Behind Japanese Lines

An American Guerrilla in the Philippines

By: Ray C. Hunt, Bernard Norling

Narrated by: Chaz Allen

Behind Japanese Lines has a great deal to say about the relations with the Filipinos and about the problems of dealing with and fighting the Hukbalahaps, the communist guerrillas or, indeed, in opposing the Japanese. This book adds considerable insights into the significance of guerrilla warfare as it relates to modern warfare in general.

The book is published by The University Press of Kentucky.

©1986 The University Press of Kentucky (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Stands out for the vividness of its detail, its effort to sort fact from legend, and its tribute to the heroism of the resistance movement, which was almost entirely Filipino." ( Choice)

"Makes war novels look pale. The book is engaging because it is as candid as the law allows." ( Washington Times)

"An exceptionally valuable contribution." ( Military)

Better as a Book.

Very interesting account, from someone whom was there. The narrator's mispronounciations, make this painful.

As an audible book it needs a better performance.

I have been reading through a number of books on the topics of Philippines WW2 guerrilla warfare and had just Mike Gaurdia’s book about Russell Volckman. The contrast of accounts and views that Hunt and Volckman are quite fascinating.

Hunt is a likable and down to earth kind of guy in my view. His actions are from the perspective of an enlisted man and offers a unique first person view of the war. He details the challenge of running an operation and give poignant insight to the overall big picture of the war. He holds back no criticism of Blackburn and Volckman but is careful to emphasize that these are from his views on the ground there in the Philippines. Most of his praise goes to the guerrilla groups in his immediate area such as Lapham.

Overall I really enjoyed his side of the war more than Volckman’s. But that is my opinion.

As for the performance; it holds this story back with one mispronunciation after another. In one case the name Volckman (pronounced as Volk-Man) is the subject of a chapter but pronounced his name as Vo-leck-man. Then within a few paragraphs refers to him in the proper pronunciation. I had to rewind to make sure that we were talking about the same guy a few times. On top of that many locations are so poorly pronounced I had to look up where they were talking about just to find out it is a location I know of and am familiar with just never heard it said that way.

If it weren’t for the performance I’d listen to it again but it is an ordeal.

Entertaining and informative

A gripping account of a humble hero that I found to be both informative and entertaining. Having lived and visited many of the places that the author mentions, I felt a greater connection that helped me enjoy the book. One minor complaint- the narrator does a great job in handling the conversational tone of the text but should have asked for assistance in correct pronunciation. It was incredibly distracting when he savaged the names of cities and names of Filipinos. Otherwise-a fantastic job all around!

Pronunciation

Great story and the reader did great exvept his pronunviation of names and locations. This made it very hard to listen to. Granted I have lived in the Philippines for a while.

First-hand account of guerrilla war on Luzon

An interesting account of one American's experience on Luzon in the Philippines following the American surrender in 1942. With little or no support from the United States, these Americans and their Filipino comrades-in-arms carried on the fight against the Japanese for three years in whatever capacity they could. Having been stationed on Luzon for several years, I am familiar with many of the places where these events took place. The narrative would have been much easier to listen to had the reader been given coaching on the proper pronunciation of Philippine words and place names. The author's closing evaluation of the post-war treatment of the Philippines in general and Filipino soldiers by the United States is, in my opinion, quite accurate. Overall an enjoyable read.