The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II

by Iris Chang (Author)

1,656 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0140277449

ISBN-10: 0140277447

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In December 1937, the Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking. Within weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians were systematically raped, tortured, and murdered—a death toll exceeding that of the atomic blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Using extensive interviews with survivors and newly discovered documents, Iris Chang has written what will surely be the definitive history of this horrifying episode. The Rape of Nanking tells the story from three perspectives: of the Japanese soldiers who performed it, of the Chinese civilians who endured it, and of a group of Europeans and Americans who refused to abandon the city and were able to create a safety zone that saved almost 300,000 Chinese. Among these was the Nazi John Rabe, an unlikely hero whom Chang calls the "Oskar Schindler of China" and who worked tirelessly to protect the innocent and publicize the horror. More than just narrating the details of an orgy of violence, The Rape of Nanking analyzes the militaristic culture that fostered in the Japanese soldiers a total disregard for human life. Finally, it tells the appalling story: about how the advent of the Cold War led to a concerted effort on the part of the West and even the Chinese to stifle open discussion of this atrocity. Indeed, Chang characterizes this conspiracy of silence, that persists to this day, as "a second rape."

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The first comprehensive examination of the destruction of this Chinese imperial city...Ms. Chang, whose grandparents narrowly escaped the carnage, has skillfully excavated from oblivion the terrible events that took place." —The Wall Street Journal

"A powerful new work of history and moral inquiry. Chang takes great care to establish an accurate accounting of the dimensions of the violence." —Chicago Tribune

"Chang reminds us that however blinding the atrocities in Nanking may be, they are not forgettable—at least not without peril to civilization itself." —The Detroit News

"A story that Chang recovers with raw urgency...an important step towards recognition of this tragedy." —San Francisco Bay Guardian

About the Author

Iris Chang’s numerous honors include the John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation’s Program on Peace and International Cooperation Award. Her work has appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Newsweek, and the Los Angeles Times. She is also the author of the bestselling The Rape of Nanking, available from Penguin.

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Product details

Publisher : Penguin Books (November 1, 1998)
Language : English
Paperback : 290 pages
ISBN-10 : 0140277447
ISBN-13 : 978-0140277449
Reading age : 18 years and up
Item Weight : 9.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.3 x 0.7 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,187 in Asian History (Books)
- #1,754 in Military History (Books)
- #2,372 in Japanese History (Books)

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1,656 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Gary Perman

Society should be outraged. The Rape of Nanking is a Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2016

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While reading the book "Killing the Rising Sun", Bill O’Rielly and Martin Dugard touched on the Japanese invasion of Nanking China in 1937. After a Vietnam vet friend told me some more history, “The Rape of Nanking” was a must read.

I thought Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot had the corner market on human atrocities, but they had nothing compared to what the Japanese did at Nanking. Nearly 300,000 people raped, mutilated and murdered in a few weeks. A moral outrage of butchery of innocents and the savagery of the Japanese with indisputable evidence that went all the way up to the imperial family.
The acts described in this book are revealing and revolting. The book is an excellent read, captivating and compelling including real life heroes that saved thousands of lives. I was surprised to see this is merely a footnote in history, rarely taught in school and rarely discussed in Japan.
This book is truly a must read.

149 people found this helpful

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Simeon 'Sam'

A Must Read For Those Intereseted In WWII In The Pacific

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2019

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After reading this book, the reader will understand why so many WWII vets who served in the Pacific campaigns told me, "We were fighting a war of extermination." which was because the Japanese soldier of the Imperial Army had been raised to believe in their Emperor as a living God among the most civilized people on earth (according to their own lights from 1939 -- 1945). The Japanese soldier believed that death in battle meant that their soul would return to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo where the people would come and worship them for eternity. Whereas surrender was the greatest mortal sin a soldier could commit; therefore, to surrender meant total ostracism while still alive and eternal damnation after death. Japanese soldiers were even trained to "pretend to surrender" so they could carry some kind of hidden weapon and get close to Allied soldiers so the Japanese soldier could (for instance) commit suicide by pulling the pin on a hand grenade while taking a few enemy soldiers with him. This is why the Allied soldiers learned not to take any prisoners -- it was that kind of war.

Being a Vietnam vet I know a little something about war and it was only after I became one that the WWII vets shared their experiences with me -- this was because they knew I could not judge them. Terrible things happen in war which is why it puzzles me when movie critics gush over anti-war movies -- has anyone ever seen a pro-war movie? [This doesn't count the films made about WWII which we had to fight.]

