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Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath |  | Authors: Michael Norman, Elizabeth Norman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
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Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 7189
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1St Edition
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0374272603
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.547252095991
EAN: 9780374272609
ASIN: 0374272603
Publication Date: June 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 and Elizabeth M. Norman make dramatically clear in this powerfully original book. From then until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the prisoners of war suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: forty-one months of captivity, starvation rations, dehydration, hard labor, deadly disease, and torture far from the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur.
The Normans bring to the story remarkable feats of reportage and literary empathy. Their protagonist, Ben Steele, is a figure out of Hemingway: a young cowboy turned sketch artist from Montana who joined the army to see the world. Juxtaposed against Steele s story and the sobering tale of the Death March and its aftermath is the story of a number of Japanese soldiers.
The result is an altogether new and original World War II book: it exposes the myths of military heroism as shallow and inadequate; it makes clear, with great literary and human power, that war causes suffering for people on all sides. |
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
Fast Shipping. March 2, 2010
Eniscia R. Ruff (Bellville, TX)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
My order was processed quickly, and I received my book in no time. Great condition too.
Absolute must read January 24, 2010
Phyllis (Cameron, Texas 76520)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tears In the Darkness is a well written and easy to read historical account of the Bataan Death March. This is a must read for those who like historical non-fiction and those who just like a good read. I am amazed at the authors ability draw you into the novel and keep you trapped there until the last page.
 Well Researched but Flawed. January 5, 2010
Robert Hansen (San Lorenzo, California)
21 out of 26 found this review helpful
It has been 65 years since the events depicted in "Tears of Darkness" took place. Yet they still tug at our heartstrings and make us ponder man's inherent inhumanity in war. The story of the abject cruelty of the Japanese military during World War II is still a very important one to tell, especially in an era when our national leaders are apologizing to our former enemies for defeating them in war and subordinating themselves to them (the Japanese Emperor) in public. I'm sure those images resonate negatively in the hearts and minds of the survivors of the Bataan Death March - men like Ben Steele.
It seems to be politically correct to laud "Tears in the Darkness" due mainly to it's subject matter and the human emotion it evokes from the depiction of the horrors perpetuated by the Japanese during the Battle of Bataan, the Bataan Death march, the Hell Ships and the Japanese Prisoner of War Camps. However, that is precisely the reason I'm criticizing it. All those subjects are covered but it is touted as the story of the Bataan Death March when that is only one of many things covered. In fact the Death March is almost an afterthought in the narrative. It is covered in only 56 pages out of the 430+ page book. Therefore the title is very misleading. The book was thoroughly researched and many of the participants, both victims and oppressors, were interviewed over a period of some ten years. However, there are a multitude of errors in detail which makes me suspect that they put aside accuracy in an intent to evoke emotion and advance an agenda. Most readers, who are not historians of the events, won't notice the errors so I'll focus on other aspects of the book.
I saw three main themes in the book. The first theme was very heart rendering. It was the biography of Ben Steele, a young man from Montana who found himself on Bataan and was thus was on the Death March and subsequently a Hell Ship and a prison camp in Japan. Apparently Mr. Steele was interviewed over a period of ten years. It was Mr. Steele's experiences that the story of Japanese atrocities was framed around. Again, the Death March was only a part of the story.
The second theme seemed to be a condemnation of MacArthur. The authors referenced the "Dugout Doug" mantra of his detractors and spoke of his escaping to safety in Australia leaving Generals Wainwright and King to suffer the ignobility of surrender and imprisonment. You can say what you want about his errors in judgment and his ego but he was NOT a coward. He received multiple awards for bravery during World War I and repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire during World War II. While on Corregidor he lived in a house on the island not in the tunnel complex. Generals are not supposed to be killed in action - like it or not, they are more valuable than the common soldier. He has plenty to be criticized for but cowardice is NOT one of them.
The third theme seemed to be a veiled attempt to exonerate Homma for the actions of his troops. The book spent way too many pages on him and his trial. The background of his legal team has no place in a story of "the Death March" so the author's motives seem very suspect. Irrespective of what he saw and how much he saw, the principal of "Command Responsibility" holds true. It defeats logic to say he had absolutely no knowledge of or responsibility for the actions of his subordinates. True, Macarthur let the Japanese Emperor and others go free for political expediency but the way they portray Homma makes it seem like they're trying to set him up for a pardon. The whole emphasis on Homma seemed out of place in a biography of Mr. Steele and might have been better served in an appendix.
I rate the book a "3" for being well written and well researched. I am not an expert but do know something about the incidents described. My mother's family is from the Philippines and I have many friends and relatives who were on Corregidor and the Death March and on the Hell Ships and subsequent prison camps. My Grandfather smuggled sulfa drugs to the prison camps and testified in the Yamashita trial on the atrocities he witnessed. There have been discussions on "Command Responsibility" in the family since then. All the Japanese my family encountered during the War knew what was going on. I found it incredulous that Homma allegedly didn't. I bought the book thinking it would be on the Bataan Death March. It was basically a biography of Mr. Steele with the Battle of Bataan and subsequent Death March being mere props. I didn't like the flowery metaphors and poetic language. They padded the narrative, which sometimes made it difficult to follow the main story. There were some continuity problems and stories that didn't have closure, especially with other characters mentioned in the story but also including Mr. Steele. The story of Dr. Ashton and Bilibid was fascinating in that one of my Filipino relatives was tortured there and also treated by Dr. Ashton (and mentioned by name in his book). My mother and her cousins did volunteer work at the Japanese hospital that was in Malate school and also helped treat some of the Corregidor and Bataan POW's. However, nothing was mentioned about that facility. It made me feel that something was left out.
Overall, I recommend the book for people want to know about those events. But I also want to get away from the incessant plaudits and point out that there are issues with the book
A breathless journey through hell January 3, 2010
W. Wirtanen (St. Louis MO)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tears in the Darkness is the story of the Bataan Death March and the POW camps of the Japanese in the Philippines and Japan with the center line of this journey revolving around Ben Steele.
It tells the stroy of Ben and the men that he came in contact with during this trip through hell. Interspersed are illustrations by Mr.Steele.
The story also touches on other men on both sides of the conflict and provides complete view of the ordeal. Their description of the training of ordinary Japanese soldier your will find enlightening.
I knew about the Death March but from the 10,000 ft level. This book will bring you down to where the rubber meets the road.
The authors also cover the aftermath which is interesting and provides a fitting end to such a dramatic story.
What a wonderful experience to have read and listened to this story December 26, 2009
Steve Horwitz (US)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I still haven't recovered from experiencing through words and voice the best story related to war I have ever listened to and read. I usually don't get emotional from a book. TEARS IN THE DARKNESS made me cry like a baby. In my opinion every history teacher should make this book required reading when studying the evils of war.
The emotions I felt were as close to the real thing humanly possible without experiencing the trials and evil of what Ben Steele experienced in real life. You will never get over the emotional impact of "Tears in the Darkness".
Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
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