Rating: 
Summary: READ IT only with objectivity; then make up your own mind.
Review: Regardless of your nationality, this piece/take is worthy of reading. Humanity during war has proven time and again to shock and shame us into silence. Only when faced with mediums of disclosure of the depths men can reach may we seek any hope of checking future atrocities.
Rating: 
Summary: Japanese right-wing conspiracy? Are you out of the mind?
Review: OK, OK, I understand that there are still people including Japanese (sadly) who think criticism of this book has something to do with "Japanese right-wing conspiracy." Well, there is nothing like that at all. You are fabricating a fuss out of nothing. I am an ordinary citizen. The book requires dense revisions if it wants to remain in book market. Too much agitation and facts misuse have to be corrected to be intellegible. Here are some questions that I would like to ask to supporters of the book: 1. "Perhaps 350,000 Chinese were killed"? What do you mean by "perhaps"? Sincere historians rigorously estimated, not guesstimated, the number is appr. 20,000. Well, the number does not count?, yes, Japanese ought to recognize this number, not "350,000." Don't fabricate the number. It is subject to coming historical substantiation. 2. "Japanese should extend deep apologies to Asians"? Japanese government and Emperor had reiterated apologies for the past ten years especially. How many apologies are enough? And, in the context of international relations, the issues have been solved in the form of treaties. Please voice your frustration to your own government. By the way, under Chinese communist government how many Chinese were killed? over 20 million in cultural revolution. 3. "Japanese should apologize like Germans did"? Oh, no! Japanese did not fight a war like Germans did. Don't confuse them together. Nangking incident was NOT instructed by Tokyo headquarters. Armies did it out of the instrutions. I would like to correct this. German deliberate slaughters of Jews was well prepared by Nazi headquarters, and it was done systematically. By the way, Germans have apologized for Nazi out-of-war activities, but have not apologized for the war-activities. Please! If defeated allies of Germans and Japanese have to be apologetic for coming years, why not Europeans apologize to former colonized Asians, Arabs and Africans clearly? I never heard of it. 4. "Atomic bombs"? Americans should apologize for their killing innocent Japanese nationals, mothers, kids, elderly in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (WAR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY), "if" Americans think Japanese owe further apologies to Chinese and for Pearl Harbour. 5. Please study international relations 101. Don't play hard to use history as a diplomatic bargaining card. We have learned a lot. Japanese massive ODAs to Chinese have been never reported to Chinese people. There is always a limit to everything. 6. All the Japanese know what Japanese military did. We are all sorry for what happended and sincerely apologize. Japanese government has repeated apology a number of times. Please understand better. Beside incapable Japanese military back then, if US had not had imposed oil embargo, Japan might have not attacked Pearl Harbour. The US misjudged Japanese desparate situations. The Hull Note was terrible in tone. The US should have had better intelligence assessment. 7. Well, yes, Japanese admit our mistakes and apologize for that. If you still don't like Japanese, please continue. It's none of our business. Japanese try to establish friendly ties with neighbours who share the value of future cooperation. South Korea and Japan relations is becoming extremely better. We decided that there will be no more backward thinking after the previous Japanese apologies to South Korea two years ago. Again, I am just an ordinary citizen, and not a right winger.
Rating: 
Summary: Not true. Read critically if you are intellectual enough.
Review: As a Japanese citizen, I accept proven wrongdoings of our ancetors in the wartime. However, I have to say that this book is full of distortions. A photo used is "Japanese soldiers killing Chinese people," but in fact is that of "Chinese soldiers killing Chinese people." Such misuses of photos are rampant, which have been recognized among transnational academics, including Chinese and American. A lot of historical facts remain contoversial and to be proven among historians. Why Chang put forward an immature book at the expense of journalistic honesty? How come so many US journalists including Nicholas Kristof, former NY Times's Beijing and Tokyo correspondent, consistently report distorted and deformed stories in Asia? Is it just a greed for promtion at headquarters or money? I am fed up! Edward Said is right, people don't understand problems of "Orientalism." If you have to read, read it critically, please. And, if you don't buy my review due to my ethnicity (Japanese), don't buy Chang (Chinese-American) either. I gave one star to Chang's successful marketing worldwide. Noted that Chang is NOT professor of any kind, just a journalist of lowest kind. MIT professor Dower's "Embracing Defeat" is much better in this regard.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but I think the lack of objectivity hurt
Review: Perhaps it was the author's intention, I understand. Certainly this is a story that needs to be told. Certainly I agree that lying about what happened is wrong, that covering this up and pretending this never happened is wrong. But the tone of the book as much about a desire of reparitions, apology and revenge against Japan than it is a story of an extremely disturbing atrocity amidst the larger horror of war. The call by the author for Japan to stress this wrongdoing to school children I frankly do not agree with. History is not always pretty,nor are there many societies that behaved through their history on the high moral ground. But stressing the bad just to be a catharsis of culture, hurts children's image of their nation and culture. It's happening here in America right now, with subjects such as slavery and treatment of Native Americans. Social and political opinions aside, the historical tidbits that are little known will be of interest to the history student and the general story will be shocking and eye opening to the general reader. Certainly the author has a great passion for her work and I do not want to downplay her effort. The story of the Westerners who tried to help the Chinese civilians were particularly inspiring (even as I felt a veiled anti-Western tone to this book in general). The story of Mr Rabe and Dr Wilson are important. What great heroes and what sad endings. I would recommend this book, despite some disagreements on point of view.
