Shadow of a Monster Plane: Recollections of a Childhood in Tokyo Before and During World War II (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781425150587)

This collection of 19 short stories is a memoir of a simple middle-class life in Tokyo, Japan, that was turned into a harsh struggle for survival under air attacks by hordes of American bombers during the Second World War. Roughly covering the years of 1939 to 1945 and chronologically arranged, the author's childhood, approximately from age eight to fourteen, is told in her recollection.

The stories begin with a present day occurrence, which evoke thoughts of what she's experienced in some related situations in wartime long ago. A few of these stories are based on the everyday life of still peaceful prewar days, which within a short few years turns so chaotic and life threatening.