The story of the defenders of Wake Island following their surrender to the Japanese on December 23, 1941. Unwin looks at the Japanese guards and how the Americans survived three-and-a-half years in captivity and emerged with a much lower death rate than most other Allied personnel captured in the Pacific. In part, Urwin says, the answer lies in the Wake Islanders' establishment of life-saving communities that kept their dignity intact. In addition, some guards proved to be less vicious than those stationed at other POW camps and occasionally went out of their way to aid inmates. -- Publisher's description.

"Issue in doubt" : the siege of Wake Island -- "The emperor has-- presented you with your lives" : the shock of capture -- "Very odd people indeed" : the first twenty-four hours in captivity -- "The Japanese continue to treat us with respect" : a deceptively gentle transition to POW life -- "A real hell ship" : from Wake Island to Yokohama on the Nitta Maru -- "Never had I felt so desolate or so weary" : from murder at sea to despair on land -- "The most painful days we spent in prison camp" : hitting bottom at Woosung -- "The Japanese Army-- will improve your conditions" : turning the corner at Woosung -- "Without Red Cross help-- we would never have pulled through" : the impact of outside aid -- "I thought they handled themselves reasonably well" : Japanese-POW relations at Woosung -- "You God damn Americans don't understand anything" : strains, outrages, and departures -- "This camp is the best one that the Japs have" : a new commandant and a new camp -- "A hellacious damn deal till we finished" : pushed to the edge on Mount Fuji -- "Optimism-- is running high" : hope revives at Kiangwan -- "The pleasure of raising our flag over the enemy's homeland" : to Japan and liberation -- "98 US PW, 5-10-43" : the Wake Island diaspora, 1942-1945 -- "We had a bond there that's still going" : why so many came home.