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Kamikaze: A Japanese Pilot's Own Spectacular Story of the Famous Suicide Squadrons | 
 enlarge | Authors: Yasuo Kuwahara, Gordon T. Allred
Publisher: American Legacy Media
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $10.25
You Save: $6.70 (40%)
New (35) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $8.72
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 450945
Media: Paperback
Edition: 7th
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.6
ISBN: 0976154757
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.544952092
EAN: 9780976154754
ASIN: 0976154757
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Originally published in 1957, this enduring classic—the first-ever English publication cowritten by a Japanese suicide pilot—remains a touching and insightful look into the world of the kamikaze. This edition, now completely revised, reflects the valuable insight and perspective gained by the author since the time of the book’s initial publication. From the age of 15, Yasuo Kuwahara began a life of military service that included suffering through brutal basic training, participating in ferocious aerial combat against the Allies, and avoiding a suicide mission when an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, near his hometown. From being handpicked for kamikaze service to finding the discipline to die for the emperor, this history presents a firsthand account of the fascinating life of a kamikaze fighter pilot.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Historical Fiction, Historical Hoax? March 23, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
As an avid reader of WWII Pacific War Historical material, I was disappointed in this book. To finish it I had to choose to read it as a fictional novel as it challenged my intellectual sensibilities on the Japanese War effort and the destruction of the Japanese Air Forces starting at Midway on through the Battle of the Philippine Sea (Turkey Shoot) and beyond. Mr. Allred cautions readers that the book may be a hoax. Trying to plumb the internet I could find no references to Mr. Kuwahara other than his coauthorship of the book. It is interesting that after one year with him in Japan Mr. Allred did not have one photo of him, nor are there any on the internet. I find it hard to believe that any pilot would close his eyes and speed to the ground only to "sense" the time to pull out of the dive during Kamikaze training. Any pilot would find that ludicrous. Pilots will train for instrument flight by using blinders to external stimuli except for the instruments, but diving blind has got to be untrue. The Japanese, I am sure, would not have left several pilots hanging around for weeks and months on end during that period, wasting fuel on those described reconnaissance flights. Shooting down B-29s and Hellcats with the planes he describes is a stretch. A further stretch is all agreeing to buzz his hometown on the way to shoot down U.S. Aircraft and flying over his school and home, dropping messages. Mr. Kuwahara's recollections seem adolescent, sophomoric, and beyond schmaltz. Being in Hiroshima during the A-bomb and then flying over it days later with poor eye sight due to the blast is beyond belief. There are numerous instances of assertions made in the book that challenge credulity. Read as a Romantic Novel of fiction one can see it has many touching scenes that, at times, almost to be written for a screen play. As a pure novel it is a touching love story that lets one peek at a Japan at War with all the hardships experienced by the Japanese at the time.
 Kamikaze is an overwhelmingly insightful and vivid look into the life-or-death intersection of war and culture October 6, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Now in a newly revised and expanded 50th anniversary edition, Kamikaze: A Japanese Pilot's Own Spectacular Story of the Famous Suicide Squadrons is a classic biography published in 1957 about the famous suicide squadrons of Japan. Co-author Yasuo Kuwahara tells his story of entering military service at age 15, enduring training so severe that nine men of his squadron committed suicide, qualifying for fighter pilot school, and surviving fierce aerial combat. Co-author and university literature teacher Gorden T. Allred has recently worked to improve the literary impact of Kamikaze, by revisiting each word and sentence without changing any elements of the story. Kamikaze is an overwhelmingly insightful and vivid look into the life-or-death intersection of war and culture, and is highly recommended.
My favorite book in all the world. September 14, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm an avid reader, and this is my favorite book ever. Read it, and you'll never watch grainy footage of Kamikaze attacks without tears in your eyes and understanding in your heart.
This is a brilliant book.
The Unbelievably brutal and brave world of Japanese soldiers April 17, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
In basic training, Kuwahara and the other cadets were beaten with clubs, learning to endure pain and to disregard their own lives. In flying school, physical abuse was encouraged and Kuwahara was nearly beaten to death by his hancho. When these loyal young cadets finally graduate, they are no longer boys, but hardened men willing to plunge their bomb-laden planes in a suicide dive onto the deck of U.S. Navy carrier.
Some Kamikaze pilots lived for only one purpose -to die for the emporer. Although inwardly doubting the cause, all were willing to do anything in defense of their homeland.
Yasuo Kuwahara was one of them, amd he tells this extraordinary story of life and death in the last nine months of World War II. This excellent book will percolate within you, and elicit a visceral response to this young mans incredible journey. For me, I gained a tremendous insight into the desperate young pilots of the suicide squadrons. That he survived to tell this heartwrenching story makes it among the most incredible stories of World War II.
This book reads like a novel. It is a literary work like no other biography I've ever read. The fact that it is true makes it even more compelling.
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