>>Editor
and POW historian Linda Goetz Holmes to present the book on December
7, 2012
 Prior
to the outbreak of the Pacific War, Guam was a paradise for U.S.
military and civilian employees stationed on the island.
Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, the Japanese
invaded the tiny island, captured the Americans, and shipped
them to Japan. Only a lucky few escaped.
Drawing on interviews with survivors, diaries, and archival records,
Roger Mansell documents
the mostly unknown story of these American POWs. Slowly starving
as slave laborers for Japanese companies, the men endured horrific
hardships, many of which are chronicled in this book for the
first time.
Also included are moving stories of their liberation, transportation
home, and the aftermath of their ordeal, making this book an
important addition to World War II history.
“In
the days of shock and horror that followed Japan's attack on
Pearl Harbor, another monumental event, occurring almost simultaneously,
was largely overlooked: Japan's bloody seizure of the strategically
critical island of Guam. For the American troops, civilians and
native people captured in the invasion, so began an epic ordeal.
The Americans were shipped off to be slaves for the Japanese,
while the natives remained behind to endure four years of brutalities
under their captors. Roger Mansell, the pre-eminent historian
of Pacific POWs, devoted the last years of his life to unearthing
and telling this forgotten story, and after his death, the work
was completed by his colleague, the esteemed POW author Linda
Goetz Holmes. Chronicling a lost chapter of World War II, Captured
promises to be an authoritative, fastidiously researched and
compelling read.”
—Laura Hillenbrand, author of Unbroken: A World
War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption and Seabiscuit:
An American Legend
Well researched and well written, Captured is a worthy
addition to the growing literature on American POWs in World
War II and a fine tribute to those who served on Guam.
—John B. Lundstrom, author of Midway and Guadal
Canal
>>Read the review
by Kinue Tokudome
|
|
"Roger Mansell's Captured
is a beautifully written, richly researched account of the fall
of Guam and a searing reminder of the horrific ordeal suffered
by American prisoners of war at the hands of the Japanese."
John A.
Glusman, author of Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors
and Their Fight for Life as Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941 -
1945
>Read the complete
review
Jeff Kingston,
Japan Times
"The
strength of the work is that the author interviewed many ex-POWs
and recorded their stories first-hand. For every particular event
of interest, for every unit involved, military or civilian, he
seems to have at least one firsthand account. Often Mansell quotes
directly from his interviews or from the diaries the POWs kept
while in captivity. This provides a lot of interesting information
and detail which make the book a gripping read. But in addition
to collecting oral history from the survivors, Mansell has backed
this up with thoroughly researched archival material which is
well used and documented in the endnotes."
Peter
McQuarrie, Pacific Affairs
"[A] very
good piece of historical writing. The interviews allow the reader
to learn much more about the POWs as individuals, and their graphic
descriptions of the atrocities they witnessed are a testament
to the depths of Japanese depravity in the POW camps. . . . It
is a tragedy that Mansell did not live long enough to experience
the feeling of having his book in print. His family should take
pride in the product he managed to create, and the legacy of
helping POW survivors that he has left behind.
Paul
Springer, Humantities and Social Sciences Online, h-net.org
"After so many years, it’s surprising that World War
II still has some untold stories. In fact, a couple of the “forgotten
men of Guam” have published memoirs, but those are long
out of print. In Captured, Roger Mansell brings their
stories together with useful background and the results of what
was apparently a great deal of personal research. The result
is an interesting account of some of the first prisoners of the
Pacific war and their tribulations...a valuable collection of
reminiscences... Captured conveys the atmosphere of the
camps and the men's perceptions clearly enough to make it very
enjoyable and rewarding reading."
The
Asian Review of Books
"A
labor of love for Roger Mansell that extended ten years, edited
after his death by historian Linda Goetz (known for her writings
on the POW experience in the Pacific War), this book stands as
a harrowing tale of the POW experience of the men of Guam. The
genesis of this stark tale is the author’s interviews of
POWs and the realization that no book-length treatment had ever
dealt with the men of Guam, whose experience had been largely
forgotten between the events of Pearl Harbor and Wake Island
and in the later horrors of the Bataan Death March. This book
fills that void and serves as a lasting tribute to the memory
of the brave men in harm’s way who paid the price for our
nation’s unpreparedness and survived a cruel and barbaric
captivity at the hand of sadistic Japanese. There are a few remarkable
qualities to this work that make it immensely worthwhile for
any reader who has an interest in uncovering the truth about
Japanese treatment of prisoners of war (which makes for deeply
unpleasant reading) or understanding the grim fate of Guam during
World War II. One of these qualities is that Roger Mansell (a
man who had never written a book) managed to skillfully express
the words of the POWs whose memories he recorded over long years
of meticulous research, allowing the prisoners of war, through
their memories, their diaries, and other primary data, to speak
for themselves against the silence of oblivion.... CONTINUE
READING
Nathan Albright in Naval History Book Reviews
I
could not stop reading it. His attention to detail was amazing.
Reading the book was like sitting down with a great story-teller
that transported me to that time and those places. My only complaint
is that it wasn't another 500 pages! It is absolutely the best
book I've read about the Far Eastern POW experience. . . I will
treasure this book forever.
Jim Hansford
|
“Roger Mansell worked
tirelessly to research and document the stories of American POWs
in the Pacific during World War II. His efforts give us a better
understanding of the great service and sacrifice of these heroes.
The stories he tells are a tribute to the warriors who defend
us.” – Oliver North
