Samurai! by Saburo Sakai is an autobiography about Sakai’s experiences in the Japanese Naval Air Force during WWII. Sakai grew up in a small town in Southern Japan. After going to a distinguished school in Tokyo, and struggling there, he enrolls in the Naval Air Force of Japan during the opening months of WWII. He fights the Chinese over their homeland, and then the Americans over the Pacific. He watches as the once huge and disciplined Army, Navy, and Air Force of his country are slowly worn down by the Americans until the war turns into an unstoppable downward slide. As the country’s greatest living fighter pilot, he provides a unique and interesting viewpoint on the Japanese efforts to win the war, and the reasoning behind the brutality seen as the tide turned against his homeland.
This book is great for anyone who is interested in WWII, or any kind of military history. It is especially good, in my opinion, because of the point of view Sakai provides. It does an excellent job of describing the battles he participates in, and recounts almost every one of his 64 confirmed kills in an engaging manner. I especially liked how he recounts the inner workings of the Japanese armed forces, both the good and the bad.
“I was amazed to realize that the disciplinary customs of the Sasebo were pleasant interludes in comparison with those of Tsuchiura. Even the Navy Gunners School was hardly more than a kindergarten alongside the Fliers School." I like this quote because it is an example of his uncensored view of the way he speaks of the way things worked. He presents the good and bad, explaining how, while being extremely brutal, the disciplinary tactics of the Japanese military produced exemplary results.