Rape of Nanking

This book by Ms. Chang is an excellent recounting of the atrocities which occurred in WW2 China.As for those vicious comments here refuting the book, I don't know what to say. What would one say to someone who was to deny the European Holocaust? In the face of irrefutable evidence, not even just this book, but the available documents regarding this incident, how can these events be denied? Why is this historical event denied with such a vitriolic hysteria? If it were not true, could it not be disproved objectively, and not with the "lies lies lies" that are listed here? It can't, the books which "refute" Nanking are pure fabrications themeselves; the very paradigm of modern Japanese selective amnesia. The fact that the Japanese to this day whitewash their shameful actions during WW2 only adds humiliation to those who suffered through this nightmarish event.And Nanking was not the only place which was "raped" in China during this time. Let us pretend Nanking did not even occur. What of it? It was NOT the only city in China, nay, in all of Asia which was "raped" by Japan. Even if this book, which it IS NOT, was pure fabrication, it still does not excuse the actions of Japan on its neighbors. The argument that Japan was doing its Asian neighbors a favor, or was asked in by them to get rid of the Western occupying colonsits is exceedingly silly. There has not been a nation on the face of this planet in all of history which has willingly asked an enemy nation to occupy their territory.To those who would berate this book, or this tragedy, based on completely unrelated contemporary Chinese actions, such as Tibet, then shame on you. A tragedy is a tragedy; if you think that Nanking is somehow justified for any other reason, I ask you how you can look at yourselves without disgust.Ms. Chang has written a very objective book on the subject matter. Chang is not a historian, she is a journalist, and as such, does NOT write her book like a history book, as some people seem to expect. Also, her book is balanced, and she is VERY careful not to blame all the Japanese people for the horrible event; and she is correct in doing this. The fact that some Japanese would get mad at this book only shows how they have been brainwashed into the view that their country was a victim; it was not. It is objective, and picking at any MINOR faults it may have is truly pathetic. As said earlier, a rape in August is still a rape in September. Mutilated, raped, pregnant women in "site A" is still a tragedy in "site B."A question was raised, "how long must the Japanese people be sorry for this event?" Well, read this book, and look at the whitewashing the Japanese have done on their wartime crimes, look at the ignorance of the world to this topic, and I think you can confidently say that there has been not one once of regret concerning this event.I applaud Ms. Chang for having the courage to write about such a previously unknown event, an event which has gotten many killed in Japan for asking too many questions about...For those who suggest you read revisionist books by ultra-nationalistic Japanese, I say that would be as objective as reading "Mein Kampf" for information on WW2. You decide...

