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Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath
For the first four months of 1942, U.S., Filipino, and Japanese soldiers fought what was America’s first major land battle of World War II, the battle for the tiny Philippine peninsula of Bataan. It ended with the surrender of 76,000 Filipinos and Americans, the single largest defeat in American military history.
The defeat, though, was only the beginning, as Michael a...more
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
June 9th 2009
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(first published January 1st 1992)
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Released in June of 2009, Tears in the Darkness is the story of the Bataan Death March and the POW camps of the Japanese in the Philippines and Japan. Absolute must read. I was hesitant about this purchase because it seemed like such a depressing story. But it was actually an exciting read and life-affirming.
My one criticism concerns the authors' viewpoint about the executions of Gen. Homma and other senior Japanese military leaders for war crimes. The authors believe these executions were u...more
My one criticism concerns the authors' viewpoint about the executions of Gen. Homma and other senior Japanese military leaders for war crimes. The authors believe these executions were u...more
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This is a must-read books for all Filipinos. Once again, it tells us not only what atrocities Japanese and injustice Americans did to Filipinos. I wish that there will be a cheaper version of this book so that it will be more affordable to us. Tata J lent me this 1st edition (2009) book that he bought at around US$20. Thanks again, Tata J for another perspective- if not life-changing book!
This is my 3rd book read this year alone on what happened during World War II here in the Philip...more
This is my 3rd book read this year alone on what happened during World War II here in the Philip...more
I was prepared to love this book in a really emotionally moving way; but ultimately I was disappointed by several aspects of Tears in the Darkness. I commend the author on his research and presentation of the individual stories of many of the participants in the Battle of Bataan and subsequent tragic events. The March itself was horrifying, of course. And then, all of a sudden, the reader is thrown into the "unfair" trial of General Homma, who is portrayed as merely a victim of circums...more
I gave this book five stars because I thought the research was exceptional, it was an absolutely fresh look at a very worn-out topic (WWII), and it was the first book on war I've read that captured the mindset, worldview, and experiences of BOTH sides (in this case, American and Japanese). The couple who co-wrote it obviously brought in their own areas of expertise and experience, and I just can't imagine how much time and effort it must have taken to interview so many people and dig up the kin...more
Tears in the Darkness: the story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath, by Michael and Elizabeth Norman, narrated by Michael Prichard, produced by Tantor Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is the story of the first significant battle between the U.S. and Japan after Pearl Harbor-the battle for the Bataan peninsula. The Americans lost the first round, McArthur departed, and left his troops to be taken prisoner. For almost four years these American and Filipino soldiers w...more
This is the story of the first significant battle between the U.S. and Japan after Pearl Harbor-the battle for the Bataan peninsula. The Americans lost the first round, McArthur departed, and left his troops to be taken prisoner. For almost four years these American and Filipino soldiers w...more
Michael Norman and Elizabeth Norman wrote an incredible book when they wrote Tears in the Darkness: the Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath. The surrender of more than 76,000 American and Filipino troops on the Bataan peninsula is not a part of World War II that I learned much about in history classes, and I am so thankful that I stumbled upon this book at the library.
Captivating and well-written, this book also dredged up academic memories from college experience at W...more
Captivating and well-written, this book also dredged up academic memories from college experience at W...more
Michael Norman does a great job of illustrating the unimaginable horrors that Ben Steele and his comrades endured on Bataan and throughout their 3-year ordeal as POWs in Japan. His glimpses of the Japanese experience as well are enlightening, particularly the hohei diaries which literally give unprecedented firsthand Japanese accounts. The brutality extends far beyond anything I've read prior, and it's one of those rare stories that truly makes you appreciate everything you have--even the little...more
Ann Seymour
added it
That people now understand MacArthur's failings. Here is the back story on Bataan: Everyone who has read "Tears in the Darkness" by Michael Norman calls it the best of the best, and I agree. Here is what I know about the events that led to the horriffic Bataan Death March.