Also, I've been to Yasukuni Shrine, on my way to SE Asia I spent four months as a military policeman in Japan which enabled me to make a few Japanese friends who took me to the shrine. At first I was hesitant about going but I reasoned that I could acknowledge the private Japanese soldier who was probably little different from me. Though I'm glad that I didn't then know that the Japanese still believe that the war criminals hung by the Allies after the war crimes trials are present in spirit at the shrine -- and that the souls of these war criminals are honored there.

The Japanese even recently put up a statue to honor their Kamikaze pilots, these were men who were sent out in airplanes with a bomb, just enough petrol to get them to allied fleets and then commit suicide by crashing their planes into allied ships.

54 people found this helpful

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Carlotta K

My heart bleeds for the human race........

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2016

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OMG, why hasn't this been taught to person's living in the US. I feel it's been swept under the rug..the atrocities and inhuman actions inflicted upon these people and the US role in allowing this to happen for so long. I experienced every emotion possible but happiness and joy wasn't one of them. Most of all my heart aches that more light hasn't been given to this..this...I don't even have the word to call it....

Iris Chang was an amazingly talented soul and I know it must have been very difficult crawling through all this pain, agony, mire and muck to write this Life Story. I've also seen the movie...I can't remember the name of it for the life of me but it was gut wrenching but of course tailored down for viewer consumption so it doesn't capture the explicit pain detailed in this book. A must read for every human being!! Until we shed light in the dark places vile wars and act such as The Rape of Nanking will continue.

83 people found this helpful

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Lee Williams

Too Long Forgotten

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2016

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This seems to be a well researched and well documented book that stands as a testimony to the sheer brutality and savage nature of the Japanese who invaded China in the 1930's. By itself it is a shocking glimpse into the nature of WWII; indeed of all wars. Combined with the many other, well documented, instances of the brutality of the Japanese soldier, at all levels of command, its credibility is not in question. I am a veteran of 25 years of active duty military service, mainly Special Ops to include multiple tours in Vietnam, and still I am appalled at the levels of violence meted out to (mainly) Chinese civilians by the Japanese. The heroes in this tragedy were far outnumbered, and they knew that they were at the time, yet still they did more to alleviate the widespread suffering and degradation of the Chinese than one could ever imagine possible. To compound this travesty, and the countless other crimes incurred by prisoners of war and civilians at the hands of the Japanese military, very little was done to punish the guilty; much has been done to actually downplay the barbarity. I have no sympathy for the Japanese in the eventual devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

71 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nicole

Tissues at the ready!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2019

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Devastating book; absolutely devastating. It’ll make you cry, will upset you greatly but worth a read. I was recommended this book by a friend I go to uni with and I’d like to think of myself as a tough cookie, but this one got me good.

8 people found this helpful

florence wilson

The Rape of Nanking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is a very powerful story of what went on in Nanking about how the people there were treated by the Japanese. it made me cry and am very angry to think humans can treat other humans in this way. Please read this for yourselves and decide what you think.

19 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

History that needs to be told...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book over 2 years ago and for some reason, couldn't find myself to read it. I knew about the horrors on what happened in Nanking, and had briefly researched it on Wiki, but I couldn't do it.

It called to me yesterday and I have just finished it today. Iris brilliantly expressed what many cannot. The stories of those who suffered, true victims of which many perhaps, only brought to light by her book/research, deeply wounded me. Words cannot describe how the way they suffered makes me feel. People like you and me, treated in this inhumane way, is heart wrenching. The Leaders in the Safety Zone are real heroes. Their bravery in the face of death left me open-mouth in shock and awe. All the stories within the book will remain with me forever. I hope those whose stories haven't been told, those who unfortuantely, were sileneced and justice not served are shared with the world eventually, for they deserve to be told.

I am grateful to have read her work and will try my best to share what she wrote and her book to others that may be interested in what happened in Nanking. I hope that someday, it is recognised for what it is, an event in history that should never be forgotten and is rememebered.

One person found this helpful

Paul Smart

We must protect our veneer of civilisation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2020

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This is an excellent book that shows what happens when the veneer of civilisation breaks down.
There is a good description of elements that required for a whole army and government to turn to barbarism.

3 people found this helpful

John Fryer

History can't be denied

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

After reviewing this book elsewhere, I was tweeted by a denier in Japan who claimed the appalling behaviour by Japanese troops in what was the former capital of China never took place, or if it did it was by Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang army. That is what makes Iris Chang's well researched book important for all who are interested in the recent history of China and Japan.

26 people found this helpful