Samurai book saburo sakai japanese

Saburo sakai, one of japan s top aces in world war ii does a great job, with the help of martin caidin and fred saito, telling the story of sakai s experiences during his service. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. And as japanese militarism surged in the 30s, so did the popularity of the old bushido ideology. Caidin wrote the prose of the book, basing its contents on. It showed me the war from the other side, which was difficult to learn about in the his post war activities were pretty awesome. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read samurai. This gives a view of the pacific air war from the japanese side. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. Saburo sakai was born into one of japan s great samurai warrior families and became one of his country s greatest ww2 pilots and the only one to survive the war. He may have been a great pilot and a masterful shooter, but his cause was vile. I was very glad to find that martin caidens 1957 book samurai.

Samurai is another book you wont be able to put down. Saburo sakai was a national hero in japan as its greatest surviving air ace of world war two. He relates in detail dog fights against american pilots. Read this book many years ago and this was a reread. A supreme japanese ace, saburo sakai logged more than 200 dogfights and 1,500 hours.

As all autobiographies written at the end of a persons life, there are potential issues. Of all japans aces, saburo sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat. It describes the life and career of saburo sakai, the japanese combat aviator who fought against american fighter pilots in the pacific theater of world war ii, surviving the war with 64 kills as one of japan s leading flying aces. Saburo sakai became a living legend in japan during world war ii. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots by henry sakaida.

Sakai, by contrast, was flying and fighting on behalf of the evil unleashed by japanese militarism in the 1930s. Saburo sakai, a japanese fighter pilot in world war ii who said he shot down 64 allied planes, including one of each type the united states flew. Faced with the prospects of a desolate rural life, he enlisted in the imperial japanese navy at sixteen. He, therefore, provides a great perspective on the japanese fighter pilot experience and how it evolved over the course of the war. From zero to hero saburo sakaithe samurai of the skies. With akihiko hirata, takeo chii, hiroshi fujioka, natsuyo kawakami. He lived the meteoric rise and the eventual fall of the japanese empire.

First published in english in 1957, it gave a new perspective on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united. One feels both the deep dedication of sakai to the samurai spirit and to his sense of duty, as well as his keen awareness of the folly of the war. Samurai by saburo sakai martin caidin fred saito abebooks. Sakais account of the rise and fall of japanese naval aviation has not lost any of its riveting impact in the nearly 60 years since. Saburo sakai is japans greatest fighter pilot to survive world war ii, and his powerful memoir has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring books ever written on the pacific war. In the last pages of the book, sakai or rather, caidin describes in great detail how he shot down a superfortress on the last night of the war. Rethinking the sakai myths henry sakaida was a californian of japanese ancestry who set out to study the zero pilots with the help of his japanese speaking father, tadashi. Saburo sakai was born august 16th 1916 in the farming village of nishiyoka in the saga prefecture on kyushu island, japan. What a revelation to read the japanese side of the aerial war in the pacific. This auto biography read like a novel and i found it difficult to put down. Sakai, born in 1916, hoped to escape the poverty of life in his rural village by enlisting in the imperial japanese navy at age 16. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots was published by barrett tillman.

This wellwritten, first person memoir covers sakai s early life and entire war experience from his brutal pilot training in the 1930s to the attack on pearl harbor and firebombing of. Saburo sakai is perhaps one of the most famous japanese air aces to emerge from wwii, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or severely damaging well over 60 allied aircraft, despite later in the war flying a plane that was vastly. I first read this book back around 1961 and still remembered some of the more interesting passages causing me to buy a copy today and reread this book. Saburo sakai and his coauthor martin caidin paint a vivid and enthralling picture of the japanese side of world war ii. Saburo sakai was born on 25 august 1916 in saga in japan. Very interesting as it shows the other side of the war in the pacific. The unforgettable saga of japans greatest fighter pilot by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. See all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Samurai sakai, saburo, caidin, martin, saito, fred. Saburo sakai japanese ace pilot, pin by paolo marzioli. Sakai was born into a family with immediate affiliation to samurai and their warrior legacies and whose ancestors themselves samurai had taken part in the japanese invasions of korea between 1592 to 1598, but who were later forced to take up a livelihood of farming following haihanchiken in 1871. Shortly after that, sakai and several other top japanese aces heard the song danse macabre while listening to australian radio. Japanese bomber crews were credited with 15 wildcats, all of them apparently mistaken. By douglas martin, october 8, 2000 saburo sakai, a japanese fighter pilot in world war ii who said he shot down 64 allied planes, including one of each type the united states flew, but who later befriended the.

Sakai is shown to have been a patriotic and heroic fighter, who, like most soldiers, gave little thought to the politics of the war. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial japanese navy air service pilots who flew the mitsubishi. Editions for samurai 055324664x mass market paperback published in 1985, kindle edition published in 2018, 1591147557 hardcover published in 2010. For a man who engaged in more than 200 aerial combats, this was an incredible achievement. Saburo sakais 500 mile trek back to rabual from guadacanal in his crippled zero is a testimony to the man and to the nature of war. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the war. This book covers the life of sabruo sakai during the period of his prewar flight training to the end of wwii. Pilots everywhere spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air.

First published in english in 1957, it gave americans new perspectives on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united states as mere caricatures. Saburo sakai, the subject of this book, fought in china and in many pacific campaigns both winning and losing. Its the japanese version of the first and last and the reader follows sakais career from the early days of japanese victory to the wars conclusion. The book also claims to be an illustrated edition but there appear to be no photographs or other illustrations present. The story is written in the first person by the japanese ace, saburo sakai. The gripping saga of the rise and fall of the japanese naval air force in world war ii through the career of one of its best fighter aces written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. A couple of months ago a friend loaned me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots compared to wwii pilots. Illustrated edition ebook written by martin caiden, saburo sakai, fred saito.

More information about this seller contact this seller 15. The family was poor, but intensely proud of their samurai heritage, according to mr. Sakai enjoyed a singular and most cherished reputation among fighter pilots. Greetings cardsakai, saburo, japanese navy fighter acephoto greetings card made in the usa the greatest japanese ace of wwii. Saburo sakai was born into an impoverished samurai family in 1916. In less than a minute the b29 disappeared beneath the water. Saburo sakai as a petty officer wearing a life preserver. By 1937 he had graduated at the top of this his enlisted pilottraining class, and he quickly saw combat in china. It is a fascinating and honest look at the air war in the pacific from the japanese perspective. The song inspired one of sakais fellow aces to perform something of an airshow over an australian base to show off. The main authors credit for the book should be saburo sakai, though, not martin caiden and it needs a huge and i do mean huge number of scanning errors correcting in the text. Of all japan s aces, saburo sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat.