Rating: 
Summary: A National Shame
Review: This is an important book, not so much because of its length, quality of writing, or style Ñ which all could be improved, but because there is so little that is available on this subject and this book is better than nothing. I agree with many of the reviews here and wished that the book was longer, more detailed, and (I would add) maybe a bit more academic. I say this because it is too easy for responsible Japanese officials, not to mention the average Japanese citizen, to dispute the details in the book without detailed proof behind it. This has hapenned more than once by former Japanese Gov. officials who say there is no proof of the so-called atrocities. I have lived in Japan for the last 22 years, and have a number of wonderful Japanese friends, but for the most part they will not discuss in detail any of the following: 1. the poor treatment by Japanese of Koreans who have to carry Korean passports even though many second and third generation Japanese Koreans have never been in Korea (they - on the other hand - have given me many opinions over the years of how poorly America has treated its Black citizens), no will they discuss Japan's war crimes in Asia or China. The practices found in this book could be found almost anywhere the Imperial Japanese Army had gone (some 60,000 men women and children in Manila were raped and murdered on order of the Japanese Command before the Japanese retreated from the city). Atrocities similar to those in Nanking were hapenning before Nanking and after throughout occupied China. I have tried to get some of my Japanese friends to talk about what they know about the Nanking Incident (as it is known in Japan), but one friend told me that its best to not talk about it because of what the right wing might do. The right wing here is strong and can be very ugly, but I am concerned that the Japanese are close to getting away with altering history and eradicated any responsibility for what they did. Here in Japan, there is no wide public discussion of responsibility of the war. Watching the ceremonies every August for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one would think that Japan had been attacked by the USA and that the A-bombs were something that had hapenned to them. There is no discussion of the Japanese government's responsibility before and during the war. Young Japanese people do not know what their country's role was in WWII nor do they know what provoked the war not what their country did to other counties, and leaders of the government today are too busy visiting Yasukuni Shrine - or trying to - where Class A war criminals like Tojo and others are enshrined, to worry or care about the gap in young people's education. I believe that the Japanese should be made by the UN to set the record straight in Asia, reform their curriculum which does not only cover up the facts, but because of its nature (too much emphasis on authority, retarding individualism, and too much following the crowd) is one of the reasons why the Japanese acted as they did everywhere they were during the war. If Japan does not begin to change its tune and formally appologize to the countries they so violated they should not be allowed a chance at a permanante seat on the UN Security Council, this would have tremendous effect because this seat on the Secutrity Council is what it wants more than anything els.
Rating: 
Summary: Important and necessary
Review: I found that I agreed with much of what the Kirkus reviewer wrote. Personally, I would have preferred a more rigorous, scholarly account--it's not so much history as it is journalism. Having said that, I believe Chang has done a service to the memory of the victims in recounting the massacre. As a resident of Japan, I wish that this book would help to change the stance of Japanese officialdom which continues to downplay and deny its role as a wartime aggressor. Every August, we are reminded by the Japanese media how horrible the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was. I agree. It would also be helpful if the Japanse media provided the same degree of coverage every December to remind us of the horrors that were visited upon the people of Nanking in the winter of 1937.
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.
Rating:
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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