Its the japanese version of the first and last and the reader follows sakais career from the early days of japanese victory to the wars conclusion. Saburo sakai was a national hero in japan as its greatest surviving air ace of world war two. The story of saburo sakai provides for the first time an intimate look into the other side. Samurai by fred saito,martin caidin, saburo sakai and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book tells the highly abridged version of sakai s wartime service by author martin caiden in englis that was first published in 1957 and reprinted many times since. Pilots everywhere spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air. Illustrated edition by martin caiden, saburo sakai, fred. Just imagine the number of lives that would have been saved.
The book japanese destroyer captain by captain tameichi hara was an exception. Samurai sakai, saburo, caidin, martin, saito, fred. The unforgettable saga of japans greatest fighter pilot by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Here, by the way, is a bit of calligraphy by saburo sakai himself, scanned from henrys book. May 09, 2019 saburo sakai became a living legend in japan during world war ii. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and friends of pdf. If you havent already done so, go ahead and buy it. This book weaves the war time experience of the aviator saburo sakai and his formidable zero fighter.
Saburo sakai s story as told in samurai is something special. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial japanese navy air service pilots who flew the mitsubishi. This book has been written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos interviews with the fighter pilot. Saburo sakai project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakai s own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. Sakai s skull was penetrated by a machinegun bullet, and he was blind in one eye but insisted on making his mission report before accepting medical treatment. Saburo sakai, one of japans top aces in world war ii does a great job, with the help of martin caidin and fred saito, telling the story of sakai s experiences during his service. Of all japans aces, saburo sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read samurai. Caidin was an airplane pilot as well, and bought and restored a 1936 junkers ju 52 airplane. Apr 21, 2015 saburo sakai is perhaps one of the most famous japanese air aces to emerge from wwii, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or severely damaging well over 60 allied aircraft, despite later in the war flying a plane that was vastly inferior to his opponents planes. Illustrated edition ebook written by martin caiden, saburo sakai, fred saito. Best sellers gift ideas new releases whole foods todays deals. Classics of naval literature 9781591147558 by sakai, saburo.
A couple of months ago a friend loaned me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots compared to wwii pilots. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakai s own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the fighter pilot, samauir. This book tells the highly abridged version of sakais wartime service by author. Saburo sakai became a living legend in japan during world war ii. Saburo sakai is perhaps one of the most famous japanese air aces to emerge from wwii, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or severely damaging well over 60 allied aircraft, despite later in the war flying a plane that was vastly inferior to his opponents planes. Sakais account of the rise and fall of japanese naval aviation has not lost any of its riveting impact in the nearly 60 years since. The main authors credit for the book should be saburo sakai, though, not martin caiden and it needs a huge and i do mean huge number of scanning errors correcting in the text. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots wikipedia. Sakai s account of the rise and fall of japanese naval aviation has not lost any of its riveting impact in the nearly 60 years since. May 09, 2019 the story of saburo sakai provides for the first time an intimate look into the other side.
First published in english in 1957, it gave a new perspective on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united. Saburo sakais 500 mile trek back to rabual from guadacanal in his crippled zero is a testimony to the man and to the nature of war. Curiosity got to me and by luck i found an original edition in a local bookstore powells city of books. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the. Saburo sakai was born into an impoverished samurai family in 1916. The gripping saga of the rise and fall of the japanese naval air force in world war ii through the career of one of its best fighter aces written by martin caidin from saburo sakai s own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. Saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace who had 64 aerial victories. Its a shame that this unique story fell into caidins dream factory, in which speed generally trumped accuracy.
I was very glad to find that martin caidens 1957 book samurai. Enlisted pilots of the tainan kokutai pose at lae in june 1942. For the world war two scholar and those interested in aviation, samurai is an outstanding book. Henry is pretty rough on the american edition of samurai. As all autobiographies written at the end of a persons life, there are potential issues. Military history ibooks author saburo sakai and martin caiden formatbinding trade paperback book condition used very good jacket condition no jacket as issued edition first edition. He went on to write ten books and give numerous interviews. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a 1985 book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial. Sabukuo sakai got seriously wounded over the airbattle of guadalcanal. Saburo sakai is japans greatest fighter pilot to survive world war ii, and his powerful memoir has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring books ever written on the pacific war. A living legend, sakai engaged in more than two hundred dogfights, from the philippines to iwo jima, and was the only japanese ace never to lose a wingman in combat. The airbattles are suspensefull and detailed, as good as in the movie midway, but with a much smaller budged. Kindle edition by sakai, saburo, caidin, martin, saito, fred.
