5 comments about The Girl With the White Flag.

1. Excellent moving tale of young girl's survival during battle of okinawa. An excellent book for teachers to use in their classes. Having lived in Okinawa and studied the battle, the book lends a gentler more personal insight into the plight of the Okinawans who were often forcibly removed from shelters such as caves to make room for Japanese troops. Over 100,000 civilians perished in the conflict.



2. I thought this book was okay. You would like it if you liked learning about Japan during WWII, but I found it badly written. The end is unsatisfactory and the way it was written, even though it was non-fiction was boring to me.



3. This book with its unadorned account of survival through the terrible battle of Okinawa is an important reminder of just how cruel war is, especially to those caught in the middle. Little Tomiko struggles against all odds and lives to tell this amazing story of desperation and courage. Not for sensitive kids; I would recommend this to middle schoolers and older - this is the real thing, not just a video game. Heartbreaking and horrifying, but with beautiful moments and miracles.



4. I just googled this book to show to my friend becasue its recommended as a childrens book and when i read it in 4th grade (im 24 now) this book scared the poop out of me. I dont think its a ppropriate for young children. I still cringe thinking about some of the chapters where she is forced to squezze puss from her amputated friends limbs. Ewwww! Amazing story but i think you should be a bit older before you absorb the ferocious atrtocities of war.



5. Title: The Girl with the White Flag: An Inspiring Story of Love and Courage in War Time
   Author: Tomiko Higa
   Genre: Memoir
   
   Synopsis: Tomiko Hiko was seven years old on the island of Okinawa when Allied forces land. Decades later, she discovers a picture of herself as a child, carrying a white flag and surrendering to enemy forces, with a line of Japanese soldiers behind her. Finding the picture triggered repressed memories, which were compiled in this short memoir of the war years, particularly the invasion. Separated from her family, she faced the enemy alone.
   
   Quote: "Remembering Father's words to die with a brave smile, the author waves at the camera."
   
   Grade: B+
   Review: I first read this book in high school, and it is one of the few I picked up at that time that I remember vividly. I have to come back to it every few years to see if it is as moving as I remember it. OF course, it always is. It's a great book the other side of Okinawa, family, love, war.

No comments about Shredding the Tapestry of Meaning: The Poetry and Poetics of Kitasono Katue (1902-1978) (Harvard East Asian Monographs).

1 comments about Zen Haiku: Poems and Letters of Natsume Soseki.

1. We really get to see a different side of the great novelist Natsume Soseki in this compact little volume. The haiku are refreshing, often whimsical with a light touch of humor. A few thematize Zen ("Emptiness, no holiness, Bodhidharma's statue: Daffodils in the water" p. 107), some thematize Buddhism more generally ("Buddha Nature, if compared, Must be this White bell-flower" p.96), but most, while good, do kind of leave you wondering what is specifically "Zen" about them, but no matter. A real surprise though were the examples of Soseki's paintings and calligraphy; I knew he dabbled with watercolor painting but had little idea he was this accomplished in traditional East Asian art forms in this manner. These add a real nice touch to an artistically arranged book that can still fit in your pocket and travel along wherever you happen to go.

1 comments about A Few Survived: The Story of a Japanese Prisoner of War.

1. Small-town boy, Bob Dowding, of Seward, Nebraska, spent 3 1/2 years as a Japanese POW. An eyewitness to the horrors of war, Dowding maintained a strong faith that he might return home someday. A sobering, but uplifting account of an everyman overcoming all odds and obstacles put before him. I had the chance to hear Mr. Dowding speak, and he brings the war experience home to you like no documentary can.

5 comments about Death March: The Survivors of Bataan.

1. This book is both Gripping AND Complete. It may not be conventional in the way it is written, but it certainly carries you every step of the way. It will grip your soul and force you to see the depths of humanity. Both the good and bad. This is a must read for anyone who is even slightly contemplating reading it. My heart goes out to all servicemen and servicewomen past, present, and future. As well as thier families. Thank you for your sacrifices!



2. Have not read the book as yet but pleased with prompt delivery.



3. I am a college student and I originally picked this book up to due research for a project of the Japanese atrocities of WWII. While I specifically picked up for the accounts on the Death March, I ended up reading it cover to cover. The more I read more it became useful for information on the Hell Ships and the conditions of the labor camps. It's a shame that while the stories of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany are told and retold the horrors in the Pacific Theater are barely talked about. The stories that the soldiers tell of struggle and hardship show the true heroism. I often find myself with them hoping them on. I completely recommend this book for anyway with any interest.



