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Martin Caidin (1927–1997)

Author of Samurai!

128+ Works 4,686 Members 59 Reviews

About the Author

Image credit: NASA

Series

Works by Martin Caidin

Samurai! (1957) 385 copies
Cyborg (1972) 266 copies
Fork-Tailed Devil: The P38 (1971) 173 copies
Thunderbolt! The P-47 (1958) — Author — 156 copies
Me 109: Willy Messerschmitt's Peerless Fighter (1968) — Author — 149 copies
Exit Earth (1987) 136 copies
The Tigers are Burning (1721) 135 copies
Black Thursday (1960) 121 copies
Star Bright (1980) 117 copies
The God Machine (1968) 110 copies
Marooned {1969} (1969) 110 copies
Prison Ship (1989) 107 copies
Beamriders! (1989) 106 copies
The Messiah Stone (1986) 96 copies
Killer Station (1985) 96 copies
Aquarius Mission (1978) 91 copies
Dark Messiah (1990) 88 copies
The Final Countdown (1980) 84 copies
Zero fighter (1970) 83 copies
Ghosts Of The Air (1991) 77 copies
The Ragged, Rugged Warriors (1966) 72 copies
A Torch to the Enemy (1960) 64 copies
Whip (1976) 60 copies
Manfac (1981) 56 copies
Three Corners To Nowhere (1975) 49 copies
The Last Dogfight (1974) 48 copies
Four Came Back (1968) 45 copies
Zoboa (1986) 45 copies
Marooned {1964} (1964) 39 copies
The Night Hamburg Died (1960) 35 copies
The Last Fathom (1967) 34 copies
High Crystal (1974) 31 copies
Encounter Three (1978) 27 copies
Cyborg IV (1975) 26 copies
The Mendelov Conspiracy (1969) 24 copies
The Saga of Iron Annie (1979) 24 copies
Everything But the Flak (1964) 23 copies
Thunderbirds! (1961) 20 copies
Man into space (1961) 17 copies
Barnstorming (1965) 15 copies
Almost Midnight (1971) 13 copies
Wingborn (1979) 12 copies
Boeing 707 (1959) 12 copies
Bicycles in war (1974) 10 copies
Worlds in Space 7 copies
Deathmate (1982) 6 copies
Hydrospace 5 copies
The Mission (1964) 5 copies
The Cape (1971) 4 copies
Devil Take All (1968) 4 copies
The mighty Hercules (1964) 4 copies
By Apollo to the moon (1063) 3 copies
When War Comes (1972) 3 copies
Il cielo è un inferno (1969) 2 copies
Die Straße der Götter (1976) 2 copies
Lasernauti 2 copies
Cross-Country Flying (1961) 2 copies
The Long Night (1956) 2 copies
Test Pilot (1961) 2 copies
Anytime, Anywhere (1970) 1 copy
This is My Land (1963) 1 copy
Overture to Space (1963) 1 copy
Laatste helden, de (1975) 1 copy
Ruoska (1977) 1 copy

Associated Works

Rebels In Hell (1986) — Contributor — 153 copies
Zero (1956) 140 copies

Tagged

20th century (19) adventure (64) air warfare (32) aircraft (39) astronomy (16) aviation (165) aviation history (52) B-17 (20) biography (26) fantasy (48) fiction (189) Germany (17) historical fiction (23) history (196) Indiana Jones (54) Japan (56) Luftwaffe (15) military (82) military aviation (34) military history (90) mmpb (23) non-fiction (123) novel (31) own (20) Pacific (21) Pacific Theater (15) paperback (80) PB (19) read (44) science (20) science fiction (384) sf (85) sff (42) space (34) thriller (29) to-read (68) unread (26) USAF (25) war (34) WWII (444)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

This is the novelization of the movie of the same name. This movie has been one of my favorites since I first saw it in the early 1980s, with the intriguing notion of a modern aircraft carrier traveling through time to the day before Pearl Harbor. How could it change history? Could it change history? And should it change history?

I am very familiar with the movie, so it was easy to picture the events described in the book. Computer expert Warren Lasky didn't expect to be pulled from his current work with Tideman Industries and sent to spend several days onboard the Nimitz with no instructions other than to be there. The ship's captain, Matt Yelland, isn't thrilled to have a civilian on board, but orders are orders. Neither expect the stunning events that occur nor the moral and ethical choices they face.

