The Ghost Mountain Boys
  • Published: 15 December 2008
  • ISBN: 9780307335975
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

The Ghost Mountain Boys

Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--The Forgotten War of the South Pacific

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For military history fans; for readers of extreme adventure tales; for travelers and arm-chair travelers alike; for those interested in geography, ethnography, anthropology, and the history of exploration.

A harrowing portrait of a largely forgotten campaign that pushed one battalion to the limits of human suffering.

Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division’s “Ghost Mountain Boys” were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign in World War II: to march over the 10,000-foot Owen Stanley Mountains to protect the right flank of the Australian army during the battle for New Guinea. Reminiscent of the classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, The Ghost Mountain Boys is part war diary, part extreme-adventure tale, and—through letters, journals, and interviews—part biography of a group of men who fought to survive in an environment every bit as fierce as the enemy they faced. Theirs is one of the great untold stories of the war.

“Superb.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Campbell started out with history, but in the end he has written a tale of survival and courage of near-mythic proportions.”
—America in WWII magazine

“In this compelling and sprightly written account, Campbell shines a long-overdue light on the equally deserving heroes of the Red Arrow Division.”
—Military.com
  • Published: 15 December 2008
  • ISBN: 9780307335975
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

About the author

James Campbell

James Campbell was born in Glasgow. Between 1978 and 1982 he was editor of the New Edinburgh Review. Among his previous books is a biography of James Baldwin, Talking at the Gates. His play The Midnight Hour was performed in Philadelphia in 1993 and 1995.

Also by James Campbell

Braving It
The Anglo-Saxons
See all

Praise for The Ghost Mountain Boys

"In this intimate and at times excruciatingly vivid account, James Campbell feelingly recreates the American army's encounters not only with a fanatical foe but with more insidious adversaries like jungle rot, malaria, and the venomous creepy-crawlies of the rainforest. The result is both a classic war story and a spirited safari through one of the most exotic landscapes on earth." --Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers
"Campbell started out with history, but in the end he has written a tale of survival and courage of near mythic proportions." -America in WWII magazine

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