No comments about Blake Biography Japanese Language Book.

No comments about Kaneko Mitsuharu (Twayne's world authors series ; TWAS 555 : Japan).

3 comments about Pow: Tears That Never Dry.

1. I teach in a district in suburban Chicago (Maywood) that saw many of its young men go off to the Philippines in the early days of WWII when a local National Guard Unit was sent there (Co. B, 192nd Tnk Bn). Needless to say, after the combat, death march, hell ships, etc. most did not return. Our community was devestated, and they remember Bataan still. I am currently doing a research project with some of my students at Proviso East High School and have done alot of reading on the subject. Mr. Czerwein's books is one of the very best in the whole genre. Its a quick, yet graphic and disturbing read. Another good book is My Hitch in Hell by Lester Tenney, who was a member of the Maywood unit. I met Mr. Czerwien, and Mr. Tenney, a few weeks ago at a Bataan event here at the high school. He is still going strong and told me he is now writing his 3rd book. God Bless Him.



2. In a very straightforward fashion, my uncle tells his story of Bataan and of being a POW. It is a very moving piece of history which should never be forgotten. I strongly urge anybody who has even a passing interest of the Second World War to read this work.



3. I have found this book to be very interesting and to the point about a mostly unknown tragedy of world war II. Mr. Czerwien gives an indepth look at mans inhumanity to man. Not only about the death march but about the ship that took him to Japan, that in my opinion was worse than the march itself. To survive this ordeal is in itself a miracle. I highly recommend this book to anyone that seeks the truth, from a man who was there.

No comments about Memory - Lucy M Boston Autobiography Japanese Language Book.

4 comments about My Life With the Samurai: A POW in Indonesia.

1. At first a little smug, this book turned into a page turner. While I hesitate to say I found it satisfying - what about war and cruelty could make anyone feel this way? - Anthony Cowling's book fulfilled my need to know what happened in detail to those in his situation, which was also my father's situation. On a hunt for knowledge about the period, this book pulled no punches but retained a detached dignity and humour which helped me to keep reading even the most difficult parts. Well written, I am so glad I found it.
   
   Thanks Anthony Cowling for your generosity in putting your memories on paper for hunters like me who are looking for their pasts.



2. I have always found info on Japanese cruelties & injustice in Asia during WWII missing in most libraries & museums, possibly due to heavy cover-ups by the economically-powerful Japanese, or intentional neglect from the western powers. This candid & enlightening book reflects the survival experience by a young British POW presents unbiased realities in WWII Death Camps, that all Asians (esp. Japanese) should pass on to their younger generations, to learn from the grave mistakes of the past. "Recommended for school libraries....it deals with monstrous human cruelty yet is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit" J. Jackson, Univ. of Victoria, B.C., Canada.



3. An inspiring & actual experience as written by Tony Cowling, M.I.D., C.D., B. Ed., M.Ed. As a 2nd generation Chinese living in N. America, I now fully appreciate the often taken-for-granted freedom & human rights prevalent here : survival & meaning of life. Dr. A.Forbes,M.D., Dr. R. Phelps,M.D., Lt. Dan Duff, Sgt. Pilot Ron Blackmore all contributes to the touching details of the Semarang Camp in Haruku Is.,Sulawesi,Muna,Maccassar,Java,& Ambon Is. Casualty rate of 80% out of 2071 POW sent! At times humorous, touching reflections from a modest man with great spirit & comradeship, who bestowed hope & endeavor to his other POWs to stay alive amid utter humiliation & incarceration. Foreword by Air Chef Marshal Sir Michael Armitage, KCB,CBE,RAF (RTD),Former Commander of Royal College of Defense Studies,London is authoritative on the incidence. Info (2 appendices)about the beheadings of men in Amahai is now included with the newest 2003 ed, as the publishers were relectant to reveal these cruelties with their previous printings. Recent developments in USA military involvements in Middle East & the emerging influence of China in East & West balance shed new insights to the author in his constant spiritual search of WHY in human nature & history! Highly recommended for all politicians, asians & university students to better understand the real complexities of our world. Does History repeat itself?



4. The true story of a 17 year old boy captured by the Japanese in Indonesia He survived a horrendous death rate and beat the odds against starvation and brutallity.This book is an inspiration to all. Definitely a must read.

4 comments about Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War.