Rating:
Summary: A Superficial, Journalistic Account
Review: This is a journalistic account, which is superficial and very biased. Chang seems to feel that getting the "historical scoop" by writing on this neglected subject is more important than providing in-depth analysis. Organization and style are poor. This is essentially a collection of second-hand anecdotes, strung together in loose order. This book was somewhat interesting to read, but it does not fully engage the reader's interest. Very little order of battle on Japanese units involved, which makes it difficult to determine who actually committed these atrocities. Two maps. Note that many other reviewers appear gripped with this book on an emotional level, as any tragedy brought to life can be, but it is not history.
Rating:
Summary: True, but Depressing
Review: I read this book because it was highly recommended. But this is clearly not an enjoyable subject. Written by a college professor of Chinese descent, the author wants to prove that the Japanese brutalized the city of Nanking. Since there were attempts to cover it up at the time, she seems intent on proving the "Rape" as fact. Frankly, I have no problem believing it. But this book quickly resorts to repeated tales of horror that are all about the same and eventually it was boring and I looked forward to the end. Probably the best part of the book is when she told of the foreigners in the city who attempted to valiantly defend the citizens against the atrocities. This was inspiring and interesting since it involved both Nazis and Americans. This book has historical significance so it will appeal to history buffs as she clearly spent quite a bit of time on her research. But don't expect a pleasurable read and I can't really recommend the book as I found it so depressing. And that was probably her point in focusing on this atrocity that many consider to be as bad as the Holocaust.
Rating: 
Summary: Japan must face its responsibility.
Review: This book is amazing. I had heard about the book when a relative gave it to my grandfather for his birthday (he fought against the Japanese in the latter years of the Second World War). I knew it was controversial and important, but I had shied away from reading it because I knew it was graphic. I needed a book for my World War II class (college) this semester, and, as my fiancée is Chinese and from only a few hundred kilometers from Nanjing, I took the plunge. This book details an oft-looked over portion of World War II: The atrocities committed by the Japanese in Asia. The Japanese committed a great deal of atrocities, from the Bataan Death March and the Comfort Women to Unit 731 (medical experimentation and intentional spreading of disease like the bubonic plague) and the almost complete destruction of Shanghai and Nanjing. However, the great majority of work on World War II is focused upon the European theater. Those that do mention Asia tend to speak about the terrible destruction of Japan and the rebuilding after the war. This book fills a much-needed gap in the history of World War II. Ms. Chang's book is an effort to point out the terribleness of the Rape of Nanjing to the rest of the world and to hold the current Japanese government responsible for it. The Japanese were spared the war trials and reparations meted out by Germany due to Cold War tensions in Asia, and the crimes of Japanese were largely glossed over for the next few decades. More recently, as aging victims attempt to sue Japanese corporations and the government in general they usually run up against a brick wall. The Japanese government's stance seems to be playing a waiting game, waiting for all of the victims to pass on. This is a travesty almost as heinous as the terrible crimes committed in the War. I hope that this book helps to hold the current Japanese government accountable for the actions of World War II. I hope that that day comes soon, before it is too late for their victims. PS: Since I first wrote this review I have been to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. I challenge the naysayers of this book to hold the same opinions after visiting that sobering site.
