The Rescue: A True Story of Courage and Survival in World War II

'The Rescue' is a must read.The author presents a very detailed look at many aspects of life in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.From sugar cane farmers,allied prisoners,the resistance,americans hideing in the jungle,life aboard a US submarine just to name a few & ties it all together at the end of the book.It reads like a novel but is all fact.The research is incredible. I have read dozens & dozens of WW2 books,this ranks near the top!!Don't miss this one!!!

I've read dozens of books of the era of World War Ii that this book covers - the Philippines - and this one has to be the best. I like the first person stories but they are only about one man's (or woman's) point of view. Steven Trent Smith tells the story of several different groups of people trying to escape capture by the Japanese. It's as exciting and fascinating as any made-up story as the missionaries and the POWs and the businessmen all prepare, with the help of Filipinos, to meet the U.S. Navy submarine so they can be rescued. I don't know when I couldn't put down a true history book but this one this one kept me up very late at night until I knew those folks were safely in Australia. Some of the facts are a little suspect but nothing that makes a difference in the story. If someone wants to read only one book about the tragic situation in the Philippines during World War II, this one is it.

My husband and I read this book aloud to each other as we drove several thousand miles by car recently. It made the arduous trip insignificant because we enjoyed the content of this book so much. It tells the varying background stories of the various participants, friend and foe, so it doesn't read like a novel but takes more concentration to follow. However, it then tells about their lives converging at a specific time in history. It's an amazing story much better than fiction and a great history lesson from a broad personal perspective. Highly recommended.

Stephen Trent Smith's "The Rescue" is not only a spellbinding account of the rescue of forty American civilians and soldiers from the Japanese-occupied Phillipines, but also a splendid terse look at the Pacific U. S. submarine campaign and the last decisive battle between Japanese and American naval forces; the Battle of the Phillipine Sea, more popularly known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Smith possesses both a great photojournalist's eye for detail and the ability to write a gripping thriller; more often than not, "The Rescue" comes across as a well written World War Two espionage thriller. Smith describes one of the most exciting rescues of people trapped behind enemy lines during World War Two and succinctly places it in context within the overall war aims of both Japanese and American naval and general staffs as both sought air and sea superiority over the other. I strongly recommend this fine book as one of the best recently published histories of World War II. I look forward to yet another fine book from Steven Trent Smith on the still largely untold story of American and Filipino resistance to the Japanese occupation of the Phillipines.

This wonderful yarn will keep you reading until the final pages.What makes it even more spellbinding, is the fact that this is no yarn, it is a true story.The author has traced the lives of forty Americans trapped in The Philippines during World War II. Dozens of interviews and conversations with the remaining survivors and their families has produced a factual and historic look at the War arena in the Pacific.The reader is drawn in to each family and each group of people involved in the hiding and rescue of these courageous Americans.You feel the love they have for their families and their chosen mission, whether their mission was to teach the word of God , or to create as much chaos and damage to the invading Japanese army.You feel their fear, their hunger and their despertion. You have to keep reading to learn of their outcome.The history of the war, in the Pacific, is a gripping story in itself. We all know how that ended, but once again the author gives us an inside look at the personal lives and conditions of the daring and brave American submariners that took amazing risks on a daily basis for their country and fellow Americans.For added excitement we are given the remarkable capture of Japan's "Z" Plan and the way it impacted not only the outcome of the war, but the rescue of the Americans from the Philipines. This is not just a book for "War Buffs". It will appeal to readers that enjoy a thrilling story and those that enjoy how generously people treat other people in their most neeed hours.