Library Journal recently reviewed Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney’s Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers: "Poignant and heartbreaking…. Ohnuki-Tierney refutes simplistic stereotypes and offers readers the human face of what she defines as a ‘colossal tragedy.’ Well researched and written, this book is highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries."
Kamikaze Diaries presents diaries and correspondence left by members of the tokkotai and other Japanese student soldiers who perished during World War II. Outside of Japan, these kamikaze pilots were considered unbridled fanatics and chauvinists who willingly sacrificed their lives for the emperor. But the writings explored here by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney clearly and eloquently speak otherwise.
Read an excerpt.