Samurai! (Specially Illustrated Edition) (original 1957; edition 1978)

A couple of months ago a friend loaned me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots compared to WWII 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. ( )

a great read for those who love world war 2 air combat ( )

Good thoughts at the time of the first reading. To be read again in light of later books from the Japanese side. ( )