Books - General
The twenty books reviewed in this category of general books cover a wide variety
of topics related to Japan's special attack forces. Suicide
Squads by O'Neill provides an excellent overview of each of the many
types of suicide attack weapons employed by the Japanese military in World War
II. Other books cover much narrower topics, such as two fascinating accounts
about piloted glider bombs called ohka (Thunder Gods
by Naito and The Cherry Blossom Squadrons
by the Hagoromo Society).
This section on general books differs from the books in Personal
Narratives that were written by former members of Japan's special attack
corps. Whereas personal narratives give experiences without the need to rely on
other sources, these general books generally rely heavily on other published
sources. For example, almost all books that give the story of the creation of
the first kamikaze corps rely heavily on the personal narrative by Inoguchi and
Nakajima in The Divine Wind.
Some of these general books rely heavily on official battle reports (e.g.,
Brown's Kamikaze and Sholin's The
Sacrificial Lambs), which can become a tedious chronological recitation
of ship name, kamikaze attack date, where hit, and casualties. The general books
in this section contain many of the same photos from the U.S. Navy.
The quality and influence of these books vary greatly. Denis Warner in The
Sacred Warriors provides an extensive bibliography of both Japanese and
English-language sources, which reflects the thoroughness of his research as a
journalist. At the other extreme, some books (e.g., Suicide
Weapon by Barker and Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods
by Axell and Kase) do not provide sufficient documentation when material has
been taken directly from other sources. The book Kamikazes
by Earl Rice Jr. targets young readers from upper elementary grades to high
school, but this book turns out to be one of the best-documented and
easily-understood historical accounts for any age group. This fine book gives
both Japanese and American perspectives of the kamikaze attacks, and it also
contains many personal accounts and historical photos.
Most books in this section follow a somewhat similar approach. However,
Ohnuki-Tierney, the anthropology professor who wrote Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms,
approaches the subject of kamikaze pilots in a very different way than any other
author in this section. Her academic analysis of the use of cherry blossom
symbolism by kamikaze units is quite thought-provoking in comparison to some of
dull recitations of battle facts by other authors.
Books - Lists categorizes the books in this
section and in the Personal Narratives section in various ways (e.g.,
publication date, books on specific area of special attack forces). The general
books that have been reviewed in this section are listed below.
Books - General
- Aeronautical Staff
of Aero Publishers, Kamikaze
- Axell and Kase, Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods
- Barker, Suicide Weapon
- Brown, Kamikaze
-
Burlingame, Advance Force Pearl Harbor
-
Cortesi, Valor at Okinawa
- Hagoromo Society, The Cherry Blossom
Squadrons: Born to Die
- Hoyt, The Kamikazes
- Hoyt, The Last Kamikaze
- Lambert, Bombs, Torpedoes and Kamikazes
- Lamont-Brown, Kamikaze:
Japan's Suicide Samurai
- Millot, Divine Thunder
- Naito, Thunder Gods
- Ohnuki-Tierney, Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms
- O’Neill, Suicide Squads
- Rice, Kamikazes
-
Sholin, The Kamikaze
Nightmare: Terror of the Lambs
- Sholin, The Sacrificial Lambs
-
Sholin, Truman's Decision:
Kamikazes the Unknown Factor
- Spurr, A Glorious Way to
Die
- Takaki and Sakaida, B-29 Hunters of the
JAAF
- Thurman, Picket Ships at Okinawa
- Warner and Warner, The Sacred Warriors
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