He was short, plump, missing two fingers, a womanizer, a passionate gambler, superstitious, rarely went to see his wife and four children.

 He died in a plane in which he was a passenger…which was probably not shot down by the pilot widely credited with the aerial victory.

 All too often, especially up to the mid-late 20^th century, writers of biographies often took the ‘easy road’ in presenting their subject’s life in print. The formula we saw and read over and over was familiar:

 Glorify the subject person, make them seem almost flawless and noble, like plastic action figures. Other times, national guilt or pride or protective authorship (and let us not forget sloppy or incomplete research) kept biographers from showing their subject’s imperfect traits.

 In a fairly large number of recent instances, ‘vindictive’ writers or those seeking the publicity which often accompanies doing something outrageous, the ‘biographer’ will do all they can to destroy the character or taint the memory of their subject.

 However, sometimes, biographers have both the courage and skill to present their subject as a real human being.

 In 1969, Shinchosha published a carefully-researched biography of Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku, perhaps the most famous Japanese military man of the 20^th century, authored by Hiroyuki Agawa (or as the Japanese would address him, surname-first, Agawa Hiroyuki). 1979 saw the translation of this substantial work into English by John Bester.

 This is a thick, small (7 ¼ X 4 3/8 inches) book with small print, written from the Japanese point of view. A fast and easy read, it ain’t.

 Eight (8) pages of reproductions of reproductions of reproductions of B/W photos are interesting, but don’t be too hepped up for sharpness and high quality.

 That said, The Reluctant Admiral contains gobs repeat, GOBS of information and between-the-lines stuff about Yamamoto and pre- and early-War Japan you just are not going to find in other sources. Interesting? Oh, yes, quite so. This tome is probably a ‘must-have’ for students of the Pacific naval war, especially the early days thereof. Agawa does an especially good job of allowing one to watch the intricate goings on in a culture definitely different from Washington or Chicago…and makes Yamamoto Isoroku into quite a human character, as well. ‘Great translating by John Bester!

 Figure modelers, you can, as the Sopranos say, ‘fuggedaboutit’ if you are looking for a readily available miniature likeness of Admiral Yamamoto. There are few figures of Japanese subjects, let alone individual personalities. One certainly can though, model, for example his flagship Nagato and carriers, cruisers and destroyers of the Pearl Harbor attack force…and with a bit of research, the G4M Type 1 (Betty) in which he was shot down.

 Highly recommended for students of WW II and military historians interested in a trip into the workings of a famous man’s mind and some interesting background on the Japanese military mindset more than a half century ago.  Additionally, the author’s research on the shootdown of the Mitsubishi G4M  (Betty) carrying Yamamoto brings some interesting things to light, things rather apart from the accepted ‘factual history.’ 

 Review copy courtesy of the reviewer's chequebook, purchased from a local used bookseller

 Reviewed by James Hood 

(Site updated October, 2005)  see Scott Van Aken's m2 and other reviews of James Hood's novel Adventure--Into The Neverland, of exploring a parallel, Alternate world (concept based on the Superstring theory of physics) using WW II surplus ships, aircraft and vehicles at:)    <http://users3.ev1.net/~bjmonkeyandcj/James_Hood.htm>

Book can be ordered at <http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/SearchCatalog.aspx>  or from your local bookstore (ISBN 0-7596-9062-6 Hardbound or ISBN-0-7596-2646-4 Softcover)

   October 2005

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