No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Hiroo Onoda (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bluejacket Books | Publication Date: October 1, 1999

In the spring of 1974, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda of the Japanese army made world headlines when he emerged from the Philippine jungle after a thirty-year ordeal. Hunted in turn by American troops, the Philippine police, hostile islanders, and successive Japanese search parties, Onoda had skillfully outmaneuvered all his pursuers, convinced that World War II was still being fought and that one day his fellow soldiers would return victorious. This account of those years is an epic tale of the will to survive that offers a rare glimpse of man's invincible spirit, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. A hero to his people, Onoda wrote down his experiences soon after his return to civilization. This book was translated into English the following year and has enjoyed an approving audience ever since.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557506639
• ISBN-13: 978-1557506634
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Japanese
  • #56 in Books > History > Asia > Japan

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Survivor", for real!, July 16, 2001

By 

"michaeleve" - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

I remember this as a news story in 1974; a Japanese soldier emerging from the jungles of the Philippines after finally realizing that WWII was over. I recall thinking 'he must be crazy'. NO SURRENDER shows it's not so. This is the true story of 2nd Lt Hiroo Onoda, who, on orders from his commanding officer retreated with a small band of men into the jungle to carry out guerilla attacks against returning American troops and the Filipinos. He was to stay alive and await reinforcements.

He didn't know when WWII ended and every attempt by Americans, locals, and even friends and familiy from Japan, to get him to come out was seen as a trap by Onoda. Only when his orders were specifically rescinded, did he emerge. Over the years his skills in evading and surviving were honed to a edge.

For humanists this is a positive message and a remarkable tale about the ability of the human spirit to endure great hardships for the sake of beliefs and duty. Less positive, from a mental health perspective, the book is a startling illustration of the power of the mind to program itself to shut out all messages and signals it does not wish to receive.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Amazing Story!, June 16, 2004

By 

Vaughn W. (Gibsonia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

No Surrender, by Hiroo Onada, is a very interesting book! It tells the story of a Japanese soldier during World War II who was sent by his superior's to a secluded island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a mission. However, he and his party, due to the nature of their work, were not informed that World War II had officially ended. For the next 30 years, he travels around the island pilfering, storing, sneaking, and scouting, still believing he was doing his duty to Japan.

Although there were repeated attempts to contact Onada, all failed. For instance, he found a newspaper article about himself about 10 years after the war ended. He believed the article was "enemy propaganda" and was "an attempt to get me to surrender".

Finally, in the 70's, Onada's superior ranking officer finally made contact with him and told him to come home. He complied.

No Surrender is an incredibly interesting read, even if you're not interested in history/World War II. The story is very captivating, and Onada's will to survive is amazing.

I would definitely recommend this book.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars and 1/2 stars... Dedicated soldier, July 11, 2006

By 

B. Willis (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

Growing up I had heard the incredible stories of Japanese soldiers popping up from the jungles years & decades after the war was over. It always blew me away that someone could continue on fighting for so long after the war had ended. I could see someone doing it for 1 or 2 years because they were usually on isolated islands. No one (as far as we Know) was fighting the war for longer than Hiroo Onada.

The only thing was though Onada didn't really need to fight for longer than the one or two years after 1945 when the war ended - that is if his mind wasn't blocking out all the information that was showing him the war was over. No matter what happened he was too suspicious that it was a trap by the American's or Filipinos. I found the story amazing but after a while one has to wonder if he will ever believe anything.

Countless times the island was blanketed with notes dropped from planes that said the war was over & Japan had surrendered. One of the soldiers he lived with walked away from Onada & his friends in 1949 (after 5 years living with Onada). He walked to freedom & then came back & tried to convince the last 3 soldiers (Onada, Shimada & Kozuka) to give up - that the war was over, they were wasting their time. They dropped notes with the 3 soldiers names on it, pictures of Onada's family members...& walked around the island with bullhorns yelling that the war was over. Onada, Shimada & Kozuka heard this from their friend & saw the notes but were convinced that their friend was captured by the enemy & it was all a trap.

Over the years his brother came & yelled on speakers to get Onada to surrender, Onada got within 150 yards of his brother & recognized him & his voice but still thought it was a trap.


Another time his sister did the same thing - he still thought something was fishy & refused to fall for the trap. People always left old newspapers around - from around the world , but mostly from the Philipines & Japan. Sometimes the stacks of newspapers were several feet high. They would read them all, right down to the "want ads". They still twisted things in their minds that the Americans had edited out all these papers & taken out the parts about the war - Onada thought the Americans went to all this trouble just to trick these couple of people on some isolated island.

For about 15 years they had access to a transistor radio & they would listen to stations all over the world - mostly Japanese but others such as the BBC. Still they couldn't wrap their heads around it that things were as they were being told from ex-soldier friends & family members. Finally after 30 years somehow Onada saw the light.

The survival part of the book is pretty interesting & there is no doubt his 30 years of living out in the elements & off the land is one of the greatest survival stories in our lifetime.

He was a smart guy & had a brilliant mind for details but his mind prevented him from seeing that the war was over 29 years before he finally walked out of the jungle.