On Pearl Harbor day, church bells pealed from cupolas in Manila, the sounds cresting, suspended, and six-inch long monkeys went swinging from lily to lily as if the flowers were trees. In Malacanan Palace, c...more
On Pearl Harbor day, church bells pealed from cupolas in Manila, the sounds cresting, suspended, and six-inch long monkeys went swinging from lily to lily as if the flowers were trees. In Malacanan Palace, c...more
I know that there are some out there that shy away from revisionist histories. The entire genre has gotten a bad reputation due to the power of the truly crank cases, whether it be Holocaust denial, Howard Zinn’s indictments on American History (or western civilization in general) or Pat Buchanan’s ode to Nazi Germany. Yet, there are plenty of other works that fall into the genre that are not meant to do anything more than to increase our understanding of the events of yesteryear. Tears in the ...more
It is a true story of tens of thousands of American and Filipino POW's forced to march to their prison by the Japanese during WWII. Even though everything in the book is factual, it read like a fiction. The authors did extensive research from countless books, records, newspapers, diaries, and interviews. And I appreciate that the authors stayed neutral throughout the book and offered bits of accounts from both American and Japanese sides; there were plenty of stories within the book to contra...more
A devastatingly sad account of the events of 1941-'42 in the Philippines, and the aftermath of the war told from the perspective of several people, including Sgt. Ben Steel of Hawk Creek, Montana as well as former Japanese soldiers. Cut off, outnumbered, and by all war plans written off, the U.S. Army in the Philippines fought bravely for four months on the peninsula of Bataan, inflicting terrible casualties on the Japanese and then suffering the "Death March", a 66 mile trek to a rai...more
Out of all the wars that have occurred since the beginning of time, I find stories involving World War II the most fascinating to read. And since the 2011 rendition of the Bataan Death March Marathon was just completed and another year without me as a participant, I felt the urge to at least read one soldier's account on what he endured while on the infamous Death March. Certainly the author did not disappoint. At times I felt the raw emotions of pain, agony, fear, tears, hunger, revenge, hatred...more
This was an interesting book about the battles lost by the Americans and Filipinos at Bataan and other battles that ended in the surrender and the Bataan Death March. The book certainly does not portray General MacArthur very heroically. There was an interesting discussion of at what point men lose their civilization and empathy. The effects of starvation, dehydration, malaria, and other diseases had a tragic effect on many men. There was some discussion of why the Japanese treated their prisone...more
A reasonably good read about the Bataan Death March. I've been reading various non-fiction books about WWII lately, and it was very informative, and tragically sad.
I would say that the writing is just ok. The author focuses on one solider and gives way, way, way too much backstory about this solider, in my view. In general I was interested in the fact that he grew up in Montana as the son of a rancher (and apparently bootlegger), but I kept wanting to get back to what was going ...more
I would say that the writing is just ok. The author focuses on one solider and gives way, way, way too much backstory about this solider, in my view. In general I was interested in the fact that he grew up in Montana as the son of a rancher (and apparently bootlegger), but I kept wanting to get back to what was going ...more
This book was full of amazing content, but the writing was a little off. The authors tried to follow one GI on his journey, but it's impossible to focus on just one and still capture the horror of the situation. The information this book contains is well worth the minor struggles you'll face with the actual writing. The authors show the attack on Bataan from the American AND Japanese perspective, which makes it more realistic. At some points you'll be rooting for the Americans, and at others, yo...more
This book was an amazing look at one of the most harrowing events for our soldiers in the Pacific theater during WWII: the Bataan Death March. As an avid Japanophile, and more especially one who realizes that the Japanese, like all people, have a dark side to balance their more intriguing and alluring aspects, this book was a fascinating read. My only caveat to the contents, which mostly come from a first hand account by one of the survivors of the Death March, is the often implied and sometimes...more
This remarkable book was sent to me by K.D., a GoodReads friend from the Philippines, because I had expressed an interest in learning more about his country. As K.D. had explained, it’s an American book, focussed primarily on their experiences as POWs under Nippon, but because the notorious Bataan Death March took place in the Philippines, the victims also included Filipino soldiers. The numbers are appalling: of 75,000 captives, 67,000 were Filipinos, 1,000 were Chinese Filipinos, and 11,796 ...more
This was an excellent history of World War II and the Bataan Death March. Some reviews have called it revisionist history, but maybe it was just the truth coming out. As school children, we were taught about the greatness of MacArthur, but my dad, who served in the force that liberated Bataan, never had a lot of good things to say about the general. If the views held in the book are as common as I now think, I understand why my dad felt the way he did and who others do also.
Ma...more
Ma...more
A truly amazing read. I literally could not put this book down. Tears in the Darkness is an eye-opening look into the horrors endured by the American POWs held in Japanese hands during the Second World War. This book is not for the faint at heart and does depict some graphic scenes. If you are faint at heart I would not recommend this book. The book also details the inner-experiences of the Japanese soldiers during the ordeal and imprisonment. However, I do feel that the authors provided a bit t...more
A harrowing chronicle of the Bataan Death march. The book follows a soldier named Ben Steele who went on to be a popular illustrator of western/cowboy type books. Ben also captured his experiences as a POW in illustrations which appear throughout the book.
