Rating: 
Summary: Tragedy of Denial
Review: This is a great introductory book for those who are interested in learning about atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the World War II. The Rape of Nanking was one of the most hideous war crimes ever committed in the 20th century, which has been a taboo to discuss in public--particularly in Japan--for many years.The book tells the gruesome tale of brutality committed against Chinese civilians in the ancient Chinese city of Nanking under the Japanese occupation. Chang brilliantly recreates the terrifying event by offering the personal accounts of those who survived the ordeal, along with numerous facts and evidence. Well researched and eloquently argued, Chang successfully brings this "forgotten holocaust" back to life. Although the journalistic writing style of Chang may not please students of history, she effectively conveys to readers the terror of rape and genocide orchestrated by Japanese soldiers. This is the book that everyone--particularly the Japanese--needs to read, in order to learn and preserve the truth for those who perished under the Japanese occupation. The Rape of Nanking was a disturbing event which should never have happened. As a Japanese who grew up in postwar Japan, I am deeply disturbed by this enormity committed by my fellow countrymen. What is more disturbing, however, is the categorical denial of the truth not only by right-wing bigots but also by many scholars and politicians who hold respectable positions in government and academia. Their unrelenting effort to hide the truth has not only undermined our effort to bury the ghost of our militarist past, but our credibility as a nation committed to the promotion and maintenance of peace in the postwar world. If more people read this book, the truth will eventually undermine their cowardly act. For that, I recommend everyone to read this book. For Japanese, this is not an easy book to read. Truth hurts, and it is never easy to accept the fact that our nation committed such a hideous crime. But denial does not bring comfort to those who suffered the consequences of our action, no matter how remotely related to the incident we may be today on individual basis. It is our moral obligation to ease the pain of victims by whatever means necessary, and the acceptance of truth accompanied by clear public apology is the first step that our nation can take. We should be ashamed of the fact that we have denied (or been ignorant to) the truth for more than 60 years. That shame will become even greater, if we keep denying the truth and refuse to utter three simple words--"We are sorry."
Rating:
Summary: Great Journalism, bad length
Review: I am currently in a journalism class and let me tell you this- this journalism is one of the most wonderul journalism I have ever read. This is one heart pounding performance of a historan at work. This is a shocking and well written book and it is based on fact. It has REAL documented elements that is proof that the Rape of Nanking Occured. I loved how well Chang made a thought provoking entries.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: The Western, or at least Anglo-American, view of World War II included two villains, but the Nazis were by far the more evil of the two, even though the cruelty of the Japanese was generally considered greater. This long overdue book offers a glimpse of what many East Asian victims of the Japanese have long felt -- that the Japanese imperialists at least equalled the Germans in their evil. While the reviewer does not necessarily believe this to be true, in his view it is vital for the West to understand this portion of Asian history if it is to deal with important nations such as China, Korea and Japan. Many reviewers of this book have stated that the Japanese atrocities are no different from other wars and certainly no different from the wars of conquest conducted by the white man. This may be true. However, this gives little solace to the East Asian victims. Imperial Japan does not really look "better" because other, principally European nations have also committed horrendous crimes against humanity. What it does demonstrate, however, is that the legacy of Western imperialism is too lightly dismissed in our (humanity's) collective consciousness. When Japan unleashed its fury on all of Asia, only China and Thailand had some measure of de facto independence. The other Asian nations were colonized by Britain, the Netherlands, France, the U.S. and Japan. It is little wonder that the fight against Germany is portrayed as a fight for Christendom, whereas the fight against Japan was... so white colonists could get rid of Japanese ones?! The West turned a blind eye on its subject peoples when Japan attacked their colonies. China stood alone for four years until Pearl Harbor. The Nanjing Massacre stands as a testament to Chinese resolve, and to fascist Japan's undying debt to the people of Asia. This book may not be the best piece of scholarship, but it deserves five stars for being one of the first in the West. May it invite more scholars to examine the legacy of imperial Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Sober and well-researched
