. 100pgs of the 530 are notes, but it incls the crew list, so it's a good value for your $18 - not like that new Midway book 'Shattered Sword' which is half technical info. I'm going to get this authors other 'Last Stand' bk.
And hey - if you're going to review these books, don't go on & on w/ all the details/contents like some of these guys - why bother reading it. You'd think these guys are writting their own book!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brave Ship, Brave Crew, January 10, 2007

By	Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Author James Hornfischer has followed up his best-selling "Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers" with another sea epic that's sure to become as popular as his first book.

Hornfischer's second effort deals with the heavy cruiser USS Houston, the flagship of the rag-tag Asiatic Fleet. Given orders to intercept the advancing Imperial Japanese Navy in the early days of the Pacific war, the small Asiatic fleet had little chance of survival. The Japanese held a massive superiority over the Allies in all types of ships. It was only a matter of time before the Japanese succeeded in destroying the plucky little Allied fleet.

Despite these overwhelming odds, the Asiatic Fleet fought bravely, though in the end, the Japanese prevailed. The Houston and the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth were sunk in the Java Sea while attempting to sneak by the Japanese fleet and reach safety in Australia.

Several hundred crewmen of the Houston and Perth were captured by the Japanese and dispresed to various POW camps in Southeast Asia. This began a three-year ordeal for the survivors, who were forced to deal with the constant brutality of their captors. Beatings were a common occurance, and the Japanese informed the POWs that escape was futile. Some men were sent to Japan to work in mines or shipyards, and some were sent to Burma and Thailand to construct a railway for the Japanese. Glamorized in the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai", these men labored without the aid of machines to build a railway consisting of tracks, bridges, tressels, and tunnels. It was an engineering miracle that these starved and decimated men were able to accomplish such a feat.

As the POWs' time in Burma and Thailand wore on, the Allies had begun to re-capture much of the territory seized by the Japanese in the early days of the war. Soon, the POWs on the railway had to contend with Allied bombers as well as the Japanese, but they knew that the end must be near as the raids increased in intensity and frequency.

After the Japanese finally surrendered in August, 1945, the POWs were finally liberated and returned to the United States. But many died at the hands of the Japanese as well. During the war, the U.S. Navy built a new USS Houston to replace the one lost in the Java Sea.

James Hornfischer has done a magnificent job of telling the story of the Houston and her brave crew. Known as President Roosevelt's favorite fishing boat, the Houston and the rest of the Asiatic Fleet put up a valiant fight against overwhelming odds in the dark early days of the Pacific war. The story of her survivors and the atrocities they faced at the hands of the Japanese is a true testament to their will to live and return home. This fine book contains a wealth of information gained from interviews with the survivors as well as fine historical prose by the author.

I highly recommend this fine piece of military history. Hornfischer has followed up is excellent first book with one that is even better. If you're a fan of naval history, then be sure to read this great book. These brave men were part of our greatest generation, and Hornfischer's book is a fitting tribute to their service and sacrifice. They will not be forgotten.