Kaiten
Japan's Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII

I understand that this book was written by a Western author from a Western perspective...and that the "human story" behind the survivors (if you will) and their experiences during the attack is probably what most people will find interesting and enjoy about this book. I have discovered that most peo......more

The way I’d summarize this book is ‘slightly more entertaining than a history channel documentary’. Because that’s pretty much what it is. It’s a rather uncharming book on a subject that is initially interesting but rather unentertaining for most of the book. The book covers the development of Japan......more

While the title emphasizes the Japanese kaiten, the book really focuses on the ship it sank, the oiler USS Mississinewa. The chapters flip between the Japanese and American perspectives, though the Japanese side lacked a lot of the depth and voice of the American side. The largest portion is dedicat......more

This is a well-researched narrative about the first Kaiten mission and the first US ship sunk by Kaiten. The narrative is split into two threads: one following USS Mississinewa, the US Auxiliary Oiler, from its commissioning till its sinking in Ulithi Atoll; one following Kaiten, the IJN manned torp......more

This is my review published in the April 2015 edition of World War II magazine Japanese suicide tactics never threatened the Pacific War’s outcome, but they left indelible marks on the lives and psyches of sailors. The military withheld news of kamikaze successes from Americans while those attacks ra......more