Review: The book leaves the reader with many questions while describing crimes that are unthinkable. How could the Imperial Japanese army turn young conscripts into such bestial murderers? We are faced with two choices: The Japanese army was so totally undisciplined that its troops ran amok; or, the massacre and rapes had to occur with the tacit approval if not under the direct orders of the commanders up to and including the royal family. The latter would seem to be the case if the army was as disciplined as it was reputed to be. The Japanese attacked and sank an American Naval vessel, the USS Panay during the episode. Carefully photographed films of the sinking were smuggled out and displayed in American newsreels only after the FDR administration asked that 30 feet of the film showing planes attacking in such a way that it could only have been deliberate were removed. Would history have been different if American ships had been "savagely and deliberately attacked" four years sooner than Pearl Harbor? Revisionists have blasted this book because one of the photographs shows a Japanese tank of a type that did not appear until later in the war. These criticisms go in the same category as those who point to photographs of bombing raid victims mistaken for concentration camp victims to try to prove that Auschwitz never happened. Chang's research clearly shows that Japan was fully aware of what was going on. Newspaper clippings from Japan even covered a beheading competition between Japanese officers. The manner in which the rape has been treated by history is an interesting study in itself. To this day, Japanese scholars who investigate too closely do so at personal risk. How can people get molded into such killers? Unlike the traditional approach to war crimes that places the responsibility on individuals, Ms Chang makes a compelling case that it was "...a dangerous government, in a vulnerable culture, in dangerous times, able to sell dangerous rationalizations to those whose human instincts told them otherwise." An important book. The interested reader might also want to look into Dave Grossman's book: "On Killing..." for further information on how people can be induced to kill in spite of all of their moral upbringing.
Rating:
Summary: A very true story, however I disagree with a few things
Review: It is unfortunate that things like this have happened in the past and continue today. My mother is Japanese and my father is American, and I have heard about the Nanking massacre before I read Chang's book. My great-grand uncle was a Japanese soldier in Nanking, and he denounced religion after what he saw there. The heinous crimes were indeed very true, and anyone who denies them is irresponsible. However, I disagree with Chang and some other reviewers' opinions that it is Japan's moral obligation to educate its children about the massacre. They are a bit naive when it comes to understanding Japanese society. I was born in Japan and have lived there for 11 years. I have watched the teenagers of my generation become more "Americanized"(More independent, ignorant, arrogant, and obnoxious than before). But there is one large difference between Americans and Japanese. In America, racism is prevalent, as can be substantiated with all the racist slurs that exist. In Japan, racism in the new generations is rare, and I have yet to learn even one racist slang word in Japanese. In a recent poll, it was discovered that half of the Japanese teenagers questioned didn't know that American had ever fought Japan in a war. Although it may sound pathetic in a historical-knoledge context, I am grateful. In Japan, I have never faced any problems of racism. In America and Australia; two countries that I am or have lived in; children and teenagers seem to be fascinated with "how we won the war" and "Pearl Harbor". I have seen and faced racism there, but not in Japan. I have Asian friends from around the world(including the USA) who lived in Japan, and they like it there. Although Japanese racism against Koreans and Chinese still do exist here and there, it is quickly fleeting. And it is NOTHING compared to the racism Asians face in the USA. In conclusion, I would like to say that I respect Chang's beliefs greatly, but she is still naive when describing the psyche of the Japanese people. The WW2-era generation Japanese are quickly disappering, and so are the irrational views some of them hold. Japan has already been assimilated into American culture enough, inheriting many bad traits in the process. Why should Japanese children, peaceful as they are, have to carry the burden of their ancestors? Learning their full past will only make them more nationalistic and maybe even militaristic(I have seen this happen in Japan; and for more justification, look at the typical American kid). They, as with most other children around the world, aren't ready to face the harsh truth of their nation's nefarious history. Let things be as they are. Japan is a peaceful nation now and every country should follow their example.
Rating: 
Summary: The Rape of Nanking
Review: Don't sit down with this book and expect to be entertained. This gripping account of one of the worst atroceties in history, The Rape of Nanking, is not for the faint hearted. Iris Chang shares with us the horror and fear of many Nanking victoms, as well as soldiers mutilating habits of their prisoners. Often called, "The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II," The Rape of Nanking is a must read for everyone as we must not forget, but learn from the mistakes of the Japanese.
