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Book Review, © Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
I don't like to read books like this. I would like to ignore the atrocities of history. But, ignoring them allows them happen again. They don't happen just once, they happen again and again, even today. Real people do these things. It remains a puzzle.
In December 1937, the Japanese Army occupied the Chinese city of Nanking. They murdered more than 300,000 civilians, by burying alive, by beheading, by bayonette practice (even on newborn babies), by freezing, by grenade, by fire, by rape, by dogs, ... They raped as many as 80,000 women, from ages 10 through 80. This book tells that story.
There were heroes, mainly Americans and Europeans (including German Nazis), who saved thousands of lives. And afterwards, to this day, there has been a big coverup, mainly by Japan and the USA.
To order this book, click Amazon.com (goes directly to this book). The book is also available in hardcover and audio. Also see American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking : The Courage of Minnie Vautrin by Hua-Ling Hu, Paul Simon.
Was a massive atrocity committed at Nanking? People and governments deny it. Perhaps they are right. Perhaps they are wrong.