I highly recommend samurai this is a replacement for book i had many decades ago. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakai s own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial japanese navy air service pilots who flew the mitsubishi. Samurai by saburo sakai 1996, paperback for sale online. A couple of months ago a friend loaned me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots compared to wwii pilots.
Pacific wrecks a6m2 model 21 zero manufacture number 3647. Editions for samurai 055324664x mass market paperback published in 1985, kindle edition published in 2018, 1591147557 hardcover published in 2010. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the. Based on an excerpt from the book samurai by saburo sakai. The book lets us believe that the flying ace accounted for the destruction of over 60 us and other allied planes during his war time flying career.
The unforgettable saga of japans greatest fighter pilot by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book also claims to be an illustrated edition but there appear to be no photographs or other illustrations present. Warrant officer saburo sakai is the most famous japanese pilot and was one of the few high scorers to survive the war. It is an informative, inspiring and thrilling read. Amounts shown in italicized text are for items listed in currency other than canadian dollars and are approximate conversions to canadian dollars based upon bloombergs conversion rates. If you havent already done so, go ahead and buy it. The airbattles are suspensefull and detailed, as good as in the movie midway, but with a much smaller budged. The wildcat was clinging grimly to the tail of a zero, its tracers chewing up the wings and tail. Samurai saburo sakai pdf saburo sakai with martin caidin fred saito.
Saburo sakai was born into an impoverished samurai family in 1916. The family was poor, but intensely proud of their samurai heritage, according to mr. The samurai sakai saburo air battle record illustration 2 dvds wac. Saburo sakai was born on 25 august 1916, in saga, japan.
Sakai, born in 1916, hoped to escape the poverty of life in his rural village by enlisting in the imperial japanese navy at age 16. For the world war two scholar and those interested in aviation, samurai is an outstanding book. Saburo sakai is japans greatest fighter pilot to survive world war ii, and his powerful memoir has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring books ever written on the pacific war. Saburo sakai s, was a fine aviator with a very interesting story to tell. Sabukuo sakai got seriously wounded over the airbattle of guadalcanal. He came from a family descended from a long line of samurai.
Four different a6m2 zeros are alleged to have been flown by saburo sakai and documented by henry sakaida in his biography of sakai, winged samurai. His score has been variously given as 102, 103, and as high as 150. Its the japanese version of the first and last and the reader follows sakai s career from the early days of japanese victory to the wars conclusion. Saburo sakai is perhaps one of the most famous japanese air aces to emerge from wwii, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or severely damaging well over 60 allied. Saburo sakai was born august 16th 1916 in the farming village of nishiyoka in the saga prefecture on kyushu island, japan. First published in english in 1957, it gave americans new perspectives on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in the united states as mere caricatures.
One feels both the deep dedication of sakai to the samurai spirit and to his sense of duty, as well as his keen awareness of the folly of the war. A6m2 zeros flown by saburo sakai by james lansdale four different a6m2 zeros are alleged to have been flown by saburo sakai and documented by henry sakaida in his biography of sakai, winged samurai. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in australias military forces. Saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace who had 64 aerial victories. His total of 64 victories puts him in fourth place after warrant officer hiroyoshi nishizawa, 1 victories, lt. Military history ibooks new ed by sakai, saburo isbn. The forward explains how everyone was first exposed to the japanese side of world war ii with the book samurai.
It describes the life and career of saburo sakai, the japanese combat aviator who fought against american fighter pilots in the pacific theater of world war ii, surviving the war with 64 kills as one of japan s leading flying aces. Two zeros were shot down in the battle, and the b32 was seriously damaged. Aug 20, 2012 piloting a mitsubishi a6m zero was hairraising enough, with its notorious lack of armor and selfsealing fuel tanks, but flying one while bleeding to death, down one eye, and fading in and out of consciousness is the kind of experience saburo sakai, legendary japanese fighter ace, places the reader in through his autobiography and memoir, samurai. Samurai by saburo sakai martin caidin fred saito abebooks. This wellwritten, first person memoir covers sakai s early life and entire war experience from his brutal pilot training in the 1930s to the attack on pearl harbor and firebombing of.
The personal story of professional japanese warrior saburo sakai describes his many missions and daredevil exploits in aerial combat during world war ii, offering suspenseful accounts of his most courageous flights. Haruo matsuzaki is a one of the most respected authorities and critics of japanese sake. The book japanese destroyer captain by captain tameichi hara was an exception. One thing that makes this book fun is that if you have a lot of romantic illusions about japan or the samurai class this book will cure them. Japanese pilot, saburo sakai, relates his experiences from china through the end of the war.
