Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: "No Surrender" tells the story of a Japanese Army lieutenant inserted into the Philippines late in WW2-with orders to fight as a guerilla. Lt. Onoda never realizes WW2 is over and continues on his "mission" until 1974-30 years! Any information from the outside world is dismissed as an American trick to get him to surrender. Even pleas from his family are ignored for the same reason. The book demonstrates the incredible capacity man has to overcome difficulties, discomforts and danger- not to mention an heroic sense of "duty first". If "No Surrender" has a weak spot, it lies in its' very! abrupt ending. I would like to know how Lt. Oroda fared personally in "modern Japan".Did he move to Brazil to live with his brother as he dreamed he might? Did he get a reward or was he received by the Emporer? What happened to the guy? Oroda is the type of character the reader has to like. I'd recommend "No Surrender" to two types of readers. 1): Those WW2 buffs who want a totally unique perspective on the conflict 2): Those who like "positive thinking" books because Lt. Oroda is the very emboiment of that. This also qualifies as an ideal gift for that "hard to please" book lover.
Rating: 
Summary: "Survivor", for real!
Review: I remember this as a news story in 1974; a Japanese soldier emerging from the jungles of the Philippines after finally realizing that WWII was over. I recall thinking 'he must be crazy'. NO SURRENDER shows it's not so. This is the true story of 2nd Lt Hiroo Onoda, who, on orders from his commanding officer retreated with a small band of men into the jungle to carry out guerilla attacks against returning American troops and the Filipinos. He was to stay alive and await reinforcements.He didn't know when WWII ended and every attempt by Americans, locals, and even friends and familiy from Japan, to get him to come out was seen as a trap by Onoda. Only when his orders were specifically rescinded, did he emerge. Over the years his skills in evading and surviving were honed to a edge. For humanists this is a positive message and a remarkable tale about the ability of the human spirit to endure great hardships for the sake of beliefs and duty. Less positive, from a mental health perspective, the book is a startling illustration of the power of the mind to program itself to shut out all messages and signals it does not wish to receive.
Rating:
Summary: A look at a truly dedicated man
Review: Lt. Hiroo Onoda spent 29 years on a Phillipine island fighting World War 2. When he was 22 he arrived on Lubang, fresh out of officer training, and reported in to an Imperial Japanese Army base to assume his duties as a junior intelligence officer. Shortly thereafter the steamroller of the US Navy, Army, and Marine Corps came rolling through and and Lt. Onoda retreated to the surrounding jungles of Lubang along with 3 other soldiars when his army base was decimated and captured. Lt. Onoda had recieved orders to continue the fight, even if it meant assuming the role of a guerilla fighter until he was formally relieved by a ranking officer.
I won't ruin the story for you but I'd like to interject what I took from this book. One observation is that the ancient traditions and teachings of the Samurai (Bushido) were very much a motivational factor in the japanese military forces during the second world war. My second observation is that the devotion to duty and loyalty to an ideal can be carried further than many in the world of today could even think was possibile.
This is a must read book. I'd suggest that you familiarise yourself with the codes of Bushido first of all (Hagakure is a good place to start), so that you can better understand the mind set of Lt. Onoda. His descisions are largely based upon his upbringing and teachings and, (in my opinion) sadly, are somewhat foreign to the modern person. Wihout a small amount of familiarity with Bushido, or a knowledge of the ways of the Samurai, you might just view this story as a tale of s silly and ignorant man. I assure you that Hiroo Onoda was/is neither.
Buy it, read it, make an effort to understand, you'll be entertained and you might just take away a valuable lesson. This story is one you will always remember.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and Amazing Story!
Review: No Surrender, by Hiroo Onada, is a very interesting book! It tells the story of a Japanese soldier during World War II who was sent by his superior's to a secluded island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a mission. However, he and his party, due to the nature of their work, were not informed that World War II had officially ended. For the next 30 years, he travels around the island pilfering, storing, sneaking, and scouting, still believing he was doing his duty to Japan. Although there were repeated attempts to contact Onada, all failed. For instance, he found a newspaper article about himself about 10 years after the war ended. He believed the article was "enemy propaganda" and was "an attempt to get me to surrender". Finally, in the 70's, Onada's superior ranking officer finally made contact with him and told him to come home. He complied. No Surrender is an incredibly interesting read, even if you're not interested in history/World War II. The story is very captivating, and Onada's will to survive is amazing. I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Beyond belief!
