Customer Reviews

Japanese Destroyer Captain

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Little can be added to the reviews below, expect to add that this book really shows how Hara was a leader of men. In spite of IJN policy and militaristic propaganda he trains his crew to a superlative level. He is also brutally honest about himself and his mistakes and foibles. Add to this some invaluable historical eyewitness data and you have a great book. Hara, by rewriting IJN torpedo doctrine in the 30's, can honestly be said to have contributed more to the IJN's battle success than any other person. This book is rich in history and flavor and well worth tracking down. My paperback copy is in three parts with the spine gone, but I still consider it one of the stars of my collection.

This book should always be in print. If I taught history in school or college, I'd make sure it was required reading. I first read the book as a mere lad of 14, always kept my copy around. It did much - in the postwar years, to wash away any bitterness toward former 'enemies.' In all honesty, I have never been able to forget certain things said by Hara - in his book, about human conduct. The other reviews say it all. Hara was a remarkable person. He took his duties seriously, but always remained a conscientious individual - candidly critical of the Japanese high command, when necessary - always ready to pay tribute to the skill of his opponents - peers in the U.S. Navy.I was struck by Hara's integrity - his strength of character, his leadership qualities - his daring, often fighting unequal battles. He realised the importance of learning from experience - of not making the same mistake - twice. I missed the references to the 'Rape of Nanjing' - must check it out. Still, as other reviewers noted, Hara was inclined toward a certain universalism in his thinking, moving toward a kind of pacifism toward the end of his career.He never approved of the senseless brutality frequently doled out to young cadets etc., and maintained a code of honour - worthy of the best Samurai tradition.I liked the goodwill expressed between Hara and his American peers, upon the surrender of Japan.As regards naval history per se, Hara's accounts of battles like Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal/Vella Lavella etc., question Sam Morrison's conclusions or observations in the official study (H.U.S.N.O. WW2).Alas, Hara could be accorded a bit more respect in his native land. An NHK t.v. documentary covering the loss of the Yamato, didn't make a single reference to Captain Hara, or the Yahagi, then escorting the Yamato, lost alongside.Like one of the other reviewers, I've read Hara's book so many times, it has fallen to bits. In the present climate, there is something sobering about Hara's book. That honour matters - in war, that military action always requires clear and attainable objectives, and ought never to become a mindless slaughter of the enemy, or a mindless sacrifice of one's own personneland resources.

The other reviewers have eloquently stated the case. This is a book you will read and re-read throughout your life. It is first and foremost an incredible eyewitness account of the Pacific War by a ship captain who was intimately involved in many of the key small battles of the war (the major battles were settled by air power, not his area). It is one of the best written war accounts to come out of any nation.

Secondly, it provides an unique insight into the Japanese at the time that has relevance over the entire 19th and 20th centuries, explaining such things as the origin of the Japanese navy in imitation of the American and British navies...which can easily be taken as a model for the industrial imitation leading up to Japanese economic superpower status by the 1980s.

Finally, Hara is a great autobiographist who shares his heart, displays his heroism and intellect, but does not fail to describe his weaknesses. Whenever there is a conflict, war or political or business or social, it is good to remember the other side is human too.

Hara is the last samurai. He objected to compulsory suicide as official doctrine, because he saw this as a violation of bushido values. He turned pacifist BEFORE the Bomb. His personal doctrines demonstrate why the Japanese lost the war--they were inflexible. Hara wasn't. His doctrines were "Never ever do the same thing twice" and "If he hits you high, then hit him low; if he hits you low, then hit him high," the latter a maxim of MacArthur's, too. Hara criticizes his superiors for using cavalry tactics to fight naval battles; never understanding the implications of air power; dividing their forces in the face of enemy forces of unknown strength; basing tactics on what they thought their enemy would do; and acceping a war of attrition with a foe more capable of maintaining it. His technical discussions are superb. What gives the book significance is his explication of strategy/tactics and their implications. Hara is a brave man who knew WHY he did what he did. This puts him in a minority, in any navy.