I suppose we need to be reminded of man's inhumanity to man to make sure it doesn't happen again but the things these soldiers and sailors went through were just unbelievable. I was also surprised to find out that Bataan was the singl...more
I suppose we need to be reminded of man's inhumanity to man to make sure it doesn't happen again but the things these soldiers and sailors went through were just unbelievable. I was also surprised to find out that Bataan was the singl...more
I shed a lot of tears while reading this excellent book about the Bataan Death March, one of the best books I've read on this subject. Too many Americans are unaware of this horrific event because our history classes focus mainly on the European aspect of WWII and go from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima when discussing the Pacific side, completely ignoring the 4 years in between. The authors include stories from some of the Japanese soldiers as well as comments on the cultural beliefs of the Japanes...more
This was a pretty well done study of the experience of an American POW in the Philippines in WWII. Ever since reading a fiction book on the subject a few years ago, I've wanted to read a historical account, and have begun a few, only to be discouraged by tone and language. It seems bad language is just something to put up with in this subject--this book had plenty, too, but because most of the book was presented as the story of one man, I was able to stick with it better. I was sometimes conf...more
An unbelievably well documented, and written story of a terrible experience in American History. Like Viet Nam, this was a group of soldiers forgotten until year after their return.
The sacrifices that were made for America in this war, the atrocities suffered when leaders fail was a painful read.
My father served as an Alamo Scout pre-invasion in the Phillipines. I was told he was a hero, from an friend of my Dad's after his death.
Daddy hardly spoke of the experience. While not ...more
The sacrifices that were made for America in this war, the atrocities suffered when leaders fail was a painful read.
My father served as an Alamo Scout pre-invasion in the Phillipines. I was told he was a hero, from an friend of my Dad's after his death.
Daddy hardly spoke of the experience. While not ...more
The book reports on the portion of WWII that occurred in the Philippines. It begins just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and continues through the war crimes trials that followed Japan's surrender.
Although I have heard of the Bataan Death March, I knew almost nothing of it. As someone else recounted in their review, my history classes focused primarily on the European portion of the war. The events in the Pacific mostly skipped from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima.
This ...more
Although I have heard of the Bataan Death March, I knew almost nothing of it. As someone else recounted in their review, my history classes focused primarily on the European portion of the war. The events in the Pacific mostly skipped from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima.
This ...more
I have always been interested in WWII. This was a particularly interesting story as I am also interested in the Japan front of the war given my experience in Japan with the people and language. The Batan death march is one of the most horrific stories of the war. This not only goes into the stories of the American soldiers, but also of the Japanese which is a really interesting perspective. I would highly recommend reading this book. It's not easy to hear about all the great suffering that ...more
I'm reading this because my grandfather was also a survivor of Bataan from Montana. This is an incredible book, though I'm reading it slowly and really taking in the experience. It is a difficult book to read, but for me, no more difficult than knowing the horror that the American and Filipino men went through. Not enough people know about it. I hope they will read this book to find out.
While I also appreciate the inclusion of the Japanese perspective, it is hard for me to read it as w...more
While I also appreciate the inclusion of the Japanese perspective, it is hard for me to read it as w...more
I could only give this one 3 stars because it is so very hard to read about so much human misery and cruelty. Living in my comfortable, happy, sheltered, suburban home in 2010, I really can't comprehend the physical hardships those men endured, not to mention how people could treat others, even conquered captives, and especially fellow prisoners the way the POWs in the Phillipines were treated. Thank you so much to the authors for seeing the soldiers' stories through to some happiness and heal...more
This is the story of the World War II campaign for the Philippines, something I knew absolutely nothing about. If you've got a strong stomach for the gory details of war, this book will take you right into the trenches, through the death march, into the prisoner of war camps, into the hold of prisoner of war ships, and finally back home again, all told through the stories of the soldiers who were there. Not only is it a great war book, it's also a fascinating study of how human beings survive ...more
I begin my review of this book by sharing my personal experience of living amongst the people of Manila for two straight years. I lived in Metro Manila in the slums and became quite familiar with the area and the surrounding provinces.
My time over there I learned many things and some of those had to do with World War II. Interestingly enough, one of the first things I learned was the elderly despise the Japanese. Filipinos are some of the nicest, most congenial people you will eve...more
My time over there I learned many things and some of those had to do with World War II. Interestingly enough, one of the first things I learned was the elderly despise the Japanese. Filipinos are some of the nicest, most congenial people you will eve...more
This was the first history I have ever read of the Battle of Bataan, the Bataan Death March, and its aftermath, and it was horrifying and shocking to read the details of our defeat and the cruelty American soldiers and Filipinos experienced at the hands of the Japanese. The Normans tell the story from a shifting viewpoint - via Ben Steele, a member of the Army Air Corps who participated in almost every event captured in the narrative, the personal experiences of Japanese participants, and an omn...more
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Michael Norman, is the co-author of TEARS IN THE DARKNESS: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath (2009), a work of narrative non-fiction that was on the New York Times bestseller list for eight weeks and was picked by Times critic Dwight Garner, as well as other reviewers, as one of the top ten books of year. He has also written THESE GOOD MEN: Friendships Forged in War, a memoir p...more
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