They begin with the true author, who was not saburo sakai but the late scifi and aviation writer martin caidin. Samurai is a very interesting book especially for the younger generation who never experienced ww ii. Very interesting as it shows the other side of the war in the pacific. Saburo sakai books list of books by author saburo sakai. Sakai is shown to have been a patriotic and heroic fighter, who, like most soldiers, gave little thought to the politics of the war. Classics of naval literature by saburo sakai 20100615. The specialties in samurai as told by saburo sakai himself are the way he pictured his exciting dogfights in the beginning of the war, his emotional feelings, especially in the last part of the book, wherein sakai described very thoroughly his feelings of fright after encountering enemy pilots with better planes than his zero, his fright of. Samurai saburo sakai english download language, english winged samurai. Claims have been made that his autobiography samurai. In 1985 sakai told historian henry sakaida, what was written in samurai. The specialties in samurai as told by saburo sakai himself are the way he pictured his exciting dogfights in the beginning of the war, his emotional feelings, especially in the last part of the book, wherein sakai described very thoroughly his feelings of fright after encountering. Faced with the prospects of a desolate rural life, he enlisted in the imperial japanese navy at sixteen. Classics of naval literature by saburo sakai, barrett tillman, fred saito, martin caidin.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading samurai. Samurai sakai, saburo, caiden, martin, with caidin. Martin caidin was an american author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. The book also claims to be an illustrated edition but there appear to be no photographs or other illustrations present. First published in english in 1957, it gave americans new perspectives on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united states as. Samurai by saburo sakai martin caidin fred saito abebooks.
I first read this book back around 1961 and still remembered some of the more interesting passages causing me to buy a copy today and reread this book. Saburo sakais story of survival only a handful of japanese pilots who started the war survived until the end is absolutely gripping. Several of these aviators would be among the top japanese aces, including toshio ota middle row, far left, saburo sakai seated next to ota, second from the left and hiroyoshi nishizawa standing to the far left. This book traces his experiences from fighterpilot school to the early. It is a fascinating and honest look at the air war in the pacific from the japanese perspective. Classics of naval literature by saburo sakai 20100615 by saburo sakai 1 jan 1647.
But it could be more interesting and nice reading if this book contained more illustrations such as maps of the combat theaters, more photos or illustrations of the various types of planes described by sakai. Synopsis includes more than 12 photographs of the author and his exploits. Samurai japans greatest fighter pilot tells his incredible story. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the war.
Saburo sakai and his coauthor martin caidin paint a vivid and enthralling picture of the japanese side of world war ii. One feels both the deep dedication of sakai to the samurai spirit and to his sense of duty, as well as his keen awareness of the folly of the war. If youre at all interested in history forget only being interested in wwii or biographies about fighter pilots, then you must read this book. Dont usually read war aviation books, but this one was very good. Sakai enjoyed a singular and most cherished reputation among fighter pilots. The book lets us believe that the flying ace accounted for the destruction of over 60 us and other allied planes during his war time flying career.
The book states that on the night of august 1415, 1945, the evening before tokyos surrender, sakai and an ensign jiro kawachi intercepted a b29 and shot it down. Saburo sakai was survived by his second wife haru, two daughters, and a son. By 1937 he had graduated at the top of this his enlisted pilottraining class, and he quickly saw combat in china. Binding paperback isbn 10 0743412834 isbn 9780743412834 publisher i books, place of publication new york date published 2001. First published in english in 1957, it gave americans new perspectives on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united states as mere caricatures. The movie kept very close to the book, and stuck to the facts. The book was not published in japan and differs from his biographies there. Jun 15, 2010 today, the book remains a valuable eyewitness account of some of the most famous battles in history and a moving, personal story of a courageous naval aviator. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Samurai is another book you wont be able to put down. For a man who engaged in more than 200 aerial combats, this was an incredible achievement.
Saburo sakai is perhaps one of the most famous japanese air aces to emerge from wwii, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or. This auto biography read like a novel and i found it difficult to put down. Military history ibooks saburo sakai, martin caiden, martin with caidin. The unforgettable saga of japans greatest fighter pilot by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art. Saburo sakai is japans greatest fighter pilot to survive world war ii, and his powerful memoir has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring books. First off, let me say that this is one of the grand combat memoirs of world war iibut you knew that, right. This book covers the life of sabruo sakai during the period of his prewar flight training to the end of wwii.
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