4. Author Donald Knox has taken personal narratives from over sixty survivors of the Bataan death march and combined them into this gripping story of the struggle to survive. On April 9, 1942, the penninsula of Bataan fell into Japanese hands. The surrendering Americans were then subjected to a ninety mile march without adequate food or water. Men were shot and bayonetted for sport by the Japanese. Once the Americans reached their prison camp, they were herded into a tiny area with only two water spigots. Hundreds of men died each day from dysentery, malaria, and starvation. Many healthy men were soon reduced to skeletons. Others simply refused to go on any further. Still others found that the only way they could survive was to find a friend to help them get through.

   After two to three years of living in this nightmare, the American forces returned to liberate the Philippines. Fearing that the prisoners would be liberated by the returning Americans, the Japanese loaded the surviving POWs into "Hell Ships"; massively overcrowded freighters to be transferred to the Japanese home islands. Some of the men went mad, while others drowned when their ships were sunk by American submarines. Once in Japan, the men were forced to work long hours in Japanese factories and mines while still receiving little in the way of food or medical care. The conditions in the Japanese labor camps were as unimaginable as they were in the Philippines; little food and water and constant beatings by the Japanese guards.

   I've read several oral history books about World War II, and this book is one of the best. Knox lets the survivors' stories create this book. I was in awe of the horrible conditions that these men were forced to survive under. It is a true testament to the human spirit that these men were able to overcome the merciless beatings and the extermely meager food and water rations they received to survive and return home. Anyone who questions why the Americans used the atomic bomb should read about the Bataan prisoners and what they were forced to endure. I highly recommend this fine piece of oral history. Read it and understand what some of the true heroes of World War II did for their country.




5. As a descendant of soldiers who were in the Philippine Scouts (they survived the March by escaping into the jungle), I found the first hand accounts of Americans who were there fascinating. It gave me a feeling of being there. It's a story about survival and the indomitable spirit of man.It's amazing what men will do to survive in stressful conditions and adversity. It separates the men from the boys, the strong from the weak.
   I'm not accustomed to reading books in the first hand account style, but I found it more interesting to read the text as opposed to the typical factual style that a history book would have.
   This a great read for you military history buffs out there! It's almost as good as sitting down with the vets and hearing them telling you their experiences.

1 comments about Back Roads To Far Towns: Basho's Travel Journal (Companions for the Journey).

1. (Please see William J. Higginson's excellent review of the earlier, Echo Press edition of this book.) I have Ueno Yozo's scholarly edition of Oku No Hosomichi which I've been going over, section by section, with a real scholar of Edo Japanese. My little knowledge of Japanese allows me to understand the differences between modern Japanese and the original, and yes, there's a density, a quickness, and a terseness, in the original that Cid Corman's translation faithfully captures in English. I give a great deal of credit for this to Cid's co-translator, Kamaike Susumu, and to Cid's love for just these qualities in poetry, which he learned from such earlier masters as Ezra Pound, and of course from his great teacher William Carlos Williams, and was on the road to perfecting for himself when he did this project and published it (in 1961) in Origin magazine. Cid's style was a good "fit" for this project--in other words, as the Japanese put it--Cid had "en" or destiny when he undertook this translation with Kamaike-san, for the plain truth is, Cid Corman did not know Japanese. Even after all of his many years of living in Japan, he was not able to speak, read or write it. Cid was absolutely honest about this, however, and you'll see that he shares top billing with Kamaike-san on the title page. Startled? Well, I'd argue that the top English translation of this Japanese classic being produced by a non-Japanese reader, writer, and speaker, is not quite as startling as Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage being hailed by Civil War veterans as being the most accurate rendition of their experience of war in print. Scholars argue that Crane's psychological dynamic allowed him to present the "truth" of conflict. I'd argue that the same sort of dynamic--albeit stylistic--was at work with Cid and Basho. On this point, I differ from Higginson.

2 comments about Contemporary Japanese Architects (Big).

1. Excellent and beautiful book. Fascinating design elements and solutions. Written in English, French and German simultaneously. Gorgeous, highest resolution, photographic reproductions. Every art or architecture library should include it.