Rating:
Summary: These japanese deniers have no shame!
Review: It seems that japanese deniers of the Nanjing Massacre would do any utterly shameless thing in order to post their twisted views on the internet. Here are some typical things they would do: 1. They would pose as some sort of non-Japanese, eg. an American complete with an English name and a foreign location, then spout out their nonsense about how the Nanjing Massacre is a "Chinese communist propaganda and fabrication", and that "the photos are fake. 2. Instead of confronting the historical truths and indisputable evidence, these gutless fools with instead lay ludicrous and nonsensical blames on the real victims (Chinese) and claim that they deserve to die in the Nanjing massacre because they claim those unarmed Chinese civllians were "guerillas conducting raids against japanese army, and japanese army had right to deal with guerillas", which is just utter bullcrap. This akin to Neo-Nazi accussing the Jews on bringing the Holocaust onto themselves 3. Those same brainless japanese rightwing nuts also accuses "Chinese people of killing and eating their dead, and were the main casualties of Nanjing Massacre". Gees, I wonder where did these stupid japaNazis get those sort of ideas from? 4. They would link some totally unrelated events of discussion, ie. Tiananmen Square Massacre and Chinese occupation of Tibet, and somehow claim that they justifies the japanese murder of civillians in Nanjing, even if those two events occurred a LONG time after the Nanjing Massacre. 5. They continue to play as victims of the "American aggressionist and their atom bombs", when they conveniently choose to forget it was their militarism in Asia, and all the attrocities they've committed in Nanking and other places, which ultimately lead to them being nuked. They chose to commemorate Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, yet in their education curriculum nothing is mentioned about Nanjing Massacre, Unit 731, and Korean/Chinese "comfort women". It's a shame that these vocal minorities of japanese rightwing revisionist nutcases are ruinging the image of the vast majority of japanese who although they mostly ignorant of their country's brutal past, once they were made known of it, often feels quite guilty ashamed of their country's past behaviour. I hoped that the all japanese people will one day learn from their mistakes and make the REAL past taught in the schools (like what the Germans had done), instead of resorting to covering up and whitewashing their militarist past.
Rating:
Summary: should engender much soul searching
Review: In December 1937, after the Chinese Army defending Nanking abandoned resistance, the Japanese Army proceeded to overrun the ancient capital city and wreaked unholy havoc. In the following weeks, the Japanese raped and/or murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians (perhaps as many as 350,000 were killed) in one of the most brutal episodes in the long bloody history of warfare. But, if you're like me, "the rape of Nanking" is little more than a vaguely remembered term from a history book. Iris Chang's book remedies that situation, giving the facts the full airing that they deserve, and explains why the massacre is so poorly remembered--largely because of political considerations she argues. The result is a really moving act of remembrance that offers a mixed bag of lessons. In the first instance, like all such books, Chang goes a little bit overboard, but understandably so, in trying to claim pride of place for the Rape of Nanking in the catalogue of genocidal rampages. Arguments of this kind reach a point where they have a too self-centered and masochistic tinge to them. It suffices, that the acts perpetrated upon the Chinese population by the Japanese Army are horrific. No hyperbole is needed. Nor is it necessary to, as Ms Chang does, portray the world's relative failure to commemorate these events and the Japanese government's failure to compensate victims as a second rape. I would think that firebombing the living bejeezus out of Tokyo and dropping two atomic bombs would have amply demonstrated our displeasure with the Japanese. Even if it was vicarious, the victims surely got their pound of flesh. Her argument that political considerations in America, Japan and China have created a kind of conspiracy of silence is more compelling. The Red Chinese government which took over the country after the war, chose not to make an issue of the rape for their own reasons--the shame that this xenophobic regime must have felt appears to have ensured their silence. The Japanese have obvious reasons for not wanting to dwell on the massacre, but she is absolutely right that they have a moral obligation to acknowledge that they perpetrated, to teach their youngsters about these darkest aspects of the war and perhaps even to make some restitution to survivors. The aggressive campaign by certain elements in Japanese society to deny that the rape ever took place or was as bad as purported is troubling, but is part of a much larger societal ill in Japanese culture, a