Because the book must use words to paint the pictures, there is a lot of technical description that can get a little overwhelming for the casual reader. I found myself skimming some of those sections to get to the meat of the story. When the ship goes through the vortex that hurls it back in time, Warren figures out what happened well before anyone else. I could feel the captain's frustration with him as Warren stayed quiet and let him come to the correct conclusion on his own. The Air Wing Commander, Richard Owens, is a history buff who knows a lot about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his input is critical to the decisions made.

Matters become complicated when two Japanese fighters attack a pleasure boat off the coast of Hawaii, killing several of the passengers but leaving two alive. It's an exciting scene in the movie and book, as two modern fighters intervene. The subsequent rescue of the two passengers and one pilot creates further headaches for the captain when he discovers who one of the passengers is. There are some amusing scenes as the two passengers face the improbability of what they see. There is also a scary scene with the Japanese pilot when he breaks free of his confinement. Commander Owens plays a pivotal role in the resolution of that issue.

It was interesting to see how Captain Yelland decided to handle the situation. Putting the safety of the civilians first, his actions there had unintended consequences that only became clear at the end of the book. But when it comes time to take action, who will win - the Nimitz or time itself?

As a fan of the Outlander series, I could see parallels between the two attempts to change history. In Outlander, Claire and Jaime try their best to prevent the disaster at Culloden but discover that, while little things can be changed, significant events are much harder to affect. In this book, their desire to prevent the destruction at Pearl Harbor runs up against the same problem.

I loved the ending and seeing the surprise that waited for Warren on his return to Pearl Harbor. The book has more detail than the movie, and I found the prospects discussed intriguing.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when the female passenger, Laurel, an intelligent and ambitious woman who must deal with the prejudices of the time, says, "Captain, your crew is fabulous. I feel this is the first time I have been with a group of men who appreciate someone for what that person is, and that sex doesn't matter." And the captain replies, "You might say we're just a bit ahead of our time."

I have one small quibble with the back cover copy. The Nimitz doesn't go back in time on December 7, 1980. According to the book's text, that happens on July 13, 1980.
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scoutmomskf | 1 other review | Aug 4, 2023 |
Recounts the dramatic air battles from 1937 to the Battle of Midway in 1942, when the Allied Forces fought against superior odds to turn the tide of World War II
 
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MasseyLibrary | 3 other reviews | Dec 18, 2022 |
Saburo Sakai became a living legend in Japan during World War II. Pilots everywhere spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air.
Sakai enjoyed a singular and most cherished reputation among fighter pilots. Of all Japan’s aces, Saburo Sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat. This is an astounding performance for a man who engaged in more than two hundred aerial melees, and it explains the fierce competition, sometimes approaching physical violence, among the other pilots who aspired to fly his wing positions.
The reader will doubtless be surprised to learn that Saburo Sakai never received recognition by his government in the form of medals or decorations. The awarding of medals or other citations was unknown to the Japanese. Recognition was given only posthumously. Where the aces of other nations, including our own, were bedecked with rows of colorful medals and ribbons, awarded with great ceremony, Saburo Sakai and his fellow pilots flew repeatedly in combat without ever knowing the satisfaction of such recognition…
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Alhickey1 | 8 other reviews | Dec 11, 2022 |
Wrote a review on this book about 10 years ago. Recently changed the shown book cover in LT and the review disappeared! Found my old review on Amazon. Copied below.

A couple of months ago a friend handed me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots. In it was a reference to a book called, SAMURAI! by Saburo Sakai about the experiences of one of the very few surviving Japanese fighter aces of WW2. Curiosity got to me and (by luck) I found an original edition in a local bookstore (Powell's City of Books). A fascinating read. Don't usually read war aviation books, but this one was very good. From the perspective of the Japanese, I thought it was akin to I-Boat Captain by Zenji Orita (the submarine counterpart to SAMURAI!). If you are follower of the Pacific War, both books are worthy reads. They provide a different perspective from the usual. I recently shared SAMURAI! with one of my friends and he also enjoyed it. It was not hard reading so for its ease of reading and unique subject matter along with excellent content, I gave it 5 stars.… (more)
 
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usma83 | 8 other reviews | Aug 28, 2022 |

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Works
128
Also by
2
Members
4,686
Popularity
#5,386
Rating
½ 3.4
Reviews
59
ISBNs
218
Languages
12

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