Exploring the War Crimes of the Knights of Bushido: A History of Japanese Atrocities During World War II

B3: A brutal and tyrannical people exposed who committed murder as an every day thing without a second thought.

United Kingdom on Feb 29, 2024

Trevor B: Book in good condition, very interesting read

United Kingdom on Jan 15, 2024

Greg S: Great Book, Completely F**** up Content. Good read on real history

Canada on Feb 22, 2023

Ronald Leda Falcao: Excelente livro, cobre todos os aspectos dos crimes praticados pelos japoneses, na terra e no mar. Fala um pouco também do julgamento dos criminosos. Recomendo.

Brazil on Aug 24, 2018

J. Bair: There are other books documenting Japanese atrocities such as Daws’ Prisoners of the Japanese and Weller’s First to Nagasaki, yet none have as many testimonies as The Knights of Bushido. The book focuses mainly on British and Dutch prisoners including colonials from India, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, etc. Still, there are numerous descriptions of events in the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and Japan.

What Lord Russell details is stunning. From the time that Japan began fighting in China in 1931 until Japan surrendered in 1945, the pattern changed little. Civilian populations were raped and killed, often deliberately massacred to instill fear or to demonstrate Japanese racial superiority. Prisoners, whether military or civilian, were often summarily executed or retained for slave labor. They rarely had access to any medical care and were always inadequately fed and (as they say today) hydrated.

The Knights of Bushido includes photographs, much testimony, and selections from many incriminating Japanese documents. Lord Russell is not being sensational. Every detail is carefully documented. I understand now why so many sources on the Pacific War refer to this book....

United States on Jul 31, 2017

vaaesthete: The material while clearly researched, does not nearly do justice. Some of the books/movies like Nanking or Unbroken, provide much wider audience exposure and this could potentially be as influential with a strong writer (someone like Rick Atkinson would be perfect.)

United States on Jun 22, 2017

源敏徳: 英文なので、読破するのに時間がかかるし初めのころの内容を忘れてしまう。

Japan on Jun 20, 2015

Leevje: Excellent primer on the atrocities the Japanese armed forces committed during World War II, with reviews of the pre-war & war terror the Japanese inflicted on China & it's people, including "The Rape of Nan King" in particular, where it is estimated between 250,000-300,000 men, women and children were murdered by the Japanese conquerors while the military leaders turned a blind eye & often sadistically encouraged the accompanying horrors of torture, mutilation and rape. The book is fairly explicit in it's description of the depravity of the Japanese military from the top on down, which included regular episodes of cannibalism, not done out of necessity, but done to celebrate victory. The beginning of the book contains a fairly brief but concise chronology of the gradual military take-over of the country & finally, of the emperor himself. I had never learned the story of how Japan came to be the despicable imperial power it was before & during WWII, so it was very enlightening for me to discover the parallels between Japan & Germany, specifically in how the people of both countries were propagandized and coerced into obedience & even devotion to their...

United States on Oct 28, 2014

S. Carr: "The Knights of the Bushido, A History of Japanese War Crimes During World War II" is not an easy read, as mentioned by other reviewers. It is not an easy read for two main reasons. One is that Lord Russell, like many British authors it seems, fills the book with names, facts, figures, dates, events, geographical areas, etc. (This is not a bad thing, since history is full of facts, figures, dates and events). And the second reason that the book is not an easy read is due to the horrific brutality of the Japanese armed forces during the second World War. The photo on the cover of the book speaks volumes. It shows Sikh prisoners being used as live targets in Singapore, by the Japanese army.

The last chapter of the book is titled "Retribution". It lists 25 major Japanese war criminals and their crimes against humanity. It also gives the verdict of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Tribunal's sentence concerning each major war criminal. Of the 25 major war criminals, 16 were sentenced to life imprisonment, seven to death, and two to sentences from 7-20 years. Further research indicates that most of these Japanese war criminals were released from...

United States on Jan 30, 2013