The Devil's Causeway: The True Story of America's First Prisoners of War in the Philippines, and the Heroic Expedition Sent to Their Rescue
Praise forThe Devil's Causeway “Matthew Westfall has unearthed a strange and dramatic tale from America’s mostly forgotten imperial adventure in the Philippines in the late 1890s. Here is blundering, courage and heartbreak in equal measure.”—Evan Thomas, author ofThe War LoversRoosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush toEmpire, 1898andIke’s Bluff:President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World “A brutal clash of Old West and Far East, Matthew Westfall’s masterpiece blends the gritty realism of Cormac McCarthy with a filmmaker’s eye for the dramatic. This beautifully paced epic of heroes and villains emerging from the jungles of the Philippines is more than a mereIndiana Jonesadventure tale;The Devil’s Causeway is a rare, enthralling gem mined exquisitely by Westfall from the faded pages of America’s lost empire.”—Jonathan W. Jordan, bestselling author ofBrothers,Rivals, Victors:Eisenhower,Patton, Bradley, and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe“The United States served notice of its global ambitions in 1898 by defeating Spain in a short and popular war. Less than a year later, America found itself in a divisive quest to conquer and colonize the Philippines. In his superbly researched book,The Devil’s Causeway, Matthew Westfall powerfully reconstructs a tragedy at the beginning of our forgotten war in the Philippines—a prisoner-of-war saga that embodied all the hubris, heartache, and miscalculation that ultimately doomed America’s first quest for empire.”—Gregg Jones, author ofHonor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines,and The Rise and Fall of America’s Imperial Dream, an editor’s choice ofThe New York Times Book Review “The Devil’sCausewaydocuments an epic tale of military campaigning and colonial conquest. The book enthralls, entertains and educates, while proving once again that the truth is often stranger than fiction. This thrilling work is a must-read for anyone interested in the Philippines’ determined struggles for independent nationhood. It is likewise an inspiring story of courage, sacrifice and patriotism by the various protagonists—regardless of nationality.”—Fidel V. Ramos, 12th President of the Republic of the Philippines; former Secretary ofDefense, Republic of the Philippines; Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines; and West Point graduate, USMA Class of 1950 “There has been way too little written about American military efforts, adventures and missteps after the Philippines became an American possession at the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898. Author Matthew Westfall shines a light on that turbulent time in our military history with his new bookThe Devil’s Causeway. In a thoroughly researched, detail-packed and absorbing work, he tells the story of the capture and subsequent dramatic rescue of the some of our first American POWs to be taken by an enemy on foreign shores. The characters come alive in these pages and the fascinating story unfolds as if it were being told by an old veteran around a campfire.”—Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret), author and military advisor to film and TV, Los Angeles“Westfall . . . recreates in exacting detail the plight of American sailors captured by Filipino insurgents in April 1899. . . . [P]ainstakingly researched. . . . Westfall gives a thrilling and fast-paced adventure story that brilliantly illuminates an untold aspect of one of America’s first overseas wars, as well as the beginning of the complex relationship between America and the Philippines.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “[A] fascinating account of 15 American sailors captured at the onset of the Philippine-American War (1899–1902). Matthew Westfall carefully crafts the geopolitical cauldron into which these servicemen are cast ….There are no stereotypical good or bad guys inThe Devil’s Causeway: some rebels are mindlessly cruel, others kind; some American officers are vain and incompetent, others pursue their objectives even at great personal risk. The cat-and-mouse game between captives, captors and rescuers . . . is ultimately about how individuals strive or falter in the harshest circumstances, how stark morals can become hazy when death is always lurking.”—Shelf Awareness  “[A] harrowing circus caused by an incompetent launch commander, short-tempered insurrectionists, the media, the U.S. Army, grand strategy, and American politics. The determined captives, a bloodthirsty insurrection commander, crusty Civil War veterans, headhunters, priests, and deranged Spanish soldiers all make appearances…. Westfall has brought to life the people and societies that clashed at the end of a century when America was determined to build a worldwide empire.”            —Library Journal