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In December 1937, the Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking. Within weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians were systematically raped, tortured, and murdered--a death toll exceeding that of the atomic blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Using extensive interviews with survivors and newly discovered documents, Iris Chang has written what will surely be the definitive history of this horrifying episode. The Rape of Nanking tells the story from three perspectives: of the Japanese soldiers who performed it, of the Chinese civilians who endured it, and of a group of Europeans and Americans who refused to abandon the city and were able to create a safety zone that saved almost 300,000 Chinese. Among these was the Nazi John Rabe, an unlikely hero whom Chang calls the "Oskar Schindler of China" and who worked tirelessly to protect the innocent and publicize the horror. More than just narrating the details of an orgy of violence, The Rape of Nanking analyzes the militaristic culture that fostered in the Japanese soldiers a total disregard for human life. Finally, it tells the appalling story: about how the advent of the Cold War led to a concerted effort on the part of the West and even the Chinese to stifle open discussion of this atrocity. Indeed, Chang characterizes this conspiracy of silence, which persists to this day, as "a second rape."
A must read
| Customer Rating:  | | Although this book is horrifying in its detail, it is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about what happened in Asia during WWII. It is truly sad that as Americans we seem to only focus on what has happened to us and our European neighbors during the war. |
An Emotive, Powerful and Well-Researched Piece
| Customer Rating: | | I had known about this book for quite some time, but only got around to reading it recently. You need quite a bit of mental fortitude to get through such a book; it is graphic in the extreme. I stealed myself for the effort, but got quite upset by about page 80. The accounts of savagery - gang rape almost always followed by murder, dousing people with gas and setting them alight, bayoneting practice, ad infinitum - require a kind of mental detachment that may be hard to summon. But the book is much, much more than accounts from diaries, etc., although these are fascinating. There is all sorts of research here; interesting tidbits on everything from the manner in which the city of Nanjing was abandoned by Chiang Kai-shek to the Tokyo War Crimes tribunal to CCP spin on the atrocities after it came to power to the incredible efforts to deny and cover up the event in Japan. I seldom use the phrase 'page-turner' to decribe a book (it's a bit cliche, no?), but that's what this book is; one mind-boggling, shocking scenario after another, brimming with facts and examples all penned in a fine style. The subtitle, 'The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II,' is apt, not some marketing ploy. The parts about John Rabe alone, a Nazi living in Nanjing at the time, who did whatever he could to save people's lives (including inform Adolf Hitler of the genocide), make this worth reading. The Rape of Nanking is a fascinating "lost chapter" of twentieth century world history. |
From a Korean reader with Japanese friends.
| Customer Rating: | Reading this book reminded me about the unsightly tragedies that happened in Korea during the wartime as well. I remember my Korean grandmother telling me horrible stories of her childhood as she witnessed the people around her getting killed and bombed from the Japanese.
I am surrounded by Japanese-American and native Japanese friends, and I can say with a certain fact that they are not stupid or ignorant to this history. Also, they are very keen in understanding what has transpired and apologetic about their ancestors doings, but don't feel guilty themselves...for, why should they?
I remember many of my friend's Korean parents would tell me, as I grew up playing at my friend's house, to never play with Japanese people and that they were all cold-hearted. Maybe they were then, because of the pressures of the war, but this is not true now. My point is, we should not blame the current society and spread racist remarks or hatred to the individual people of Japan, but instead show our concerns to the government.
I also think that war makes people inhuman. This is unfortunate, but from the history I've studied, is true. Looking at the Al Qaeda, Nazi, Stalin's slaughters, Darfur, and the constant wars that go on today, it is not the people but the war itself that creates beasts within us. |
Shocking, Heartbreaking, but Necessary
| Customer Rating: | It astounds me that so few people know about the horrific events in China, and particularly Nanking, during WWII. This book can change that. No one can read the work without coming away with a new understanding of how easily human nature can be twisted to doing the unthinkable. Like the Nazis of Germany, the Japanese soldiers talked about in the work are people just like we are, but because of the circumstances and culture in which they were thrust they were capable of truly horrific things. The Rape of Nanking primarily describes what happened when the Japanese occupied the city. It is an apt title. Huge numbers of women were literally raped to death. The numbers of atrocities described in the book are astounding and terrifying. Like the Holocaust in Europe, however, they are important to remember.
When I read the work, the stories of heroism and courage literally brought me to tears. I eagerly examined the pictures in the center of the book so I could see with my own eyes the people that I had grown to admire and feel such overwhleming compassion for while reading. Not only is the work full of the terrifying reality of what people are capable of, it also contains amazing stories of heroism. This, more than the atrocities, was what brought the tears to my eyes.
One cuatiounary note: I have seen some reviewers question some of the figures given in the work. Many believe that it severely overestimates the numbers of people who died during the occupation. However, even if the numbers are vastly overestimated, the events described in the book are real and staggering. Everyone should know what happened there, and I recommend this book to readers mature enough to handle the graphic content. |
remember not only the number of people slaughtered
| Customer Rating:  | The Rape of Nanking is historically accurate. Since I have lived in China for a very long time, I have heard about this horrible massacre since I was a little girl. I have heard in news that Japan had concealed this event even from its own people. The leaders of the country had been in denial of this whole historical event for many years. The teachers had taught the students the false information in their history class. I even heard that Japan had burned those textbook that included the details about the Rape of Nanking. Japan had really infuriated the Chinese people by not facing what they had done decades ago. These things were all revealed in this book. Although The American Pageant did not really talk about the Rape of Nanking, we did learn from the textbook that Japan tried to follow Germany's path to take control over the continent of Asia, including China. This fact led to the great massacre and was included in The Rape of Nanking.
The author of this text, Iris Chang, had heard about the Rape of Nanking when she was little. She heard this from her parents, who had immigrated to America from China during World War II. Therefore, she had the background information about this event. However, she said in the book that the Nanking Massacre had "remained buried in the back of mind as a metaphor for unspeakable evil" because she had never found any books in any public libraries that had been written about this massacre. Thus this triggered her to collect information to write a book about this. The text interprets the Rape of Nanking as inhuman. The book describes all the details about the tortures and killings that happened during the massacre as well as the data of the total number of people who died during the seven weeks. The text also records how Japan had kept the massacre as a secret to the rest of the world. The book hence has exposed the truth the public about the event and criticized the lies that Japan has been using for years.
Iris Chang said in the book that "the Rape of Nanking should be remembered not only for the number of people slaughtered but for the cruel manner in which many met their deaths." I believe the author really wanted the audience to understand the pain that many had suffered during the massacre rather than just simply knowing how many people had been killed during this event. The text also helps the readers to understand that not all historical events will be revealed in the light because some of them will be concealed by the government or denied by the government.
I would recommend this book to anybody, especially those people who are interested in Asian history. I really wanted to know more about the Rape of Nanking, and I liked this book because I think this book provides a lot of great details about the event. I would give this book a rate of 4 because I really like the information it is giving throughout the book, but I think it gets a little bit boring as the book goes on. |
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