Samurai!

My lord this book was right up my alley. I had heard of Mr So url but have never read anything. Well written book lots of action lived it

Saburo Sakai, one of Japan's top aces in World War II does a great job, with the help of Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, telling the story of Sakai's experiences during his service. This auto biography read like a novel and I found it difficult to put down. As all auto-biographies written at the end of a person's life, there are potential issues with memory, bias, and the desire to leave a good legacy, but this book has few, if any, overt cases of this. While some things may be technically inaccurate, as is often the case with the telling of stories that involve numbers and military movements by people who weren't high enough ranked to receive full disclosure with their orders, one must remember that this is told from the perspective of a low to mid ranked navy pilot during World War II and not from a historian whose job is to research all aspects of their report. It is a good read and very informative. I would recommend it to anyone studying World War II as a whole or the Japanese perspective the war in particular, or simply to anyone who enjoys a well written military story.

With Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, Saburo Sakai tells his story as a naval aviator in the Japanese imperial Navy during WWII. The book itself has an authentic feel to it and the reader will be able to immediately recognize the difference in culture and outlook as one reads through this account.The account begins with Sakai's early life as the child of a poor samurai family and leads to his volunteering as a naval recruit. His training is brutally harsh and, as he is able to train for more technical skills, is surprised that even as he advances the treatment is never less brutal and cruel. Finally, he is able to gain pilot training and that is the start of his career.In this book, Sakai comments on his experiences in China where the war has been going on for years before Pearl Harbor drew in the US. China gives him his first aerial victory and his first notoriety in Japan. Even at this time, the reader will note that the Japanese lie to their own people regarding defeats and disasters. I also found it interesting that Sakai claims Soviet pilots flew in China at that time.He guides the reader through his own feelings as he takes part in the early heady victories against western powers. During that time, the highly trained Japanese pilots and their superior Zero fighter ran wild, easily defeating the pilots and aircraft of the allies. The reader should be cautioned that during this time, Sakai was part of an elite unit of the best-of-the-best pilots and their combat record was not representative of Japanese performance at large though certainly Imperial Japanese Navy fliers and their aircraft were markedly superior.Sakai fights in New Guinea first, acquiring a fearsome reputation with his many air-to-air kills. As time goes on, the weight of material coming from the US in the form of numbers of aircraft bodes ill for the Japanese. With the successful invasion by the US of Guadalcanal, the air war takes on a very different tone, with US forces gaining in experience and dealing the IJN defeats. In one operation, Sakai is severely wounded and manages to nurse his crippled fighter back to his base at Rabaul, despite falling in and out of consciousness.The final part of the book deals with his surgeries and recovery in Japan and his relegation as a flight instructor of the new pilots being run through training as fast as possible as well as being a test pilot for new aircraft that came too late to help Japan. The book ends with Japan's surrender in 1945.In many ways, this is a war memoir like those of western pilots. He exults in the thrill of flight and the excitement of aerial combat. He jokes with his friends and comments on his attachment to his fellows. He grieves for his friends that die in combat. On the other hand, his attitude is very different on other matters. The reader will note that he defends the Kamikaze, despite the fact that they did nothing to prevent Japan's defeat despite the waste of human life. The reader will also note that the author and all his comrades fear nothing as much as shame or dishonor. They don't use parachutes for the fear they might bail out over enemy-held territory and be captured. Often they do things that are foolhardy rather than retreat to "live to fight another day".It's an interesting account as much for Sakai's flying prowess and skill as for the window into the mind of the Pacific enemy during WWII. This is a solid four star book.

Great story

This former fighter pilot appreciated the description of the training and tactics. Felt bad for his opponents in 1942 in their obsolete aircraft. It was an unforgiving business.

This is a review of the Kindle edition, which states that the book was originally published in 1957. I give this book a solid five stars.First, it is hard to put down. It's just a darn good read. It contains blow by blow descriptions of Sakai's many aerial duels in such a manner that you feel as if you were there. I found Sakai's accounts of his aerial encounters to be straightforward and without embellishment. He gives credit where credit is due, even to the enemy. I had always heard of the Zero's unparalleled aerial performance versus American planes early in the war, but I never understood the 'why' of it very well until I read Sakai's book. If you want to know why the Zero was so deadly, Sakai's book explains it better than any dry historical research.Sakai's description of the performance abilities of American aircraft, and his discussion of their tactics, is also interesting. Sakai expresses his admiration for the constant aggressive tactics shown by outclassed American aircraft, including bombers, against the Zeros. Most of these stories were never told by the American pilots involved because they did not survive the encounters. Sakai further expresses his admiration for the American "teamwork" tactics used against the Zero. The Japanese pilots, trained in the Samurai tradition, saw themselves as solo aerial warriors (with wingman) to whom a greater teamwork was unknown. The Japanese eventually learned teamwork at the squadron level, but they learned it the hard way, from watching the Americans use it against them.There is also a human and personal side to Sakai's story that gives the book much more than the simple "I was there" story.Finally, in the "Foreword" section of the book, Sakai tells of being invited, many years after the war ended, as a guest of honor aboard several American warships, and states "This to me is truly the most impressive fact of all; these same people who, for all I know, came under my guns so long ago, sincerely offered friendship."This book is eminently readable on its own. I recommend it to anyone, not just WW 2 or aviation fans.

I had been on the hunt for this book since a long time ago.

O livro está em excelente estado de conservação. É umas das melhores biografias de pilotos da Segunda Guerra Mundial..

Facinating reading for anyone interested in the air war campaign this book is a real eye opener to the japanese side of the conflict.

... und das sind nicht wenige. Was die Autoren hier über Sakais Luftkämpfe und Leben schreiben, ist schlicht und ergreifend meisterhaft. Der Mann, der eines der japanischen Asse im Zweiten Weltkrieg war, war nicht nur ein Meister in der Luft, sondern auch eine herausragende Persönlichkeit, obwohl er am Anfang nur im Rang eines einfachen Fliegers war. Seine Schlichtheit in allen Dingen ist so überragend, dass es wohltuend ist, seinen Werdegang mit zu erleben. Schließlich fand er auch privat sein Glück mit einer Frau, die er über alles liebte. Wenn es möglich wäre, würde ich diesem Buch zehn Sterne geben, und das wäre noch zu wenig. I rove you, Saburo!

One of the best, the man and the book.