Thunder gods : the kamikaze pilots tell their story
Thunder Gods is the compelling first-hand account of the pilots who pledged themselves to die for their emperor in the closing days of the Pacific War. Known to the world as kamikaze-divine wind-their suicide attacks on American naval forces caused panic and disruption, but they were bourn out of the desperation of the Imperial Command, determined to avoid the shame of surrender at any cost. Using as a rationale the loudly proclaimed belief that suicide attacks by Japanese pilots attested to the spiritural righteousness of Japan's struggle, the Command's exhortations convinced legions of young men of the virtue of bombs were contructed whose only guiding mechanism was their human cargo. The pilots are the thunder gods of the title, and this is the first time they have told their own story
Print Book, English, 1989
Kodansha International ; Distributed in the U.S. by Kodansha International/USA, Tokyo, New York, 1989
215 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm
9780870119095, 0870119095
18987236
Translation of: Ōka
On jacket: Translated by Mayumi Ichikawa; foreword by James Michener
原タイトル: Ohka