dmathuna's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I don’t even know what to say about a book that covers such topics. I’ll start by saying that it’s short enough at around 230 pages and aims to give an overview of such a wide ranging event that it can’t seriously detail much but what is told in here is extremely harrowing to read and then to comprehend that these acts were all done by humans to other humans. 

The sheer barbarity and brutality shown to the Chinese inhabitants of Nanjing  is staggering and each page you uncover a new horror you previously thought incomprehensible. The detailing of how widespread the systematic rape of all women regardless of age, pregnancy, occupation churned my stomach in a way I don’t think has ever happened to me. I am absolutely forever changed by the contents of this book and it will never leave me for the rest of my life..

The fact that elements of Japanese society still can’t accept that this event occurred much less that their soldiers carried it out with explicit knowledge by their government leaders is tragic and should be a crime akin to denial of the holocaust. I can only hope that since the time the book was published that attitudes there have started to change. More than 300,000 people were murdered by the occupation and we did them a disservice by not remembering this event more. 

At the time of me writing this review Iris Chang would have been 56.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

vapblack's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative reflective sad fast-paced
She has obvious anti socialist biases, but she grew up in usa so that's expected. 

As long as you're aware of her bias, it's a good and informative book.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gaeliloveweiss's review

Go to review page

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sgallagherr's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

e_gracereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

Should be required reading in any and all world history courses, military history courses, and quite frankly, history in general. Tough and emotional, but straightforward and informative. Devastating in its details, but a powerful read. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

_meeg's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ehmannky's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.75

Like a lot of people, my knowledge of World War II in the Pacific is not particularly comprehensive and my awareness of what Japanese imperialism and war crimes was limited to a hazy understanding of "they were bad." But I don't think I could have fathomed the depths of suffering that occurred during the Rape of Nanking. Cheng does a really good job summarizing the forces behind the massacre, going into details about the brutal acts (which even when reported on using what I felt was pretty neutral language is just wildly horrific to read), and the global collusion between world governments (including China's!) about why this is so understudied and unknown. 

I didn't love the audiobook narrator for this, but listening to her read at, like, 1.25x speed was just fine. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

skusaroo's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

The true story of the worst thing to ever happen... until the following decade.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

yerulp's review

Go to review page

dark informative fast-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

savyy's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings