• The Last Zero Fighter

  • By: Dan King
  • Narrated by: Drew Bott
  • Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (35 ratings)

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The Last Zero Fighter  By  cover art

The Last Zero Fighter

By: Dan King
Narrated by: Drew Bott
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Publisher's summary

Firsthand accounts from interviews conducted in Japan with five WWII Japanese Naval aviators. All are veterans of the pivotal battles of the Pacific War including; USS Panay, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Rabaul, Port Darwin, Indian Ocean Raid, Ceylon, Midway, Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the kamikaze in the Philippines, the home defense and the dropping of the atomic bomb. 

Includes an introduction to the Japanese pilot training system for both officers and enlisted men. 

Each pilot is followed from the time he joined the navy until war's end. They explain in their own words; why they joined the navy, what they thought about the war, about the aircraft they flew, how they felt about their friends and their former adversaries.  

The interviews were conducted firsthand in their own language by King who is a linguist and Pacific War historian who spent 10 years living in Japan.

©2012, 2018 Dan King (P)2020 Dan King
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Last Zero Fighter

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Fascinating and humanizing story

For me, a WW2 airplane fanatic, this story had me riveted. Loved the details of the battles in China and the Pacific. The narration was soothing and engaging. Midway, Pearl Harbor and Coral Sea was particularly interesting. Fascinated by the Kamikaze stories. Please write a follow up!

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Interesting view into what was happening on the other side

Great information. I have been a student of WW2 for a while and learned many things I didn’t know. Looking forward to the next book

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A good read (listen)…

Really interesting to hear stories from the ‘other’ side of the fight. Like the Americans, British, New Zealanders, Australians and the others that faced and fought the Japanese in the pacific, they were kids who loved flying, fought for their country.

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A really good book.

a great book on the war from the Japanese perspective. Culturally there are differences, but it seems the pilots of both countries were more alike than not.

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Great Book!

Just as good or even better than Saburo Sakai! Samurai! Very well detailed description of the Japanese side of the war!

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Some interesting insights

Worthwhile story that examines various Japanese pilots’ experiences. For those that are familiar with WW2 actions in the Pacific, you will pick up several nuggets of information.

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The Other Side of thr Story

This book is an excellent view into Japanese Naval aviation. Well worth the read. As an aviator I have developed a more acute appreciation for how the Japanese saw the operational side of the war.

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Not your standard history book

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely military history. It's just that the author is covering the five biographies from a full cultural perspective, not just WW2. Makes for an enjoyable listen.

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Brilliant

Please, please, please write more of this. The interviews are brilliant. It's incredible that someone was able to do this. my grandfather fought in Tarawa and died before I was born. I would give anything to be able to talk to him about his time in the Pacific. This book is an absolute treasure and there should be more like this in regards to every war. Especially on topics as surreal as air combat.

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  • East Stander
  • 09-29-23

Could have been much better

I found this a hard listen. In fact I gave up with 3 hours to go. I found the narrators voice being the same as the Japanese fighter pilots testimony confusing and I had to keep remembering the pilots was Japanese. Probably old fashioned of me but if the Narrator read Murder on the Orient Express I wouldn't be able to enjoy if Poirot was spoken with an American accent.

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  • Daniel
  • 07-29-21

A very interesting book from a unique perspective.

I quite like books about the second world war but most of what I've read from the Pacific theatre has been from an American or British perspective, so it was really interesting hearing the stories of Japanese pilots.
There is a broad set of pilots in this book including those present at key battles such as Shanghai, Nanking, Pearl harbour, midway, and Iwo Jima. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in those battles to get a unique perspective on them.
They also seem to avoid glorifying their actions to much with several of them mentioning the over reporting of kills.
Interesting listen all round and I'd happily recommend it to anyone interested in the life of fight pilots.

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