Tears in the Darkness

The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath

By: Michael Norman, Elizabeth Norman

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, History, 2010

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: 41 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; and it makes clear, with great literary and human power, that war causes suffering for people on all sides.

©2009 Michael and Elizabeth Norman (P)2009 Tantor

Well done.

Should be read by high school students. The snowflakes might actually learn something. Well done.

Tremendous

Could not turn it off. Such a sad story of mans inhumanity yo man but very well written and performed. I had an uncle by marriage that was in the death march. He would not talk about it and he died in 1993. This was my link to understand more of what he went through.

Heartbreaking

Well researched stories leave you with a sense of the atrocities but wondering who to blame. More proof that war is not just. War is loss.

Awful bit of history read dispassionately

This was a bit of history that I wasn't very familiar with. I appreciated the flat, dispassionate narration. I also liked hearing about Japanese military culture.

Interesting slice of history

I knew the general story of the Bataan Death March and the fall of the Philippines--but had no idea of the degree of cruelty inflicted on Americans and Filipinos by the Japanese on Bataan. The story is disturbing in parts because of the horrors inflicted by the Japanese. It also gives me a new perspective on the decision to use atomic weapons against the Japanese--Roosevelt presumably knew much of what had happened in Bataan, and elsewhere in the Pacific; and knowing even half of what is in the book would have made his decision to authorize the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a lot easier to justify and more difficult to criticize. Not a criticism, but the book does focus largely on the American soldiers on Bataan; but 80% of the prisoners/casualties were Filipinos.

Shocking

What a shocking story. Amazing to see how human brutality, one human can inflict upon another human being. The inhumane acts committed when one become too powerful over the weak.

Profound

Hard to listen to, but necessary. I found myself crying, horrifed and shocked by what tortures humans visit upon each other. I then found myself mystified by those brave enough to risk their own lives to extend succor to others. I have to believe that good far outweighs the bad or humans would've annihilated themselves eons ago. This is a story of just how much humans can endure to survive.

Disappointed

I was constantly confused trying to keep up with all the jumping around with the different characters & especially with the timeline. The ending was the worst I have ever heard.

A Wonderful Marriage of Story, Words and Narration

This is how history is supposed to be written, and narrated. Michael and Elizabeth Norman present a powerful work stitching together the overall story of horrific events with the common thread of a central soldier, Bud Steele, and a few other American and Japanese who appear throughout the captivating pages. Michael Pritchard delivers a brilliant interpretation of the text with a voice that is sensitive at all times to the mood of the moment - soft when necessary, urgent when called for, and always entertaining. The authors go deep into the psyche of the ordinary Japanese soldiers and their campaign commander to help the reader understand how the horrible events that took place were part of a chain of seeming inevitability. This work is an admirable marriage of comprehensive research, skillful writing and a narration of artistry. If there is a fault it is in leaving the fate of some of the people mentioned in the text hanging in historical mystery. Even so, this is a fantastic read and will probably rank among your favorites.

Harrowing

Tears in the Darkness is one of those rare combinations of a great book narrated by the perfect voice. There are moments in this brief history that will touch you deeply, often in a rather horrific way. I would liken the reading (or listening) of this book to nothing less than bearing witness to man's inhumanity to man, where virtually no detail is left unobserved. But there are also moments of quiet introspection on the part of the those who experienced these events. The Normans have written an exceptional piece of history and Michael Prichard breathes life into it equally as well. Easily one of the best - and worthy - audio books I've had the pleasure to listen to. Highly recommended.