Ghost Stories by Hampton Sides - Book Report/Review Example

College Ghost Stories It is 1945 and World War II is taking place and the US is out fighting with Japan in Philippines. Over 600 Americans and UK persons have been taken as prisoners in Philippines by the Japanese. A group of 121 American soldiers from the 6th ranger battalion have been selected to move across the enemy line and rescue the captured Americans who are held prisoners. By moving into Philippines, the solders risk coming face to face with over 8000 heavily armed Japanese soldiers. However with just their faith and armor, they move in without notice into the enemy territory where if they are caught then they face a death penalty.

The courage of these men was unmistakable and it is no doubt that they were ready to die for their mission to be completed. Inside the enemy lines, there was brutal torture and people were brutally killed after undoing a series of merciless torture from the Japanese. However this did not stop the solders from moving into the enemy boundary but instead gave them the encouragement to wait patiently and travel during night fall to attack the enemy and rescue the prisoners (Sides 75).Before this, the book clearly describes the brutal capture of these prisoners and how inhumanly they were treated by the Japanese.

The prisoners undergo an unimagined pain due to the merciless Japanese. The 121 soldiers move in and encounter a series of prison guards who attack them. Skillfully the troop take out the men one by one until one guard notice them and sounds an alarm and the other soldiers move in to help. There is a lot of firing but due to their skills of the 121, the Japanese prison guards are all fallen and they break the prisoners loose. There is firing all over and after sometime, there is reinforcement coming from the Japanese soldiers.

The soldiers are forced to run in order to save their lives and that of the rescued prisoners (Sides 112). Though some of the soldiers die, it is a sigh of relief as the final group that is rescued finally get to meet their loved ones. Hampton clearly tells the story of these soldiers with capturing and motivates skills that are rare to find. The book has a lot of suspense and it not only contains dramatic irony but also uses a series of grammatical skills to present the work to the reader. This book clearly gives the reader a hint of how bad world war was and how war is bad in general.

Based on true historical events, the book gives an insight of how terrible the war was and how much sacrifice soldiers go through to protect their countries. After reading this book, one suddenly feels the obligation to serve and to remain loyal to their country as well as respect the work that soldiers do in serving their country. Literary skills are most useful in the bringing out of the specific themes and events. Suspense as well as irony clearly involves the reader and keeps him moving on with the reading.

Work citedSides, Hampton. Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War Iis Most Dramatic Mission. New York: Doubleday, 2001. Print.