The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II | 
| Author: Iris Chang
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  635 reviews
Sales Rank: 15655
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 328
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0140277447
Dewey Decimal Number: 951.042
EAN: 9780140277449
ASIN: 0140277447
Publication Date: November 1, 1998
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Condition: excellent condition
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Amazon.com
China has endured much hardship in its history, as Iris Chang shows in her ably researched The Rape of Nanking, a book that recounts the horrible events in that eastern Chinese city under Japanese occupation in the late 1930s. Nanking, she writes, served as a kind of laboratory in which Japanese soldiers were taught to slaughter unarmed, unresisting civilians, as they would later do throughout Asia. Likening their victims to insects and animals, the Japanese commanders orchestrated a campaign in which several hundred thousand--no one is sure just how many--Chinese soldiers and noncombatants alike were killed. Chang turns up an unlikely hero in German businessman John Rabe, a devoted member of the Nazi party who importuned Adolf Hitler to intervene and stop the slaughter, and who personally saved the lives of countless residents of Nanking. She also suggests that the Japanese government pay reparations and apologize for its army's horrific acts of 60 years ago.
Book Description
In December 1937, the Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking. Within weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians were systematically raped, tortured, and murdered--a death toll exceeding that of the atomic blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Using extensive interviews with survivors and newly discovered documents, Iris Chang has written what will surely be the definitive history of this horrifying episode. The Rape of Nanking tells the story from three perspectives: of the Japanese soldiers who performed it, of the Chinese civilians who endured it, and of a group of Europeans and Americans who refused to abandon the city and were able to create a safety zone that saved almost 300,000 Chinese. Among these was the Nazi John Rabe, an unlikely hero whom Chang calls the "Oskar Schindler of China" and who worked tirelessly to protect the innocent and publicize the horror. More than just narrating the details of an orgy of violence, The Rape of Nanking analyzes the militaristic culture that fostered in the Japanese soldiers a total disregard for human life. Finally, it tells the appalling story: about how the advent of the Cold War led to a concerted effort on the part of the West and even the Chinese to stifle open discussion of this atrocity. Indeed, Chang characterizes this conspiracy of silence, that persists to this day, as "a second rape."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 630 more reviews...
 From a Korean reader with Japanese friends. July 10, 2008
Reading this book reminded me about the unsightly tragedies that happened in Korea during the wartime as well. I remember my Korean grandmother telling me horrible stories of her childhood as she witnessed the people around her getting killed and bombed from the Japanese.
I am surrounded by Japanese-American and native Japanese friends, and I can say with a certain fact that they are not stupid or ignorant to this history. Also, they are very keen in understanding what has transpired and apologetic about their ancestors doings, but don't feel guilty themselves...for, why should they?
I remember many of my friend's Korean parents would tell me, as I grew up playing at my friend's house, to never play with Japanese people and that they were all cold-hearted. Maybe they were then, because of the pressures of the war, but this is not true now. My point is, we should not blame the current society and spread racist remarks or hatred to the individual people of Japan, but instead show our concerns to the government.
I also think that war makes people inhuman. This is unfortunate, but from the history I've studied, is true. Looking at the Al Qaeda, Nazi, Stalin's slaughters, Darfur, and the constant wars that go on today, it is not the people but the war itself that creates beasts within us.
Shocking, Heartbreaking, but Necessary June 18, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It astounds me that so few people know about the horrific events in China, and particularly Nanking, during WWII. This book can change that. No one can read the work without coming away with a new understanding of how easily human nature can be twisted to doing the unthinkable. Like the Nazis of Germany, the Japanese soldiers talked about in the work are people just like we are, but because of the circumstances and culture in which they were thrust they were capable of truly horrific things. The Rape of Nanking primarily describes what happened when the Japanese occupied the city. It is an apt title. Huge numbers of women were literally raped to death. The numbers of atrocities described in the book are astounding and terrifying. Like the Holocaust in Europe, however, they are important to remember.
When I read the work, the stories of heroism and courage literally brought me to tears. I eagerly examined the pictures in the center of the book so I could see with my own eyes the people that I had grown to admire and feel such overwhleming compassion for while reading. Not only is the work full of the terrifying reality of what people are capable of, it also contains amazing stories of heroism. This, more than the atrocities, was what brought the tears to my eyes.