failure to reckon with endemic racism and a to come to grips with a pretty ugly past. Sadly, willful blindness to the facts of Nanking is only a symptom of a larger disease. America, for it's part, wanted to rehabilitate postwar Japan so that we'd have a good ally in the quickly descending Cold War. It ill served our purposes to rub their noses in their obviously abhorrent record of war crimes. But it should be remembered that we pretty much let them off the hook for things like the Bataan Death March too. There is no discernible racial component here, simply icy cold realpolitik. But Chang is absolutely right on this point, that none of the three nations has been willing to make the atrocities a public issue. One really edifying lesson that emerges is the danger of judging people too easily. Chang reconstructs the truly remarkable and heroic efforts of the European/American community in Nanking to try and protect refugees from the Japanese. Amazingly enough it turns out that one of the prime movers in this effort, the "Oskar Schindler of Nanking" (see Orrin's review of Schindler's List), was a Nazi official named John Rabe. The passages describing his actions on behalf of the Chinese, even to the point of demanding a meeting with the Fuhrer, make for one of the most fascinating sections of the book. Finally, the most important lessons are offered in what I thought was an excellent and insightful conclusion to the book: that the Japanese were not "uniquely sinister", that there is a relatively thin veneer of civilization that stands between any culture and the capacity for such horrible actions; and that it is all too easy to accept such genocidal actions even as they are occurring. These lessons are being driven home today in places like Bosnia, Chechnya and Rwanda and warning flags are going up in the nations of Europe where fascist anti-immigrant parties are gaining ground from Austria to France and beyond. But the big lesson that Chang cites--the most important lesson of the last century--is the danger that we all face whenever governments centralize power to themselves. The 20th Century was characterized by two directly related phenomena, the increasing centralization of political power in the hands of national governments and the bureaucrats who run them and the vicious, often homicidal, application of that power to those nations' own citizens. From the internment of Japanese Americans by FDR to the Nazi Death Camps to the Russian gulag to the Rape of Nanking to the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the current instances in Africa and the Balkans, this is a lesson that has been demonstrated time and again but which we seem inordinately reluctant to accept. Governments are simply too untrustworthy too allow them to aggrandize the amount of power that has become routine in modern times. It is reflexive to defend the American system as somehow special and beyond these kind of considerations, but I for one am awfully grateful that this theory was not put to the test in WWII. You may feel confident that we would never have exacted some warped retribution on the citizens we sent to concentration camps, but I tremble to think what their fate might have been had the war in the Pacific gone poorly for us, or had it been San Francisco that was firebombed instead of Tokyo. Chang's excellent book implicates all of these issues and should engender much soul searching. Her excesses of tone are perfectly understandable in light of her topic and her sense of mission, to bring these largely forgotten facts before a disinterested public. GRADE: A
Rating: 
Summary: Not the right book to start...
Review: As mentioned in a few reviews before mine, this book is severely flawed in more than one place. Only because it's written well doesn't mean that everything in there is right. Anyone who's interested in the Nanjing Massacre should maybe start with the book "The Nanjing Massacre" by Honda Katsuichi, which gives a much less biased view on what happened and offering many stories from survivors of the massacre and the events that occured from the landing at Shanghai to the fall of Nanjing. I do think that it's good that Iris Changs book has become so popular and made many people interested in this topic, but one should really get the facts right in such a work and that is something which she did not do.
Rating: 
Summary: Fake picture
Review: If you don't know anything about Japan and Japanese, you may be brain-washed by this book. Iris Chang wrote many disgusting discriptions not based on the truth. The pictures on this book are terrible, they are fake. One of the picture shows that one tank fires small house. But you know what, this tank did not exist at this time!! Where did she get this picture? This is like a political propaganda. And wrong translation and misunderstanding of Japanese culture. She may not able to read Japanese language I think. Many Japanese don't care this book, 'cause it looks bad, cheap joke. You need to know the truth, and you never know the truth from this book.
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