WORLD
WAR II NON-FICTION
"The Ghost
That Died at Sunda Strait" by
W. G. Wilson 
This
is the story of the last days of the cruiser Houston as told by
one of the scout plane pilots, W. G. Wilson. The Houston fought
in several actions in the Pacific at the outset of WW II. This
account describes all of these actions, including anti-aircraft
screening and major surface actions against Japanese destroyers,
cruisers, and battleships. The last action of the Houston was
with the Australian cruiser Perth. These two ships steamed into
the midst of a Japanese invasion fleet and slugged it out until
they were almost out of ammunition, sinking numerous Japanese
ships and damaging many others. Both cruisers were sunk with heavy
casualties, but fortunately there were survivors who lived in
captivity during the war and were returned to tale their tales.
At the end of the book are the personal accounts of many of these
survivors. These brave men fought to the end and went through
hell. This book is fascinating and well written and a good read
for those fans of naval history. W. G. Wilson also wrote the excellent
"The Fleet the Gods Forgot".
Available from:
Naval Institute Press
Blue Jacket Books
Reviewed By Ken Smith, June 25th, 1997
www.usni.org
