Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War [Paperback]

Mario Machi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1995

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--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wolfenden (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964252104
• ISBN-13: 978-0964252103
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RETIRED OFFICERS' REVIEW, October 26, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War (Paperback)

Under the Rising Sun is an extraordinary account of Mario Machi's struggle for survival, an account that few people, even his closest friends knew about. When the war ended he was freed from Bilibid Prison in the Philippines and returned to San Francisco, finished his education, and for 22 years taught junior high school in the small town in California. Mario says he did not write Under the Rising Sun with the intent of producing a war story. For fifty years has kept his thoughts hidden, from his many students and from even his closest friends. He kept to himself the memories of prisoners who marched side by side with him, some too weak to continue, who dropped by the roadside, only to be bayoneted for failing to keep up. Somehow Mario managed to survive the brutality, the hunger, the thirst, the disease, and the dreadful feeling that he had been abandoned. Somehow 10,000 others died on that march, some 178 men for every mile they tread, but Mario Machi lived. What makes this book so extraordinary is that it is not simply an account of an ex-soldier recalling dreadful acts that happened long ago. Mario's account of the Bataan Death March was recorded as it was happening, in a diary that he managed to keep on the march. Each day, often under actual heavy gun fire, he recorded what he saw and witnessed, first hand, and most miraculously, this diary--a written confession that would certainly have meant immediate death had it fallen into enemy hands--has survived to this day. This book is for both the generations who remember Bataan and for those who have yet to hear. On his return to the United States in 1945 Mario Machi was awarded the Bronze Star for the work he did in the camps. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has told his story, and we are all made the richer for it. Why he decided to tell his story is explained in the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, true, mysterious, auto-biographic experiences, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War (Paperback)

How can one write a review that could compare with the author's real life experiences. I met Mario through my friend Hal Stephens who wrote the introduction .. I then traveled with Hal up and down the West Coast to book dealers and museums .. their reception was highly enthusiastic. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC reviewed the book for its 50th Anniversary of World War II but it was submitted too late for their collection .. unfortunate for those who would have wished for a daily recording of the misfortunes of those on the Death March and the Death Camps. Recollection of experiences is worthwhile, but the daily recording is more significant. My uncle was a POW in Germany; his reading of the book brought home memories that had long been suppressed. Comparisons with the Halocaust survivors' stories can easily be made. Life and Death are with us always, but how one survives Life is always a compelling story. Mario's life span of misadventure was summarized in the Death March and Death Camps. A truly engrossing real life adventure. Reviewed by Dave Pryor.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, true, mysterious, auto-biographic experiences, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War (Paperback)

How can one write a review that could compare with the author's real life experiences. I met Mario through my friend Hal Stephens who wrote the introduction .. I then traveled with Hal up and down the West Coast to book dealers and museums .. their reception was highly enthusiastic. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC reviewed the book for its 50th Anniversary of World War II but it was submitted too late for their collection .. unfortunate for those who would have wished for a daily recording of the misfortunes of those on the Death March and the Death Camps. Recollection of experiences is worthwhile, but the daily recording is more significant. My uncle was a POW in Germany; his reading of the book brought home memories that had long been suppressed. Comparisons with the Halocaust survivors' stories can easily be made. Life and Death are with us always, but how one survives Life is always a compelling story. Mario's life span of misadventure was summarized in the Death March and Death Camps. A truly engrossing real life adventure. Reviewed by Dave Pryor.