A Tomb Called Iwo Jima

Firsthand Accounts from Japanese Survivors

By: Dan King

Narrated by: Drew Bott

Firsthand accounts from Japanese WW II soldiers, sailors, and pilots who fought in the battle for Iwo Jima and survived. Some were evacuated before the Marines landed, and others were taken as prisoners of war. The Japanese army and navy combatants are given a voice to share their experiences in the battle that coined the phrase "uncommon valor was a common virtue".

©2014 Dan King (P)2019 Dan King

A different perspective.

This book is interesting because it discusses World War II from a Japanese perspective. The narrator does a nice job, too.

Fascinating Account

I’m fascinated with accounts of the Japanese side of the Pacific War. I’ve been studying since I learned to read in the early 50s. My Dad was a Navy Fighter Pilot during that war, and subsequently developed a deep love of the country, culture, and people. I inherited that love. I live in Japan, married to a Japanese lady. Her grandfather was a Zero Pilot. Therefore I treasure accounts such as this. The author definitely has a command of his topic, his research is impeccable, the account riveting. The narrator, however, is not good. His contrived changes of voice inflection is very off-putting and would detract from the narrative if the book was less interesting.

Surprising and shocking. It explains a lot.

I was appalled by what the Japanese endured at Iwo Jima. I was familiar with what the Americans experienced, my father was a pilot in the Asian Theater during the war, but the experiences of the Japanese were unknown territory for me.
Another surprise was the descscription of the Japanese military training. It explains a lot about why the Japanese behaved as they did to their American POW's. We must have appeared as weaklings with no sense of honor and not worthy of being soldiers. We expected hardships, but not the cruelty and unpredictability of punishments that was characteristic of the Japanese. To the Japanese it was only what was to be expected.
The book starts a little slow with the unfamiliar names and details of the politics involved, but I encourage you to stick with it. The facts in the latter part of the book are both shocking and surprising.

Outstanding! Can’t recommend highly enough!

I just finished listening to the audiobook and love it! Dan King’s writing style is remarkable in that he packs it full of meticulously sourced details, while maintaining a deeply personal connection with each character that draws the reader into the story. Very well done!

Amazing!

Best book the WW2 history in the pacific from the perspective of the Japanese soldier.