The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
5 of 5 stars
This book is an eye opener and an attempt to bring to light the sordid and neglected event from WW II in which the whole city of Nanking was brutally sacked by invading Japanese soldiers. Approximately 300,000 civilians were killed, thousands of women and young girls raped, maimed or murdered. This is not only a book about inhumane torture and rape of innocent civilians by invading soldiers but also a book about heroism by few great souls who risked their lives to save lives of thousands of helpless people under siege. This is a sordid tale and leaves you depressed and ashamed that members of same human species as yourself can stoop so low to commit such torture and mayhem. The rape of Nanking is an event which has not been researched thoroughly and is not in the common historical domain. This event comes in same category as Armenian holocaust or rape of university student in Dhaka by Pakistani soldiers during Bangladesh liberation. This book is an important historical document to be read and preserved. The book is also a bit controversial as the author later committed suicide and allegations have been made that the research is biased and done by a deranged patriot but nonetheless it is an important artefact of human history.
Tarun's Blog 