Rating: 
Summary: A Good Start, But Much More Must be Done
Review: After five years living in Japan I must say that I am surprised it took so long for such an important book to surface. In Japan, such atrocities are not even discussed in the media or press--- there is only systematic suppression of the truth. This book will help to expose the stark reality of what happened in Nanjing. The next step is for people to come to Japan and find out how the Japanese really feel about war time atrocities committed by the Imperial Army AND largely condoned by the Japanese populace-- both then and even now. Anyone traveling to Japan I would urge you to visit Yasukuni Shrine/Museum in downtown Tokyo. It is really frightening to think--- what the mainstream of Japan today thinks in regard to the war.
Rating: 
Summary: A book everyone should read on the "forgotten holocaust"
Review: I am writing this in response to those who have criticized Iris Chang's book regarding her lack of literary style, typos, lack of depth, etc. Give Ms. Chang some credit for her daring expose of which no one, until she decided to, go and spend countless hours of research and due diligence to put together this "summary" of the Japanese cruelties to the Chinese in Nanjing, and the rest of Asia during WW II. (Not to mention also the fact that thousands of Filipinos also suffered tremendously in the hands of Japanese troops, as well.) The book may not be a literary masterpiece, but it brought a much needed awareness and attention to the world, the "forgotten sufferings" of all the people that survived as well as those who died under Japanese inhumanity of that time period. Let's not criticize the book for style or grammar or lack of depth, but praise her work as a good non-fiction summary of the ignored chapter of WW II. Virginia de Dios
Rating: 
Summary: Chang book is somewhat disappointing
Review: Unfortunately I find I must agree with the Kirkus reviewer (except for the gender of Iris Chang). I consider the topic extremely important and do wish more people would read about it, however this book is flawed in many ways. Much of this has to do with the length of the book. I must question the reasoning for a 225 page book on such an important topic and one in which Ms. Chang must posess thousands of pages of material. Didn't Harper Collins believe in her project? Due to this short length I also must question the organization. The 30 page or so overview of events at the front seems too long for a 225 page book. In addition the chapter order is a little too bouncy for the length. This length also leads to another problem, some of the topics are only superficially covered. We learn about Herr Rabe in a few pages and the other International Zone Heroes get less time. The entire zone gets what 30 pages? Why not expand on the topic? In addition, Ms. Chang's writing style is good but not great. Her sentences run short and those that are longer seem awkward. There are also some sentences and at least a couple of entire paragraphs that make no sense at all. To add to this agony, the footnote scheme or lack of one is harmful. Again, I suggest she find a better editor next time. Finally, after about 150 pages Ms. Chang leaves the tragic events of 1937 and looks at the cover ups. Due to the short length of the book, her look at another important topic seems like a young woman flinging emotional arrows. With length and a developed argument, her "arrows" would have a better point. In sum, I commend Ms. Chang for her efforts and for writing what is now a well read book on an important topic. However, I strongly suggest that she write a longer treatise on the topic, delving more deeply into her source material and find a better editor who cares more about her topic than about selling the book to short attention span buyers. Also, let me point out that it took over 50 years to make Schnidler's List. With some patience, I imagine somebody will make a movie out of her story also.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful summary of Japanese atrocities in WW II.
Review: I am grateful to Iris Chang for putting into print the viscious atrocities of the Japanese Army upon the people of China, as well as upon other peoples in Asia. She has taught us what history books and governments today, still leave as a "void" in the history of WW II. This book ignited in me a sense of deep emotion for the sufferings the Chinese people endured under the cruel hand of the Japanese. And what is more cruel, is that even today, the Japanese government stills denies the actual massacre and rape took place. Iris Chang's accounts instills into the reader, the fear, sufferings, and helplessness of these victims, of a time etched in human history, of the inhumanity of one race of people towards another. This is a must-read book for all Americans especially of Chinese descent, for it teaches us that these crimes of horror and rape MUST NEVER AGAIN BE REPEATED OR PERPRETRATED BY MANKIND UPON ITSELF, ever again! The sad conclusion to this chapter, is that there are still Japanese war criminals alive today that have gone unpunished! George Chiu
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Tragic
Review: This is one book that I would hesitate to say is wonderful only because its subject matter is so terribly depressing. I appreciate Ms. Chang's refusal to completely vilify the Japanese aggressors, and her attempt to analyze the historical conditioning these Japanese troops had for mass extermination and torture of the doomed Chinese. Her book was balanced and shocked and depressed me to the core. I was also deeply disgusted by the conservative Japanese insistence that the massacre never occurred even in the face of mounting evidence. I applaud Ms. Chang's insight and refusal to allow the Nanking Massacre to become an obscurity of WWII. And as a Chines-American woman of similar background as Ms. Chang, I am inspired and emboldened to take action.