In this book (the correct title is JAPANESE DESTROYER CAPTAIN), Captain Hara (not Harra) discusses how he commanded a Japanese destroyer in all of the major Pacific sea conflicts: Empress Augusta Bay, Coral Sea, the invasion of the Philippines, Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Midway. While on a re-supply mission through Blackett Straight in August 1943, upon noticing a fire-ball explosion near the destroyer "Amagiri" in front of his destroyer "Shigure", he ordered for his ship's crew to shoot at Lt. J.F. Kennedy's sinking PT-109. He provides a most harrowing description -- as commander of cruiser Yahagi -- how he barely survied its sinking alongside the ill-fated battleship Yamato on their suicide mission to attack the U.S. forces invaiding Okinawa. He details his training of the pilots of suicide motorboats (Shinyo: "ocean shaker") that were designed to ram Allied warships approaching Japan. After I wrote to him, he sent me an autographed photograph of himself in 1968 -- a fine keepsake from one of the luckiest Japanese destroyer commanders to have survived so many desperately fought WWII sea battles. His 312-page book was published by Ballantine Books, initially in 1961.

Captain Tameichi Hara of the Imperial Japanese Navy was one of its more inventive and capable leaders. His book tells the story of WWII as he understood it.

Its strengths are many. Hara is an interesting character, thoroughly Japanese yet very frank by Japanese standards. It is not just his own little story, or a dry account of naval warfare; it discusses morale, naval skills, command competence or lack thereof, interservice cooperation, and economic effects and issues. It is really broader than the title suggests and this is to Capt. Hara's credit. He does not hesitate to give credit to effective warfare whether by Japanese or Allied forces, which suggests that we can take most of what he says at face value.

It was not rated with five stars primarily for two reasons: 1) his statement that the Rape of Nanking was greatly exaggerated needed to be defended or not stated, and 2) I can't say that the book is a lively read. It's not a bore by any means, but it is only exciting in parts. This may be a cultural factor owing to its translation, but the English translation is the only version I can read. It is strongly recommended in any case, and worth a book search.

This book provides a welcomed view from the other side from Captain Tameichi Hara, Imperial Japanese Navy, who perfected Japanese Naval torpedo doctrine just prior to WWII - enabling the Imperial Japanese Navy to exploit and use to devastating advantage, the Type 93 oxygen fueled torpedo, aka "Long Lance"

Captain Hara injects humor and adds a personal side to his story while providing his views of key naval battles that he fought in against the United States Navy during World War II

This is a must read for any serious naval historian interested in the Imperial Japanese Navy, particularly as it relates to the naval engagements Hara fought in and the destroyers he commanded.

Hara's excellent book provides a different perspective from many other WWII - pacific theatre histories. Like most autobiographies of Japanese military survivors of that time, it is fascinating for its first-person storyline with many against-all-odds survival episodes, but it stands out among these by its more dispassionate critical assessment of the japanese navy during the war, and its focus on sealevel destroyer action rather than carrier warfare.

As a lower-ranking participant in many major and minor naval actions, his firsthand accounts of engagements between US and japanese vessels revolve less around the top of command and are less flattering to the competence of either side than most other recorded versions - thereby revealing more of the tantalising chemistry of technical advantage, skill, courage and luck involved.

Not being a pilot but having been at the receiving end of aerial attacks, Hara differs conspicuously from many of his more famous contemporaries in that he sympathized with Nagumo's tactics rather than with Yamamoto's strategies. His book also stands out in that it does not sell any obvious message, other than emphasizing the constant need for critical assessment, improvisation and adaptability of one's own conduct. As such, it is both a gripping record of specific destroyer actions in WWII, and a universal parable of life transcending war.

Outstanding first-person account of World War II through the Japanese eyes. Insights into the mindsets, psychology and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering going on in the IJN. Hara's book is often quoted by Naval Historians. It also contains some very sage advice on leadership, team building and managing people.

Written by the most successful destroyer captain in the Japanese navy, this book helps explain the startling reasons the Japanese ran roughshod over the US Navy in the first part of WW II. An interesting book that shows just how much of an advantage the enemy had