THE RAPE OF NANKING：The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II

YA?Theeventsinthisbookarehorriblyoff-putting,which,paradoxically,iswhytheymustberemembered.ChangtellsoftheSino-JapaneseWaratrocitiesperpetratedbytheinvadingJapanesearmyinNankinginDecember1937,inwhichroughly350,000soldiersandcivilianswereslaughteredinaneight-weekperiod,manyofthemhavingbeenrapedand/ortorturedfirst.Notonlyarereadersgivenmanyofthegorydetails?withpictures?buttheyarealsotoldoftheheroismofsomemembersofasmallforeigncontingent,particularlyofaNazibusinessmanwhoresidedinChinafor30years.Thestoryofhisbraverylendstheironictouchofsomeonewithevilcredentialsdoinggood.Oncetheauthorfinisheswiththeatrocities,sheproceedswiththeequallyabsorbingandmucheasier-to-takestoryofwhathappenedtotheNazibusinessmanwhenhereturnedtoGermanyandthewarended.Thisbyitselfismaterialforamovie.TheauthortellswhytheJapanesegovernmentnotonlyallowedtheatrocitiestooccurbutalsorefused,andcontinuestorefuse,toacknowledgethattheyhappened.Sheisquiteevenhandedinremindingreadersthateveryculturehassomeepisodelikethisinitshistory;whatmakesthisoneimportantisthenumberofpeoplekilledandtortured,thesadism,andtheongoingJapanesedenialofresponsibility.Maturereaderswilllookbeyondthesensationalactsofcrueltytoponderthehorrorofman'sinhumanitytomanandtheexamplesofheroisminthemidstofsavagery.?JudyMcAloon,PotomacLibrary,PrinceWilliamCounty,VA.Copyright1998ReedBusinessInformation,Inc.--Thistextreferstoanoutofprintorunavailableeditionofthistitle.