Review: There is no doubting the veracity of this account. The circumstances are well documented & I even remember seeing the old newsreels of Onoda's return from the jungle. What is beyond belief to me is the manner in which Onoda & his colleagues constantly contrived to disbelieve the news that the war was over. They also managed to re-invent this subterfuge, for another 30 years, as new intelligence became available to them. For goodness sake, he even finished up with a transister radio & tuned in to Japanese radio stations. Daaarrr! The man was treated as a hero & his efforts, & wasted life, seen as devotion to duty. Not so in my opinion! Poor Hiroo was simply reacting to stimuli as part of a blind obedience to a lifetime of Government brain-washing. The actual story is OK, but told with little excitement. Indeed, his contacts with the Philippine population were few & brief, considering the 30 year time-scale. Apart from the death of his two long time colleagues, not much really happens & the story reads rather like a boy scout, outward bound, guide. My efforts to get into the tale were constantly thwarted when reading of the mind-bogglingly silly scenarios that Onoda & his pals created to reject the reality of the Japanese defeat. I would have appreciated knowing more about his post- appearance life though, since the story ends with his walk out of the jungle.
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Summary: Heartbreaking!
Review: This book had some light moments, but it was really heartbreaking because every trial and tribulation that Onoda endured was completely unnecessary. The style of the book is very prosaic, getting across the basic facts without (alas) many lengthy digressions from his main line of describing life in the jungle. Unfortunately, life after Lubang island was not described in the book. We certainly learn a lot about life in the jungle, though. Typical sentences begin like: "Speaking of stings..."
"More troublesome than the rats were the ants..."
"Some years it would rain all through May..." He endured all this for 30 years, for nothing. 30 years eating green bananas. The psychology of it all is fascinating; he constructed a model of how the war was going on and examined all the evidence he had in light of this unshakeable belief. The Japanese soldier must have been fearsome indeed, if even a fraction of them had the strength of conviction that Onoda had. Definitely worth a read.
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Summary: Committment...or committable ?
Review: This is a unique story, for sure. Lt Onado -- a soldier in the Japanese army in WWII -- remained on an island in the Philipines until 1970 still believing the war was going on! Even at the end, he was reluctant to come out until they got his former commanding officer to issue him orders. An incredible and true story for sure! The question is -- why? What sort of determination and committment could one person have to endure so long? Is this committment an indication of individual craziness? Or the craziness committment of all Japanese soldiers so brainwashed in WWII? Read and decide for yourself...
Rating:
Summary: Great book about survival and duty
Review: This is the first person account of the last Japanese soldier to fight in WWII. Lt. Onoda was under orders to "never surrender" unless ordered by competent authority. At the end of the war, his command structure was non-existent. He continued his mission to disrupt allied war efforts until the early 1970s. He was reduced to raiding Phillipine villages and destroying their rice crops to inflict damage on the enemies of Japan. His overwhelming sense of duty infuses every page. His description of daily existence in the jungle and mountains provides detailed advice for survival without outside resources. The fitting of known outside events into his paranoid world view is insightful commentary on the human mind. For example, when a shipment of war surplus from a shipwreck washed up on the beach of his island in the 1950s, he and his companions convinced themselves that it meant the Japanese were still transporting troops by ship in the area. All efforts, via loudspeaker and leaflets, to convince him that the war was over were likewise explained away as a subterfuge. Although this book is hard to get, it is a valuable addition to any survival or military library
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Summary: I can't get this book out my mind!
Review: Well written and easy to read "No Surrender" is a book worth reading. Hiroo Oneda was deployed from a special officers school in Japan that specialized in Guerilla warfare. Trained to fight to the death and never surrender Hiroo gives insight into the buldog nature of the hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers that died during the allied island hopping. For whatever reason the contents of the book fascinate me and a full year after reading it I find that I still reflect on it from time to time. I tend to take Hiroo at his word and believe him when he states that he believed he was following orders to wage a guerilla war and never realized the war was over. On the other hand, I gave the book to my father and he believes Hiroo was a strange sort that was happy to escape from society and had selfish reasons for living in the bush for 30 years, but he too ejoyed the reading.
Rating:
Summary: NO SURRENDER
Review: When I first heard the story about the author of this book I thought "Oh yeah right, this soldier thought the war was still in progress and stayed in the jungle for 30 years!" Well, that is exactly what happened. This book gives the reader an interesting insight into the mentality of WW II Japanese soldiers. I used to think that the Japanese soldiers of WWII were a bunch of nuts who fought to the death rather than surrender. However, I learned this is how they were raised and to them it was an honor to die in battle or commit suicide but a disgrace to be taken captive. Lt.Onoda was ordered by a superior officer to take to the jungle and continue the fight against the American troops and told not to NOT commit suicide. It is actually surprising that this soldier did in fact surrender. It is almost beyond my comprehension that this loyal and devoted army officer carried out his duty to his country and emperor for 30 years. This was a fascinating book and very enlightening to see the "other guy's" point of view. If you enjoy first hand adventure stories then this book is for you!
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