The Knights of Bushido

A History of Japanese War Crimes During World War II

By: Lord Russell of Liverpool

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

The war crimes trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo meted out the Allies' official justice; Lord Russell of Liverpool's sensational bestselling books on the Axis' war crimes decided the public's opinion. The Knights of Bushido, Russell's shocking account of Japanese brutality in the Pacific in World War II, describes how the noble founding principles of the Empire of Japan were perverted by the military into a systematic campaign of torture, murder, starvation, rape, and destruction. Notorious incidents like the Nanking Massacre and the Bataan Death March emerge as merely part of a pattern of human rights abuses. Undoubtedly formidable soldiers, the Japanese were terrible conquerors. Their conduct in the Pacific is a harrowing example of the doctrine of mutual destruction carried to the extreme, and begs the question of what is acceptable—and unacceptable—in total war.

©2008 Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Not for the faint of heart

This was a great and terrible book at the same time. My grandma had told me about the hatred for the Japanese during WWII and how two of her high school friends were killed during the Bataan death march, but this book paints the full picture of the depths of depravity and horror that can be conjured up by the human mind.

Countless acts throughout the Sino-Japanese war to WWII are described here and broken into sections that describe how the Japanese dealt with situations (Pilots, Sea Battles, Prison Camps, Civilian Populations, Cannibalism). While it is not chronological, I feel it is a far better way of sorting through the information, as you can begin to see the Japanese mindset towards certain prisoners or situations.

The book does a good job of accurately portraying the horror experienced by the world during this time. The examples are brutal (babies thrown up and "caught" on a bayonet), but it helps show a whole side of World War II that is not talked about much, and gave me a new found admiration of the "Greatest Generation" who overcame such evil.

Grim but important to know

Would you listen to The Knights of Bushido again? Why?

Probably not, as much of it is ghastly: once one is familiar with the contents, it seems a bit pointless to go through the horrors a second time.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Excellent. However, Japanese names are often not pronounced correctly, but this is not a major problem.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, it distressed me to learn about so many men behaving so horribly.

Any additional comments?

One of the essential moral issues anyone living after 1945 has to face is how masses of people could behave so brutishly, and in in the name of some ideal. The barbarism shown by German, Japanese and Russian military during World War II was not the wayward behavior of a few psychopaths or deviants but a systematic descent into almost unthinkable evil on the part of huge numbers of people deliberately incited by a few, and this in the name of some ideology. In each of these three cases, it came about in a unique way, and it is important and interesting to understand the particular elements at play. And in each instance, it is the perpetrators that are themselves the primary victims — the Japanese even more directly than others, since Japanese recruits were deliberatly brutalized (beaten and humiliated) to take away their humanity and turn them into instruments of brutality.

I take this occasion to recommend the most enlightening book I know on the problem of evil : Barbara Oakley's 2007 book 'Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend'

Very Difficult at Times to Read On...

Would you consider the audio edition of The Knights of Bushido to be better than the print version?

I enjoy audible with a good pair of headphones much more reading a book. Yes it was better for sure.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Really not applicable as there were many. I would have to give the narrator the credit for best performance.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not. I will purchase future books if they are of interest if Mr. Vance is the narrator!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No as I stated at times because of the truth of what really happened in the camps in Japan it was mind boggling how many men were killed and the way they were killed. Truly disgusting is all I can say. I feel more of the persons responsible should have been tried and hung!

Any additional comments?

I would just worn folks this is a very technical account of what really went on in these camps and at times you will get very angry and if you have a lite stomach ill at what you are reading if you think about what transpired. We owe a tremendous amount to the men that sacrificed their lives for out freedom!

The Benighted of Bushido

If you could sum up The Knights of Bushido in three words, what would they be?

Japan's WW2 Crimes

Who was your favorite character and why?

I honor all the more now than before the courage and tenacity of Allied POWs.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Clear, even toned narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would be too difficult. Too heartbreaking.

Any additional comments?

This is an important, dreadful story. Whenever possible, we need to be reminded of Japan's War Crimes and, more importantly, of their intransigence in owning up to these
crimes against humanity.

Typical Hypocrite Brit...

Waste of time. I want to read the book about Brit atrocities in Indian, America, and everywhere else they maintained their empire.
If you don't surrender, you don't get treated like a coward, Brits...

Must read

Every person should read or listen to this book at least once in their lives.

Murder, Torture, And Rape At Every Turn

If you want to learn more about activities so horrible that the Nazis disapproved, look no further. this book details the terror and brutality inflicted on Allied servicemen/women, the Red Cross, slaves, and the local population. Everybody knows of the holocaust, but this book deeply explores the absolutely terrible things done by "The Knights of Bushido" perpetrated.

Well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I learned quite a lot about the conduct of the Japanese during the war that I had not been aware of.

Horrific and unsettling

This is an exhaustive and exhausting recitation of war crimes committed by the Japanese from their invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to the conclusion of WWII. The rape of Nanking, China (and a book by that name) is widely known, as are some other specific instances of wartime brutality, but this book chronicles nearly innumerable instances of intentional, purposeful war crimes against prisoners of war and non-combatants in Japanese areas of occupation. The descriptions are horrific and unsettling.

Great book! Only one complaint.

I thought this book was excellent! I only have one knock. Countless times through the narration, the first word or two of a new paragraph or section are cut.
I still highly recommend this book to others.