2. All the volumes of "contemporary architects" books, i know 6 of them, includes lots of photos that can be seen in any of architectural magazines. But there must be something more. In fact it is cheap to buy, but just in Amazon.com i think. In Turkey it is sold in cash and i don't want to pay so much money for a little idea.

1 comments about You'll Die in Singapore: The true account of one of the most amazing POW escapes in WWII.

1. Charles McCormac was a wireless operator/air gunner in the RAF assigned to Seletar Airfield, Singapore pre-war. At the time of the Japanese invasion of Singapore he joined forces with a group constructing a roadblock on Bukit Timah Road. These men lost contact with Allied Forces, and did not realise that the British had surrendered on February 15th. The next day they encountered Japanese soldiers, three of whom McCormac killed with his Thompson Submachinegun. McCormac was taken prisoner and placed in a special POW cage at Pasir Panjang. The military and civilian prisoners held there were isolated because the Japanese believed they had committed grave offences against Japan. McCormac was brutally interrogated by the Kempei Tai at their headquarters in the YMCA building on Orchard Road. The Japanese summarily executed groups of prisoners held at Pasir Panjang
   in front of the others. McCormac believed the only chance for him and his fellow prisoners was to escape. This is the fantastic story of that escape.

3 comments about Return to Tsugaru: Travels of a Purple Tramp.

1. Osamu Dazai is an award winning author from turn-of-the-century Japan who lived a relatively short, somewhat tortured life before dying in a suicide pact with his mistress. Although he has a number of original works of literature to his name this book was commissioned as one number in a multi-volume gazetteer showcasing the various islands and areas of Japan. While I'm sure that the other numbers in this particular set were as dry as toast we are fortunate that Dazai uses this ostensible framework as a pretext to launch what is, in effect, an autobiographical novel.
   The action takes place within a two week period of time in which the author leaves from his hovel in Tokyo on a walking and rail journey to visit the homes, towns, and friends of his childhood. Dazai places himself within the context of his native Tsugaru by exposing his various personality quirks to the reader and relating them to vestigial traits handed down to him by the aboriginal and immigrant bloodlines that comprise the populace of the region. He places himself within contemporary society by graciously and with sly humor, recreating the various meetings, drinking parties, meals and day trips that he shares with his friends and family who remain in his native land. Each new town, each new meeting places him further and further back into his past until one realizes that he is effectively regressing to infancy and the penultimate meeting with his very first nanny 'Take' who now lives in the farthest most remote corner of the province (his memory).
   According to the extensive and elucidating introduction, Dazai always claimed this travelogue as a novel, and as such, one realizes that in staking out that territory Dazai effectively transforms a section of geographical map into the psychographic diary of an artist, an individual, and a cultural specimen. In Return to Tsugaru, Dazai exposes his soul to the gaze of the reader in literature equivalent of 3-D, for in it he expresses himself, his family, friends and His culture.



2. Although this book is a lesser known work by the now-infamous Dazai it still has a lot to offer avid fans of his or those interested in Dazai's treatment of one of the more unknown corners of Japan. All of the familiar Dazai vices are here in abundance but are tempered by some interesting stories and recollections of both the writer's past and the things that he has seen come and go in the history of Tsugaru. If you expect an all-round introduction to Tsugaru and Aomori prefecture I'm sure there is better stuff elsewhere but if you are interested in a thoughtful account of Dazai's varied feelings about this area, then you're sure to enjoy it. He also quotes (extensively, in parts) from myths and stories from other writers that influence his recollections which pan out the sense of 're-discovery' that he is feeling. Again- this book has an intensely sad and mournful edge to it (which, in many ways- some would say is typical of Dazai's writing in general) Having said that- the writing still has a sense of beauty which seems, in its conclusion, to remain unnameable.



3. A very good book that gives information on the North of Japan circa 1946 and also insight into the Author's life.

   If you have ever lived in Japan or just find Japan itself interesting this is a good book for your collection.

1 comments about Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West.

1. 
   This book was very good and I learned a lot about baseball history. I read the book fast because I could not put it down it was so interesting. It was a baseball autobiography book that teaches so much about the wonderful world of baseball. This was a great style of writing. There were some surprises in the story. One was when Ichiro Suzuki joined the MLB. There were no cliffhangers through out the book. This was not a boring book at all. If you like baseball you would love this book. I would read more of this authors books so I could learn about other sports. I would recommend this book to others because they would learn about the exciting world of baseball history