Samurai! (Classics of Naval Literature)

I loved reading about the Japanese view of the war and how they were eventually outclassed by America's abilities to continuously improve equipment and tactics. It also makes you see how proud the Japanese people are of their country and still are to this day. We in the USA need to be more proud to be Americans, something we seem to be losing.

Good book. Abrupt ending. Would have been interested in the man's life after the war. Ended too quickly as I was really getting into it.

A typical soldier's memoir. Easy to read and follow. Personal bias is obvious throughout, but that is a lot of what a reader like me is looking for to gain enhanced understanding of the point of view of the vanquished. Despite the pro-Japanese bias, the authors clearly tried to add balance and objectivity. Sakai doesn't present himself as much of a hero, using descriptions of his own less than heroic actions and episodes of real fear rather than trite expressions of false humility. The romantic storylines woven throughout the narrative are pretty shallow and forced and to my mind, quite unnecessary. Even so, "Samurai!" Is not merely another romance novel promoted under the guise of historical fiction, nor is it a dry chronicling of official military records. Though not a five-star offering, "Samurai!" is the best Japanese perspective memoir I have run across. Published over half a century ago, it may never be surpassed.

This book was shared with me by a USNA-grad and friend- himself a US Naval aviator. For me, it is the WWII Japanese aviation equivalent to LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, describing ground combat. Originally published in 1957, so it wasn’t “too long” after the war’s end to suffer what many memoirs exhibit when written 30-40 years later. And this author is truly unique, having fought early in China, and then survived all through World War II in the Pacific. His personal perspective as Japan’s leading fighter ACE, is especially poignant as he describes the early war 1941-1942 when the Zero is so much better than any of the Allies fighters P39s and P40s. And then late in the war 1944-1945 when the ZERO is clearly inferior to the US’s newest Hellcats and Avengers. Japan did not have a separate air service – Sakai having graduated from the sadistically cruel Japanese naval air training in the tradition of a true Samurai. And losing one eye in a dog-fight, he undergoes eye surgery on both eyes, without anesthesia, being strapped down immobile on a stretcher, and his head pinned to the table. As I eye surgeon and a army flight surgeon myself, this description is beyond understanding. As the country’s recognized finest fighter pilot, he continues to fly combat mission with only one eye. And the emotional toll he describes when he is left with literally all of his closest pilot friends being killed in the most storied battles of WWII - Guadalcanal, Iwo, etc., is especially poignant.

For readers born after WW II ended like myself, stories of heroism of actors from either parties or theaters can be read from numerous sources, written by historians and the actors as autobiographies. Saburo Sakai's story as told in "SAMURAI" is something special. The specialties in SAMURAI as told by Saburo Sakai himself are the way he pictured his exciting dogfights in the beginning of the war, his emotional feelings, especially in the last part of the book, wherein Sakai described very thoroughly his feelings of fright after encountering enemy pilots with better planes than his Zero, his fright of being confronted by greater numbers of enemy planes, his fear of death, his loss of purpose after realizing that Japan's hope of winning the war was null.A very interesting part are his way of telling about his associations with Fujiko and Hatsuyo, which gives a very romantic aspect in this otherwise macho Japanese warrior.At the end we can only conclude that however great a hero he maybe, basically he is a very ordinary human like us with feelings of gladness, sadness, bravery and fright, love, hope and despair."SAMURAI" is a very interesting book especially for the younger generation who never experienced WW II. But it could be more interesting and nice reading if this book contained more illustrations such as maps of the combat theaters, more photos or illustrations of the various types of planes described by Sakai.

War memoirs written years later then to lean toward revisionism, embellishment, excuses and justification. There are some in SAMURI!, but much less than I expected. Overall, SAMURI! is a well-written and eye-opening account of Japanese Naval war ace Saburo Sakai that spans from his days as a high school teenager to post-WW2 Japan. Most of SAMURI! does cover Sakai’s experience as a land-based Zero pilot in the western Pacific. Luckily for Sakai, he was not assigned to a naval carrier.Sakai’s survival of WW2 is remarkable story given that very few experienced Japanese war pilots survived. Even though Sakai got the “million-dollar wound”, it didn’t stop him from putting himself in harm’s way.If you’re a WW2 history buff, I highly recommend SAMURI for a different (the enemies) prospective on WW2.Some reviewers have criticized the typos in the Kindle edition of SAMURI!. I noticed most of the typos in the last few chapters, but they were noticeable and I could easily figure out the typo (e.g. “jive” instead of “live”).

Excellent account of a Japanese pilots heroic fight against the enemy,America.His honest assessment of the skill of his counterpart in a sometimes superior airplane is refreshingly stark and his details of the dogfights very gripping.Highly recommended

Back on my shelve.

If you're at all interested in history (forget only being interested in WWII or biographies about Fighter Pilots), then you must read this book. Saburo Sakai's story of survival (only a handful of Japanese pilots who started the war survived until the end) is absolutely gripping. An amazing story about an amazing man.

Ce livre est écrit en anglais, alors qu'il figure dans la liste des livres écrits en français. Je suis obligée de le renvoyer, ce qui occasionne des frais supplémentaires. En effet, c'est la seconde fois que je suis obligée de renvoyer "Samurai".Je ne suis pas contente du tout.E. Bousquet.

Excellent. As I recall, delivery and book quality were not an issue.