-
Among the Headhunters
- An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival in the Burmese Jungle
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.61
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Flying the notorious "hump route" between India and China in 1943, a twin-engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in a dense mountain jungle. Among the passengers and crew were celebrated CBS journalist Eric Sevareid, a Soviet double agent posing as an OSS operative, and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's personal political adviser.
Against the odds, all but one of the 21 people aboard the aircraft survived - but they fell from the frying pan into the fire. They landed in wild countryside dominated by the Nagas, notorious headhunters who routinely practiced slavery and human sacrifice. Japanese soldiers lay close by, too, with their own brand of hatred for Americans. Among the Headhunters is the first account of this incredible story.
Related to this topic
-
Behind Japanese Lines
- With the OSS in Burma
- By: Richard Dunlop
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary firsthand account of an American special forces unit in the jungles of southeast Asia and their guerilla operations against the Japanese during World War II!
-
-
The OSS in Burma
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-03-14
By: Richard Dunlop
-
Lost in Shangri-La
- A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 13, 1945, 24 American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La,” a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea. Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton’s best-selling novel Lost Horizon, this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals. But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers pulled through.
-
-
Facinating history
- By Janice on 05-12-11
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
-
The Fall of Japan
- By: William Craig
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By midsummer 1945, Japan had long since lost the war in the Pacific. The people were not told the truth, and neither was the emperor. Japanese generals, admirals, and statesmen knew, but only a handful of leaders were willing to accept defeat. Most were bent on fighting the Allies until the last Japanese soldier died and the last city burned to the ground.
-
-
Superbly written history
- By Saman on 01-22-16
By: William Craig
-
A Handful of Hard Men
- The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
- By: Hannes Wessels
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is difficult to find another soldier's story to equal Captain Darrell Watt's in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry. In the fight, he showed himself to be a military maestro. After 12 years in the cauldron of war, his cause slipped from beneath him, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe.
-
-
Fantastic Story- Title says it all... Hard Men
- By rowca on 10-05-17
By: Hannes Wessels
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
-
another great book by hoare
- By Chris on 08-29-24
By: Mike Hoare
-
The Airmen and the Headhunters
- The Unlikeliest Rescue of World War II
- By: Judith M. Heimann
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1944: Army airmen set out in a B-24 bomber on what should have been an easy mission off the Borneo coast. Instead they found themselves unexpectedly facing a Japanese fleet: and were shot down. When they cut themselves loose from their parachutes, they were scattered across the island's mountainous interior. Then a group of loincloth-wearing natives silently materialized out of the jungle. Would these Dayak tribesmen turn the starving airmen over to the hostile Japanese occupiers?
-
-
Spellbinding
- By She on 01-03-08
-
Behind Japanese Lines
- With the OSS in Burma
- By: Richard Dunlop
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary firsthand account of an American special forces unit in the jungles of southeast Asia and their guerilla operations against the Japanese during World War II!
-
-
The OSS in Burma
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-03-14
By: Richard Dunlop
-
Lost in Shangri-La
- A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 13, 1945, 24 American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La,” a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea. Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton’s best-selling novel Lost Horizon, this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals. But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers pulled through.
-
-
Facinating history
- By Janice on 05-12-11
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
-
The Fall of Japan
- By: William Craig
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By midsummer 1945, Japan had long since lost the war in the Pacific. The people were not told the truth, and neither was the emperor. Japanese generals, admirals, and statesmen knew, but only a handful of leaders were willing to accept defeat. Most were bent on fighting the Allies until the last Japanese soldier died and the last city burned to the ground.
-
-
Superbly written history
- By Saman on 01-22-16
By: William Craig
-
A Handful of Hard Men
- The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
- By: Hannes Wessels
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is difficult to find another soldier's story to equal Captain Darrell Watt's in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry. In the fight, he showed himself to be a military maestro. After 12 years in the cauldron of war, his cause slipped from beneath him, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe.
-
-
Fantastic Story- Title says it all... Hard Men
- By rowca on 10-05-17
By: Hannes Wessels
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
-
another great book by hoare
- By Chris on 08-29-24
By: Mike Hoare
-
The Airmen and the Headhunters
- The Unlikeliest Rescue of World War II
- By: Judith M. Heimann
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1944: Army airmen set out in a B-24 bomber on what should have been an easy mission off the Borneo coast. Instead they found themselves unexpectedly facing a Japanese fleet: and were shot down. When they cut themselves loose from their parachutes, they were scattered across the island's mountainous interior. Then a group of loincloth-wearing natives silently materialized out of the jungle. Would these Dayak tribesmen turn the starving airmen over to the hostile Japanese occupiers?
-
-
Spellbinding
- By She on 01-03-08
-
The Forgotten 500
- By: Gregory A. Freeman
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is the astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II: when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines. During a bombing campaign, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian villagers risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers, and for months the airmen lived in hiding, waiting for rescue.
-
-
an amazing tale
- By Ron on 10-28-07
-
African Kaiser
- General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918
- By: Robert Gaudi
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with each other not just in the bloody trenches - but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history.
-
-
Well Written, Well Read, Well Done!
- By Matthew on 02-25-17
By: Robert Gaudi
-
Vietnam
- An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 33 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the US in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed two million people.