One cuatiounary note: I have seen some reviewers question some of the figures given in the work. Many believe that it severely overestimates the numbers of people who died during the occupation. However, even if the numbers are vastly overestimated, the events described in the book are real and staggering. Everyone should know what happened there, and I recommend this book to readers mature enough to handle the graphic content.
remember not only the number of people slaughtered June 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Rape of Nanking is historically accurate. Since I have lived in China for a very long time, I have heard about this horrible massacre since I was a little girl. I have heard in news that Japan had concealed this event even from its own people. The leaders of the country had been in denial of this whole historical event for many years. The teachers had taught the students the false information in their history class. I even heard that Japan had burned those textbook that included the details about the Rape of Nanking. Japan had really infuriated the Chinese people by not facing what they had done decades ago. These things were all revealed in this book. Although The American Pageant did not really talk about the Rape of Nanking, we did learn from the textbook that Japan tried to follow Germany's path to take control over the continent of Asia, including China. This fact led to the great massacre and was included in The Rape of Nanking.
The author of this text, Iris Chang, had heard about the Rape of Nanking when she was little. She heard this from her parents, who had immigrated to America from China during World War II. Therefore, she had the background information about this event. However, she said in the book that the Nanking Massacre had "remained buried in the back of mind as a metaphor for unspeakable evil" because she had never found any books in any public libraries that had been written about this massacre. Thus this triggered her to collect information to write a book about this. The text interprets the Rape of Nanking as inhuman. The book describes all the details about the tortures and killings that happened during the massacre as well as the data of the total number of people who died during the seven weeks. The text also records how Japan had kept the massacre as a secret to the rest of the world. The book hence has exposed the truth the public about the event and criticized the lies that Japan has been using for years.
Iris Chang said in the book that "the Rape of Nanking should be remembered not only for the number of people slaughtered but for the cruel manner in which many met their deaths." I believe the author really wanted the audience to understand the pain that many had suffered during the massacre rather than just simply knowing how many people had been killed during this event. The text also helps the readers to understand that not all historical events will be revealed in the light because some of them will be concealed by the government or denied by the government.
I would recommend this book to anybody, especially those people who are interested in Asian history. I really wanted to know more about the Rape of Nanking, and I liked this book because I think this book provides a lot of great details about the event. I would give this book a rate of 4 because I really like the information it is giving throughout the book, but I think it gets a little bit boring as the book goes on.
The Forgotten Holocaust June 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
In the years since World War II era China, much has been done to cover the atrocities of the Japanese army in Nanjing. Relatively few people know about what happened during this horrific time, and even fewer understand the many years of persecution which led to this event. Japanese aggression was not limited to this event, nor was it limited to the era: decades before this Japan was attacking and manipulating China (as were other foreign powers).
For understanding exactly what happened during this event, this might be a helpful place to begin. I sensed some bias on the part of the author, though it didn't seem so overwhelming to discount the facts of what happened.
Anyone who has traveled to China probably wonders why the Chinese people are so adamantly opposed to the Japanese. They think, "Even if these events were terrible, they were so LONG ago! How can they still be upset?" There are two answers for this. The first is a long history of government censorship and manipulation of information in China. This is self-explanatory. The second takes a little more thinking. From what moral platform do we say, "they should just get over it!"? Are we speaking from experience? Because the last time I checked we have not been invaded by a foreign government in the last several hundred years. If we are alluding to our ability to "get over" WWII, the fact is, we were not being invaded, raped and pillaged. I guess I'm saying not to compare apples and oranges when you make an argument that the Chinese are out-of-line for still feeling such anger.
Another lesson I was reminded of in this book is that governments manipulate their people. It is in their interest to deceive and take advantage of people for many reasons (not the least of which is survival).
I wish the author would have gone into more depth about the reasons behind Japanese criminality at the time, but otherwise this book is the perfect beginning to help you understand this tragic event.
 Japan's dirty secret March 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have read other accounts of Japan's barbaric behaviour in China but this one is as nightmarish as the accounts of Germanys' entry into Poland and Russia in WW2 . .Japan still does not acknowledge its culpability for the atrocities it committed,whereas Germany has compensated those most affected by their action.Whereas Germany has exhibiter remorse Japan's history books do not acknowledge their involvement.The author serves to remind us those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it.
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