The late Iris Chang (sadly, overcome with depression, she killed herself in 2004) has crafted an excellent, but disturbing account of one of WWII's most horrific atrocities. The Rape of Nanking is written in an easy to read, non-academic style, making it accessible to all types of readers. Chang writes of numerous incidents of Japanese barbarity that occurred when the Japanese captured the city of Nanking in 1937. Repeatedly, the reader is bombarded with stories of rape, murder and outright excesses of violence, condoned at the highest levels of command. These do become repetitive but this only reinforces the horror of the situation, of men and women trying to keep their families together and to stay alive and out of the clutches of the Japanese.But it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the The Rape of Nanking isn't just about the atrocities - that Chang is able to tell the story at all is because of a small band of people, who risked their lives to help as many of the fleeing Chinese as possible. The British, Americans and Germans living in Nanking established a safe zone for Chinese refugees, and to help as many as they could. It is thanks to the records they left behind, that this horrific event is able to be told. The book is illustrated with a selection of black and white photographs, many of which only reinforces the sense of this tragic and disturbing atrocity. It should be noted that many of the images are disturbing and gruesome.Unfortunately, there is no separate bibliography although Chang does include a notes section which indicates her source material. She has relied on a number of sources, mainly westerners who wrote diaries and letters (there were a number of British, Americans, and Germans present in Nanking at the time - John Rabe, the Nazi who was "The Good German", even wrote a report to Adolf Hitler). Other sources of information were German diplomatic records and US Naval Intelligence records. She interviewed a number of Chinese survivors for their accounts, and also located Japanese sources for their side of the story - disturbingly at one point Chang discusses Japanese newspaper coverage of a race between two Japanese officers to kill as many Chinese as possible. I happen to have a copy of the book "Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone" which Chang references on a number of occasions in the notes section of her book, and it lists over 400 events of rapes, murders and other acts of violence prepetrated by Japanese soldiers, a number of which were verified by witnesses including a Reverend in Nanking at the time of the events, Rev. Magee, and John Rabe.From the number of reviews for this book, it is quite apparent that "The Rape of Nanking" is one of the more controversial books around. The main reason for this being the heated denials from the pro-Japanese faction that the events as portrayed in the book ever occurred. However, despite their best efforts to convince people otherwise, it is clearly obvious to anyone troubling to inform themselves of both sides of the argument, that a massacre of some proportions occured in Nanking. To my mind, there is just too much independent evidence to suggest anything but a massacre, whether it was 300000 people slaughtered or 200000. The Japanese denials come across as being factually inaccurate and baseless, and lack any sort of credibility given the Japanese government's position on a number of issue's arising out of their conduct in WWII including the treatment of POWs, comfort women, and the revisionist teachings in Japanese school's of Japanese actions in WWII. It is a tragedy that many young Japanese are unlikely to learn the extent of what their country did 70 years ago, in stark contrast to the youth of today's Germany, who are well aware of what their country and citizens did in WWII. However, just as I do not judge Germans today on what their grand parents generation did, nor do I judge the Japanese of today on what their countrymen did some 70 years ago. The Rape of Nanking is an account of a tragic event that all people, regardless of nationality should be aware of. If everyone was aware of this tragedy, then maybe such an atrocity will never be allowed to perpetuated again.

Good read

if I had to chose one of the most important books for me, I'd choose this one. shows you how far humans go in torturing and treating others as low-life-animals.how men can lose all compassion and empathy for others and go the complete other route towards evil

Probably the most accessible book about the devastation caused by the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the horrors it brought. It helps to explain much of Chinese resentment against the Japanese to this day, as Japan does not recognize much of the atrocities they have committed in China, Korea, etc. I find it important, however, to warn you that if you are an impressionable person and can't stand descriptions of atrocities, reading this book will be difficult.

Arrivato in anticipo e immediatamente aggredito dalla lettura. Libro eccellente per capire le responsabilità di tutti in quell'ennesimo orrendo episodio di violenza perpetrata da militari in guerra. Andrebbe letto tenendo conto di quanto riferito in "Shooting up", altro interessantissimo libro per confermare le responsabilità delle "linee di comando" delle alte gerarchie militari di tutti i paesi del mondo.L'unico appunto riguarda il libro in sé che mostra segni inequivocabili di uso, nonostante sia venduto come nuovo. (i segni d'usura riguardano l'uso di evidenziatore giallo su diverse pagine del libro: 1 a pag.64, 2 a pag.131, 1 a pag.133... per ora...)

This is a well researched and beautifully written book about "The forgotten holocaust" (Nanking Massacre). The massacre of Nanking is one of the forgotten chapters of the 2nd world war.Reading this book is a gut wrenching experience. It is full of anecdotes of atrocities committed against helpless Chinese men and women. The book describes the mass murder and rape of Chinese citizens in the hands of marauding Japanese army during the occupation of Nanking in 1937. Though the estimates vary, the general consensus is that, between 300,000 to 400,000 Chinese were mercilessly murdered by the invading Japanese army. An estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women were raped, mutilated and murdered. They did not spare even babies. Many a men were burnt alive. German Shepherd dogs were let loose on men, who were buried up to their waist. The dogs ripped apart these helpless men.During the 6 weeks of this horror, many foreigners stationed in Nanking risked their own life and heroically faced the Japanese soldiers. They tried saving as many Chinese citizens as possible. Notable among them were Rabe (A Nazi German), Wilson (an American physicist) and Vautrin (an American missionary). Stories of these brave foreigners who stood for the helpless Chinese, restores your faith in humanity.