God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (Brassey's Commemorative Series, Wwii) [Hardcover]

Donald M. Goldstein (Author), Katherine V. Dillon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brassey's Commemorative Series, Wwii | Publication Date: September 1990

God's Samurai is the unusual story of Mitsuo Fuchida, the career aviator who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in most of the fiercest battles of the Pacific war. A valuable record of major events, it is also the personal story of a man swept along by his times. Reared in the vanished culture of early twentieth-century Japan, war hero Fuchida returned home to become a simple farmer. After a scandalous love affair came his remarkable conversion to Christianity and years of touring the world as an evangelist. His tale is an informative, personal look at the war "from the other side."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mitsuo Fuchida led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and served as air operations officer in subsequent Pacific campaigns. Based on interviews that began soon after the war and continued until Fuchida's death in 1976, this biography covers Fuchida's dazzling wartime exploits and provides insight into Japanese naval air tactics. The account of his comedown from war hero to obscure dirt farmer is poignant. The authors compare him to an unattached samurai during this period, searching for "a liege lord to receive his ardent allegiance." Fuchida found a banner for his sword when he converted to Christianity and became a nondenominational evangelist, campaigning in the U.S. and Europe as well as in Japan. The story of his military career, his conversion, his first fumbling efforts as a preacher and his success as an international evangelist make for a story that is alternately exciting, moving and spiritually rewarding. Prange, with Goldstein and Dillon, wrote At Dawn We Slept . Photos. 25,000 first printing; $25,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Commander Mutso Fuchida led a dramatic and historically interesting life. After Pearl Harbor he fought (and survived) the entire naval air war, missed Hiroshima by a single day, and witnessed the surrender ceremonies. He ended his life as a farmer and Christian missionary. This title is another in the saga which sprang from the vast wartime archive compiled by the late Prange. The biography is a joint effort which fails only stylistically, being wooden in tone and occasionally tedious. Fuchida was a good choice for serious study, though, and the work makes a useful part of the series which began with At Dawn We Slept (LJ 11/1/81) . -- Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: SOS Free Stock (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0080374409
• ISBN-13: 978-0080374406
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A materfully written and truly inspirational book!, August 15, 2000

By 

Joe T. Dreamer (Waco, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (Brassey's Commemorative Series, Wwii) (Hardcover)

A friend of mine introduced me to this book in April of this year. He told me it was unlike any book about the Pacific war that he had ever read. Although skeptical at first, I sill went ahead and purchased the book. I left it on my book-shelve for several months and forgot all about it. As I began packing up in July to move I noticed this book again, so I picked it up and began reading it. I found the style of writing extremely fluid, and the chapters were concise. This well balanced account of Mitsuo Fuchida life traces it from his days as an Imperial naval aviator to Christian evangelist. 'God's Samurai' is a truly inspirational book filled with numerous accounts of honor, bravery, loyalty, and sacrifice - all the codes of a Samurai warrior. I have enjoyed this book tremendously, and I have just begun reading, 'Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan: The Japanese Navy's Story' by Mitsuo Fuchida, Roger Pineau (Editor),Masatake Okumiya(Contributor). Both 'God's Samurai' and 'Midway' are 'must-have' books for anyone who is truly interested in the Pacific war and naval battles!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another home run by the Superlative Prang team!, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (Brassey's Commemorative Series, Wwii) (Hardcover)

I'm an avid military historian, my specialty is WWII Pacific theater - Pearl Habor is my favorite reading area. I read Prang's books because he and his team produce the best written books on that era on the market today. (Possibly even the best written military histories of any era!) Prang has such a unique historical perspective - he was there so through him we actually hear the real voices of the people of that era. Beyond that extraordinary first hand experience, this book is as heavily researched and referenced as any I've found. While it provides remarkable historical perspective, there is a theme that would be compelling for even the non-historian. This is the story of Mitsuo Fuchida who lead the mission to attack Pearl Harbor. This is a man who had committed his life to his Emperor and Japan's goals. The book traces a profound, almost mind-boggling evolution in this man's life from Japanese warrior to a Christian missionary spending time in the United S! tates! Prang et al breath life into history and provide something for more than just us in the narrow audience of military historians.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reconciliation in the midst of Clash of Civilizations, October 23, 2001

By 

David W Ray (Springfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (Brassey's Commemorative Series, Wwii) (Hardcover)

An awesome true story. Definitely one of the three best books I've read in the past decade. In a time like this of Osama bin Labens and shocking inter-civilizational conflict, Fuchida's life story shows how true reconciliation and inter-cultural brotherhood can be experienced. It gives hope in spite of the huge obstacles to inter-cultural understanding. A powerful human interest story. Don't miss it!