Rating:
Summary: "RON" a good read for nonhistorians
Review: While the Kirkus reviewer may overstate "his" case, essentially the review is on target. Chang's book deserves credit for being an earnest effort to direct world attention to an overlooked part of collective history. However it disappoints in its lack of depth and fustrates readers with its stylistic structure. Perhaps in concession to current opinion that footnotes intimidate non-academic readers, Chang does not use them. To check sources for basic assertions within the text one must search the endnotes by page number to match the statement made with a source citation. Often there are none. This ultimately undermines the credibility of the entire enterprise. Chang also repeatedly inserts herself into the context of the massacre by noting how her interest in the incident triggered important historical action (the saving of documents etc). Lacking adequate inclusion of primary material, Chang's style blunts the impact and intrinsic drama of the event by repeatedly "summing up" events without providing detail. The result is a story of an American journalist's response to the discovery of a piece of underexplored history not an exposure of the historical event itself. Typos abound in this expensive hardback so while I recomend reading it (a short, interesting read), I would suggest using the library.
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Summary: A well written and readable book.
Review: I wish all histroy books were written like this one. The Rape of Nanking presented the facts and human dimension of a horrible event, without the over analysis of many other books. So many books by self appointed "serious" writers are packed with the writer's grand opinions in the early chapters that I either get bored or get stuck in the useless details. Ms. Chang give her well researched book logical sequence, economy of words, human drama, and thoughtful analysis. Agian, well written and highly readable work.
Rating:
Summary: Flippant Kirkus Review
Review: The Kirkus Review needs to assign more senior personnel to review this historically significant fact-finding work. I am surprised by the significant disconcordance between my evaluation and Kirkus's flippant comment (even the author's gender was incorrect). Chang's work added humanity to a tragic historical fact and conjectured how the potential for evil in each individual can be released/magnificated through organized dogma and unjust leadership. While the author did not psychoanalyze the motivation that instigated this event, the documentation of facts and oral history does lay ground work for further study. --Norman K. Ma
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Summary: Whoever reviewed this book for Kirkus ...
Review: First of all IRIS CHANG is a woman... "Chang fails because he rushes to simplify complex events." This person states that the book is "inadequate as history." What?! Did you even read the book? Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were systematically raped, mutilated, tortured, and killed! Their story is finally being told while the Japanese government continues to deny this - despite all the facts. In essence they are making light of this tragedy and denying the existence of these people. After reading your review, it's obvious you are doing the same.
Rating:
Summary: Long overdue work; an easy read
Review: Chang gives a detailed accounting of the horrific winter of 1937 in Nanking, and for that I am grateful. A full volume about the Japanese Rape of Nanking is a welcome addition to any history shelf. I am not one of the "most" Americans who had no prior knowledge of Nanking's plight, but Chang filled in many of the blanks. Sadly for Chang (and the rest of us) the book lacks a clear study of why the Japanese behaved as they did. (I mention this because Chang asks that rhetorical question early in the volume, but never gets around to saying much else about it aside from a brief outline of the brutality involved in the army's training; there is nothing unique about "brutal" training for an army.) While the Imperial Army's conduct throughout the war was less than honorable regarding treatment of POWs (Bataan, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, etc.) and well documented, I had hoped to gain a little more insight. Helping to explain the lack of depth is the Japanese denial that Nanking was ever a problem of such magnitude. Still, Chang's work is important, very important, because it will tell that sad tale to many readers who otherwise would never have heard about the terrible loss of life in that old city. My thanks to the author.
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