1. How can one write a review that could compare with the author's real life experiences. I met Mario through my friend Hal Stephens who wrote the introduction .. I then traveled with Hal up and down the West Coast to book dealers and museums .. their reception was highly enthusiastic. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC reviewed the book for its 50th Anniversary of World War II but it was submitted too late for their collection .. unfortunate for those who would have wished for a daily recording of the misfortunes of those on the Death March and the Death Camps. Recollection of experiences is worthwhile, but the daily recording is more significant. My uncle was a POW in Germany; his reading of the book brought home memories that had long been suppressed. Comparisons with the Halocaust survivors' stories can easily be made. Life and Death are with us always, but how one survives Life is always a compelling story. Mario's life span of misadventure was summarized in the Death March and Death Camps. A truly engrossing real life adventure. Reviewed by Dave Pryor.



2. How can one write a review that could compare with the author's real life experiences. I met Mario through my friend Hal Stephens who wrote the introduction .. I then traveled with Hal up and down the West Coast to book dealers and museums .. their reception was highly enthusiastic. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC reviewed the book for its 50th Anniversary of World War II but it was submitted too late for their collection .. unfortunate for those who would have wished for a daily recording of the misfortunes of those on the Death March and the Death Camps. Recollection of experiences is worthwhile, but the daily recording is more significant. My uncle was a POW in Germany; his reading of the book brought home memories that had long been suppressed. Comparisons with the Halocaust survivors' stories can easily be made. Life and Death are with us always, but how one survives Life is always a compelling story. Mario's life span of misadventure was summarized in the Death March and Death Camps. A truly engrossing real life adventure. Reviewed by Dave Pryor.



3. Mario Machi was involved in the famous Battan Death March in the Philippines during World War II. He kept a diary that could have gotten him killed after he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. This story explores the times he spent as a prisoner of war, and his life after the war. It is a fascinating story of compassion and grace.



4. Under the Rising Sun is an extraordinary account of Mario Machi's struggle for survival, an account that few people, even his closest friends knew about. When the war ended he was freed from Bilibid Prison in the Philippines and returned to San Francisco, finished his education, and for 22 years taught junior high school in the small town in California. Mario says he did not write Under the Rising Sun with the intent of producing a war story. For fifty years has kept his thoughts hidden, from his many students and from even his closest friends. He kept to himself the memories of prisoners who marched side by side with him, some too weak to continue, who dropped by the roadside, only to be bayoneted for failing to keep up. Somehow Mario managed to survive the brutality, the hunger, the thirst, the disease, and the dreadful feeling that he had been abandoned. Somehow 10,000 others died on that march, some 178 men for every mile they tread, but Mario Machi lived. What makes this book so extraordinary is that it is not simply an account of an ex-soldier recalling dreadful acts that happened long ago. Mario's account of the Bataan Death March was recorded as it was happening, in a diary that he managed to keep on the march. Each day, often under actual heavy gun fire, he recorded what he saw and witnessed, first hand, and most miraculously, this diary--a written confession that would certainly have meant immediate death had it fallen into enemy hands--has survived to this day. This book is for both the generations who remember Bataan and for those who have yet to hear. On his return to the United States in 1945 Mario Machi was awarded the Bronze Star for the work he did in the camps. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has told his story, and we are all made the richer for it. Why he decided to tell his story is explained in the book.

1 comments about On the Spring Tide : A Special Kind of Courage.

1. This book is a highly personal and terribly moving look at therelationship between profound stress and cancer/cancer treatment. Theauthor tells the story of his wife, Jeanette Rowan, who was a prisoner of war for three years in Manila during World War II. In late mid-life Jeanette developed breast cancer that ultimately proved fatal. While never stooping to vilify the physicians who cared for her, the author does a wonderful job of using Jeanette's experience to set forth some interesting questions about what the optimal approach to cancer treatment might be for someone who had been so systematically, traumatically, and completely stripped of control during her formative years. William Rowan writes beautifully as Jeanette's husband and helpmate, and his writing is wonderfully informed by his own professional understanding of microbiology. *On the Spring Tide* would be very valuable for cancer patients, for their friends and families, for oncologists, and for therapists. Highly recommended!

No comments about Yoshi Doodle came to town.

No comments about Kokoro: Japanese Inner Life Hints.

No comments about Rikyu shichitetsu.