-
-
A more nuanced view than Ken Burns' companion book
- By Vu on 10-21-18
By: Max Hastings
-
The Lion of Sabray
- The Afghani Warrior Who Defied the Taliban and Saved the Life of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell
- By: Patrick Robinson
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Patrick Robinson helped Marcus Luttrell bring his harrowing story of survival in Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 to the page and the big screen. But the Afghani man who saved his life was always shrouded in mystery. Now, with The Lion of Sabray, Robinson reveals the amazing backstory of Mohammed Gulab.
-
-
Riveting follow up to Lone Survivor
- By Mr Wright on 08-27-16
By: Patrick Robinson
-
Kokoda
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Peter Byrne
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a war without mercy, fought back and forth along 90 miles of river crossings, steep inclines and precipitous descents, with both sides wracked by hunger and disease, and terrified of falling into enemy hands. Defeat was unthinkable: the Australian soldier was fighting for his homeland against an unyielding aggressor; the Japanese ordered to fight to the death in a bid to conquer ‘Greater East Asia’.
-
-
Pulls no Punchs
- By daryl on 10-03-10
By: Paul Ham
-
Vietnam
- The Australian War
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Peter Byrne
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on hundreds of accounts by soldiers, politicians, aid workers, entertainers and the Vietnamese people, Paul Ham reconstructs for the first time the full history of our longest military campaign. From the commitment to engage, through the fight over conscription and the rise of the anti - war movement, to the tactics and horror of the battlefi eld, Ham exhumes the truth about this politicians' war - which sealed the fate of 50,000 Australian servicemen and women.
-
-
Fascinating detailed account
- By Alan T Alcock on 04-21-09
By: Paul Ham
-
The Moro War
- How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902-1913
- By: James R. Arnold
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the global war on terror enters its second decade, the United States military is engaged with militant Islamic insurgents on multiple fronts. But the post-9/11 war against terrorists is not the first time the United States has battled such ferocious foes. The forgotten Moro War, lasting from 1902 to 1913 in the islands of the southern Philippines, was the first confrontation between American soldiers and their allies and a determined Muslim insurgency.
-
-
a little dry but good info
- By Paraglox on 03-05-15
By: James R. Arnold
-
Shadow Commander
- The Epic Story of Donald D. Blackburn - Guerrilla Leader and Special Forces Hero
- By: Mike Guardia
- Narrated by: Jason Huggins
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fires on Bataan burned on the evening of April 9, 1942 - illuminating the white flags of surrender against the nighttime sky. Woefully outnumbered, outgunned, and ill-equipped, battered remnants of the American-Philippine army surrendered to the forces of the Rising Sun. Yet amongst the chaos and devastation of the American defeat, Army Captain Donald D. Blackburn refused to lay down his arms.
-
-
A great tale of an unsung American hero and Special Forces legend.
- By Thomas Le Min on 08-21-16
By: Mike Guardia
-
Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
-
-
Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
-
Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
- By: Michael Korda
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Korda's Hero is the story of an epic life on a grand scale: a revealing, in-depth, and gripping biography of the extraordinary, mysterious, and dynamic Englishman whose daring exploits and romantic profile, including his blond, sun-burnished good looks and flowing white robes, made him an object of intense fascination, still famous the world over as "Lawrence of Arabia".
-
-
Excellent book and narration
- By Ron L. Caldwell on 12-11-10
By: Michael Korda
-
Prevail
- The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941
- By: Jeff Pearce, Richard Pankhurst - foreword
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the war that changed everything, and yet it's been mostly forgotten: in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It dominated newspaper headlines and newsreels. It inspired mass marches in Harlem, a play on Broadway, and independence movements in Africa. As the British Navy sailed into the Mediterranean for a white-knuckle showdown with Italian ships, riots broke out in major cities all over the United States.
-
-
This is not a history, it's a package of anecdotes
- By M2 on 02-03-15
By: Jeff Pearce, and others
-
Retribution
- The Battle for Japan, 1944 - 45
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his critically acclaimed Armageddon, Hastings detailed the last twelve months of the struggle for Germany. Here, in what can be considered a companion volume, he covers the horrific story of the war against Japan. By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan’s defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained to be seen. The ensuing drama–that ended in Japan’s utter devastation–was acted out across the vast stage of Asia.
-
-
A superb study by one of the world's finest histor
- By Easton Reader on 12-22-16
By: Max Hastings
What listeners say about Among the Headhunters
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Planetary Defense Commander
- 06-06-16
Deceptive Marketing
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed this book, but very little of it involved the story described in the marketing blurb. The description of the plane disaster was dramatic, but once the passengers and pilots parachuted to the ground, the fearsome headhunters turned out to be pretty friendly, and there was no indication of Japanese soldiers anywhere in the area.
One large section of the book was devoted to American concerns that the Chinese Nationalists were siphoning war aid into their own pockets or using it to fight communists rather than the Japanese. Another large section described British military expeditions to punish headhunters in the decades before the war. I found all of this interesting, but it was marketed deceptively.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sally Filler
- 07-08-17
Lost leader
I was drawn to the story because my father flew with the ATC during WW2. He did not fly "the hump", but nevertheless had intriguing and harrowing stories of his time flying supplies and troops to many exotic places during the war. I was therefore quite disappointed when the story turned out to be ACTUALLY a very biased account of British colonial rule in India. It only very superficially mentioned the survival and eventual rescue of members of flight 1422. The story ended up being interesting but was not as advertised
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful