Ship of Ghosts

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The shocking true story of the USS Houston, FDR’s legendary lost cruiser, and the epic saga of the survivors who faced one of World War II’s most brutal ordeals—from the acclaimed author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

“Captivating [and] unforgettable . . . A compelling book for anyone intrigued by harrowing tales of courage and the irrepressible will to survive.”—USA Today

A U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings Notable Book

“Son, we’re going to Hell.”

The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, the crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.

Yet the crew miraculously escaped disaster again and again—until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk. The survivors would soon envy the dead. They were captured and made slaves on Japan’s infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway, which was glamorized by Hollywood but in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals. The prisoners fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, willpower—and the undying faith that their country would prevail.

Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, testimony from postwar Japanese war crime tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of the Houston’s survivors, James D. Hornfischer has crafted a testament to human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every word of it is true.