Written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the world war ii fighter pilot, samurai. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the fighter pilot, samauir. Find great deals on ebay for saburo sakai and pappy boyington. Sublieutenant saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace gekitsuio, of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii. I was very glad to find that martin caidens 1957 book samurai. Its the japanese version of the first and last and the reader follows sakais career from the early days of japanese victory to the wars conclusion. Saburo sakai archive luftwaffe and allied air forces. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a 1985 book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial. The image is kindness of andrew wilson df on the key to a good fighter plane by far the most important thing for a good fighter plane is its range. It describes the life and career of saburo sakai, the japanese combat aviator who fought against american fighter pilots in the pacific theater of world war ii, surviving the war with 64 kills as one of japans leading flying aces. He came from a family descended from a long line of samurai, japans ancient warrior class. Illustrated edition ebook written by martin caiden, saburo sakai, fred saito. He was taught to live by the code of bushido, which he defined in his book, samurai.
Surprisingly, the tail number of v 103 was my zero fighter. I bought the book 10 years later, to read about his wartime experience as a ww2 japanese fighter pilot. Tetsuzo iwamoto, 80, and petty officer 1st class shoichi sugita, 70. The authors compared allied and japanese losses, and thats how they arrived at the scores. Faced with the prospects of a desolate rural life, he enlisted in the imperial japanese navy at sixteen. Sakai s account of the rise and fall of japanese naval aviation has not lost any of its riveting impact in the nearly 60 years since. Saburo sakai and his coauthor martin caidin paint a vivid and enthralling picture of the japanese side of world war ii. Winged samurai by henry sakaida is much better, but eagles of the southern sky is the best. By 1937 he had graduated at the top of this his enlisted pilottraining class, and he quickly saw combat in china. Here is a piece of zero fighter brought to me, and i am safe keeping it. Saburo sakai books list of books by author saburo sakai. This book weaves the war time experience of the aviator saburo sakai and his formidable zero fighter. Interview with saburo sakai project news read only war. Saburo sakai was born in saga, on the island of kyushu, in 1916 to a family that had turned to farming as changing economic and social conditions led to the passing of the warrior class.
Saburo sakai was born into one of japans great samurai warrior families and became one of his country s greatest ww2 pilots and the only one to survive the war. Saburo sakai was severely wounded during an engagement with u. Three major books on the zero also list this speed without citation. Sakai had 28 aerial victories including shared by official japanese records, while his autobiography samurai. Samurai by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The main authors credit for the book should be saburo sakai, though, not martin caiden and it needs a huge and i do mean huge number of scanning errors correcting in the text. Sakai s skull was penetrated by a machinegun bullet, and he was blind in one eye but insisted on making his mission report before accepting medical treatment. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Unfortunately it also has a chip on its authors shoulders. Saburo sakai s 500 mile trek back to rabual from guadacanal in his crippled zero is a testimony to the man and to the nature of war. Saburo sakai was born one of seven children in a poor farming family in 1916 just outside of the city of saga in japan. Saburo sakai was survived by his second wife haru, two daughters, and a son. American pilots first encountered the zero pearl harbor. In 1985 sakai told historian henry sakaida, what was written in samurai.
Saburo sakais 500 mile trek back to rabual from guadacanal in his crippled zero is a testimony to the man and to the nature of war. Claims have been made that his autobiography samurai. According to sakaida, sakai san has flown a6m2 model 21s carrying tainan ku tail codes as follows. The book was not published in japan and differs from his biographies there. Despite his limited upbringing, sakai was reportedly very studious and was considered one of the best students at his school. Join facebook to connect with saburo sakai and others you may know. Pacific wrecks a6m2 model 21 zero manufacture number. Surprisingly, the tail number of v103 was my zero fighter. Samurai is another book you wont be able to put down. This book covers the life of sabruo sakai during the period of his prewar flight training to the end of wwii. Pacific wrecks dogfight between saburo sakai and james.
Saburo sakai project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Here we see sakai s wing of zeros ambushing a wing of p39s. Just imagine the number of lives that would have been saved. Harper, the first nonjapanese to achieve the rank, is the author of the insiders guide to sake, published by kodansha international in 1988. Jan 31, 2015 discover book depositorys huge selection of saburo sakai books online. First off, let me say that this is one of the grand combat memoirs of world war iibut you knew that, right. Now in his fourteenth brewing season, philip harper works as a master brewer in osaka, japan.
He went on to write ten books and give numerous interviews. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots wikipedia. I highly recommend samurai as a read that will give you a different perspective of the ijn folks that served the chrysanthemum emperor. The movie kept very close to the book, and stuck to the facts. Dogfight between saburo sakai and james southerland august 7, 1942 excert from samurai. It then goes onto to poke holes in two stories contained with the book. Saburo sakai, japanese fighter pilot who reached out to create ties. Luckily for sakai, he was not assigned to a naval carrier. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a 1985 book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial japanese navy air service pilots who flew the mitsubishi a6m zero. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read samurai.
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