{"product_id":"memoirs-of-a-kamikaze-kazuo-odachi-9784805315750","title":"Memoirs of a Kamikaze: A World War II Pilot's Inspiring Story of Survival, Honor and Reconciliation","description":"\u003cb\u003e**Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Winner**\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn incredible, untold story of survival and acceptance that sheds light on one of the darkest chapters in Japanese history.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book tells the story of Kazuo Odachi who--in 1943, when he was just 16 years-old--joined the Imperial Japanese Navy to become a pilot. A year later, he was unknowingly assigned to the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps--a group of airmen whose mission was to sacrifice their lives by crashing planes into enemy ships. Their callsign was \"ten dead, zero alive.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy picking up \u003ci\u003eMemoirs of a Kamikaze\u003c\/i\u003e, readers will experience the hardships of fighter pilot training--dipping and diving and watching as other trainees crash into nearby mountainsides. They'll witness the psychological trauma of coming to terms with death before each mission, and breathe a sigh of relief with Odachi when his last mission is cut short by Japan's eventual surrender. They'll feel the anger at a government and society that swept so much of the sacrifice under the rug in its desperation to rebuild. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOdachi's innate \"samurai spirit\" carried him through childhood, WWII and his eventual life as a kendo instructor, police officer and detective. His attention to detail, unwavering self-discipline and impenetrably strong mind were often the difference between life and death. Odachi, who is now well into his nineties, kept his Kamikaze past a secret for most of his life. Seven decades later, he agreed to sit for nearly seventy hours of interviews with the authors of this book--who know Odachi personally. He felt it was his responsibility to finally reveal the truth about the Kamikaze pilots: that they were unsuspecting teenagers and young men asked to do the bidding of superior officers who were never held to account. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book offers a new perspective on these infamous suicide pilots. It is not a chronicle of war, nor is it a collection of research papers compiled by scholars. It is a transcript of Odachi's words.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kazuo Odachi, Shigeru Ohta\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 480531575X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9784805315750\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Tuttle Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.30w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/08\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2020 pg. 62","brand":"Kazuo Odachi","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44044148080895,"sku":"9784805315750","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_15e2eaf0-bd30-471c-984e-f2cb3f1472b0.jpg?v=1684971206","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/memoirs-of-a-kamikaze-kazuo-odachi-9784805315750","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}