The Siege of Rabaul

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: The book is an interesting read. I finished it within 2 hours. Although the topic is heroic (and sometimes sad), i especially found the antics of one Japanese pilot in particular, Masajiro Kawato, funny. The author seems to share this same view, and never hesitates to aim barbs at (and debunk) Mr. Kawato's outlandish claims. I think the word "mentally unstable" was used numerous times to describe Mr. Kawato.

I especailly liked the voluminous photos that accompanied the book. Each page has on average 2 photos, and that helped tremendously to tie human faces to the characters the author is relating. The interviews that the author conducted with the survivors was especailly interesting. It is clear that Mr. Sakaida is a fan of Japanese aviation.

I would have given the book 5 stars except for the fact that the book did not have an index. This made it extremely difficult to refer back to the book and catch references to various persons. But given the brevity of the book, I suppose it would not be difficult to flip back and find the references I wanted.

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: The book is an interesting read. I finished it within 2 hours. Although the topic is heroic (and sometimes sad), i especially found the antics of one Japanese pilot in particular, Masajiro Kawato, funny. The author seems to share this same view, and never hesitates to aim barbs at (and debunk) Mr. Kawato's outlandish claims. I think the word "mentally unstable" was used numerous times to describe Mr. Kawato.

I especailly liked the voluminous photos that accompanied the book. Each page has on average 2 photos, and that helped tremendously to tie human faces to the characters the author is relating. The interviews that the author conducted with the survivors was especailly interesting. It is clear that Mr. Sakaida is a fan of Japanese aviation.

I would have given the book 5 stars except for the fact that the book did not have an index. This made it extremely difficult to refer back to the book and catch references to various persons. But given the brevity of the book, I suppose it would not be difficult to flip back and find the references I wanted.