Rating:
Summary: The politics of humiliation in disguise of passion
Review: Even though I am of Chinese nationality myself, I cannot come to oppose Chang's book more. Here I don't want to talk about the historical accuracy of the massacre, but to expose her faulty reasoning technique and the necessary damages done to peace resulting from this book. Sometimes historical narratives are less significant than their context. One thing you'll notice from reading the book is the sense of rage and frenzy on her part, which any prudent scholar should avoid, no matter what stressful historical circumstances he or she is writing about. She has the right to record historical facts, but no right to demonize a country and a people. I've met Chinese people who, after reading her book or works of similar nature by Chinese contemporaries, say things like "We should have a future massacre of Tokyo" or "wipe out .. country from the face of the earth." Such people are still in their teens. Thanks to Chang's enlightenment on them. And these teens have even envisioned their joy in committing the same kind of graphic atrocities to the Japanese described in graphic details in Chang's book in their imaged future "massacre of Tokyo". Secondly, Chang's work is so self-asserting that according to her logic, any scholarly critique of her work would be tantamount to "supporting war criminals". If you only object to her figure of 400000 deaths but instead put the figure at 50000 based on substantial evidences, she'll accuse you of denial of war crimes. Many people who objected to her death toll estimate are now said to be "denying the whole incident". And that would soon come to equate of being "Hitler". According to her logic, even the western missionaries, whom she gave so much credit for protecting Chinese during the incident, also supported "war criminals" because they put the figure at about 40,000 at the post-war trials. On the other hand, she does not realize she inflates these figures like inflating balloons. Chang now wants three things: 1. Japanese apology 2. reparations 3. Japanese government telling their future generations the truth, and not to visit the so-called shrine that houses war criminals. 1. To what extent is the concept of "apology" really enforceable in terms of international law? Japan has apologized several times to China in the past (both oral and written). The communique between the two countries when they first established diplomatic relations in the 70s clearly had a clause in it. The reason Chang wants another one might be due to two reasons a. The previous ones are not "apologetic" and humiliating enough b. it is not written separately as a distinct piece of document. Now, the idea of a so-called "confession" is only distinct in Chinese mentality. Have you ever seen countries warring each other ever issuing a so-called written "confession"? Even Germany, the country that Chang gives so much credit for being "repentant", has never issued a written "confession" (reparations nonetheless) as an official government order. Even the so-called "war-guilt clause" that German had to accept after WWI, which proved to be so inept and have caused so so many problems later on, did not force Germany to write a so-called confession. 2. It is China who agreed to relinquish the war reparations after WWII, when Japan paid other victim countries. Japan again volunteered to give China reparations in the 70s but China refused. Does Chang think reparations are as frivolous as a football game, catching the ball and letting it go whenever one wants? 3. Why does Chang think she has the right to tell what the Japanese government has to teach to their own kids. I went to an American high school, and if you ask me the details of Americans' massacre of Indians in the past, I cannot tell it to you because that course was an elective About the Shrine: it is far from what Chang has propagated to be. It is a shrine that dedicates to people who have died in ALL WARS in Japanese history, then of course WWII is one of them. Just by having someone's name scripted in the shrine does not mean the Japanese government thinks WWII is good. According to Chang, American people should not have a Vietnam memorial because that would indicate Bill Clinton supports the American involvement in it. If someone had died for a wrong cause, why is it wrong to commemorate them? According to Chang, if someone had died for a wrong cause, they do not even deserve a grave. People like Chang want to strip all traces of dignity from a person, not even allowing them to have a place to rest in their home country. Just like the confession idea: you have to kneel down before us and say "we have sinned". I'm sure most Chinese like this book. But many of them will be turned away when they know her comment about China (she made once in an interview). SHe called China a dictatorship and its current system must be removed. All patriotic Chinese would find this message offensive (i'm sure there are a few who love to see this happen). After all, she is not speaking out on behalf of China, as she alleged (She was clever enough to portray the raparation issue so the blame can be shifted to the Chinese government). Her bitterness with both Japan and the Chinese government results from her bad personal experiences (her family emigrated due to the communist takeover). All she wants to see is that CHina and its neighbor fight forever (she is an AMerican and lives in America and would not be affected by it).
Rating:
Summary: the Truth
Review: It is unbelievable how some Japanese continue to deny the truth. First off-this book is not about the Japanese language or the Japanese culture-it is about the atrocities that Japanese troops committed on the Chinese citizens of Nanjing. Those that deny it so admently only go to show how guilty they really are. They should understand that this book was not published specifically to put-down or slander the Japanese people and their culture, but simply to open the eyes of general population to the darker points in history that have always been shadowed (I say specifically, because there is no way Mrs. Chang could write this book without some bias). EVERY country has her darker past and the rape of Nanjing is Japan's. History has the right to be known. This is the first book that introduces the Western civilization to the in the East. It is about time ignorance is dispersed.
Rating:
Summary: Don't treat Japanese are bad! We're sick of it!
Review: This book is just a nuts and bunch of crap. Chang knows absolutely nothing about Japanese language and Japanese culture. All photos inserted in this book are fake. They had some bizzare quote with absolutely no proofs. ...
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