Most of you
are aware about how well done the Concord series of books can be. One area of
the war that is rather light on material is the Japanese Army during World War
II. One major problem is the lack of photographs. At the end of the war, many
Japanese soldiers and families were fearful of how the Allies would treat them
and so set about to destroy many of the photographs that had been taken of
themselves or loved ones in uniform. This was true of industry and of the
Japanese military as well as hundreds of thousands of photographs and negatives
went up in flames.
Of course, there were no reprisals such as was feared at the
time, and all it did was make it much more difficult for modern historians to
research the various subjects. Thankfully, not all images were destroyed and
though not as plentiful as, say, the Bundesarchives in Germany, it is still
difficult to get a good idea of many aspects of Japan's WWII military.
This edition, like others in the series, is a combination of
photo essay and uniform illustrations. In this case, the first section of the
book is devoted to illustrations of various uniforms at different times of the
Pacific war in different locales. It is then followed by a number of good period
photographs from various collections, some of them in full color, a real rarity
in wartime Japan.
The author has taken great care to ensure the best in terms
of both the illustrations, which in themselves are fascinating, and the rare
images that accompany the book. We get a good look at what these men wore and
how they were equipped for fighting in the south Pacific Jungles or the Chinese
mountains.
It makes for a superb and truly fascinating book, one that I
know you will want to add to your shelves.
June 2010
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