Ship of Ghosts: The story of the U.S.S. HOUSTON, FDR’s legendary lost cruiser, and the epic saga of her survivors.

James D. Hornfischer

ISBN-10-:0-553-80390-5

Those of you who know me know I’m crazy about cruisers. Especially U.S. so called “treaty cruisers.” Of those the ship that really represents not only the fate of many early U.S, cruisers, but also the Allied navies in early WWII is the U.S.S. Houston, the Galloping Gray Ghost of the Java Coast. This book tells the story not only of the Houston, but also of the American, British, Dutch, Australian forces, ABDA, fighting to save the Dutch East Indies, and of these men after their capture. It is written by the author of the book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, and anybody who enjoyed that book should enjoy this one.

The book is basically in two halves, the battles that the Houston fought in prior to her sinking, and the fate of her captured men. While it focuses on the Houston it also mentions quite a bit about the HMAS Perth, which fought alongside Houston in her final battle, and also the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, the so called “Lost Battalion” whose story is interweaved with that of the Houston’s survivors. Anybody who is a great fan of the movie Bridge on the River Kwai, and thinks it a historical representation of what the POWs went through, should skip reading the second part. It is the second part of the book that is so very hard to read, telling as it does the truly inhumane treatment the men went through. That said I wouldn’t have missed reading it.

I highly recommend this book.