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Saburō Sakai
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Samurai! Paperback – September 28, 2019

by Saburo Sakai (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 344 ratings
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Saburo Sakai became a living legend in Japan during World War II. Pilots everywhere spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air.


Sakai enjoyed a singular and most cherished reputation among fighter pilots. Of all Japan’s aces, Saburo Sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat. This is an astounding performance for a man who engaged in more than two hundred aerial melees, and it explains the fierce competition, sometimes approaching physical violence, among the other pilots who aspired to fly his wing positions.
The reader will doubtless be surprised to learn that Saburo Sakai never received recognition by his government in the form of medals or decorations. The awarding of medals or other citations was unknown to the Japanese. Recognition was given only posthumously. Where the aces of other nations, including our own, were bedecked with rows of colorful medals and ribbons, awarded with great ceremony, Saburo Sakai and his fellow pilots flew repeatedly in combat without ever knowing the satisfaction of such recognition...

Martin Caidin
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    171 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    September 28, 2019
  4. Dimensions
    8.5 x 0.43 x 11 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1696175992
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1696175999
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (September 28, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 171 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1696175992
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1696175999
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.43 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 344 ratings

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Saburō Sakai

Saburō Sakai

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
344 global ratings
Incredible story, well told
5 Stars
Incredible story, well told
Saburo Sakai’s incredible story has been quoted and referenced in many Pacific war books. I was very glad to get a chance to read about his exploits in his own words.This account was originally published in 1957 and was written a short time before that. The memories from the war and context of the stories were obviously still fresh in Sakai’s mind.I recommend this book to anyone with aviation or military history interests. It allows for a clear look at the war from the side of the Japanese.
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Top reviews from the United States

Rob
5.0 out of 5 stars A historical account of Japanese navy pilots in World War II. I didnt want to put it down.
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2020
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Saburo Sakai, one of Japan's top aces in World War II does a great job, with the help of Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, telling the story of Sakai's experiences during his service. This auto biography read like a novel and I found it difficult to put down. As all auto-biographies written at the end of a person's life, there are potential issues with memory, bias, and the desire to leave a good legacy, but this book has few, if any, overt cases of this. While some things may be technically inaccurate, as is often the case with the telling of stories that involve numbers and military movements by people who weren't high enough ranked to receive full disclosure with their orders, one must remember that this is told from the perspective of a low to mid ranked navy pilot during World War II and not from a historian whose job is to research all aspects of their report. It is a good read and very informative. I would recommend it to anyone studying World War II as a whole or the Japanese perspective the war in particular, or simply to anyone who enjoys a well written military story.
3 people found this helpful
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Eric A. Barth
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2023
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Read this one decades ago, and is a fascinating memoir. This particular printing is strange in that the dimensions of the binding are very outsized, which I don't understand. The print is standard sized.
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Stone Dog
4.0 out of 5 stars Top Gun of the rising sun.
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2014
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With Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, Saburo Sakai tells his story as a naval aviator in the Japanese imperial Navy during WWII. The book itself has an authentic feel to it and the reader will be able to immediately recognize the difference in culture and outlook as one reads through this account.

The account begins with Sakai's early life as the child of a poor samurai family and leads to his volunteering as a naval recruit. His training is brutally harsh and, as he is able to train for more technical skills, is surprised that even as he advances the treatment is never less brutal and cruel. Finally, he is able to gain pilot training and that is the start of his career.

In this book, Sakai comments on his experiences in China where the war has been going on for years before Pearl Harbor drew in the US. China gives him his first aerial victory and his first notoriety in Japan. Even at this time, the reader will note that the Japanese lie to their own people regarding defeats and disasters. I also found it interesting that Sakai claims Soviet pilots flew in China at that time.

He guides the reader through his own feelings as he takes part in the early heady victories against western powers. During that time, the highly trained Japanese pilots and their superior Zero fighter ran wild, easily defeating the pilots and aircraft of the allies. The reader should be cautioned that during this time, Sakai was part of an elite unit of the best-of-the-best pilots and their combat record was not representative of Japanese performance at large though certainly Imperial Japanese Navy fliers and their aircraft were markedly superior.

Sakai fights in New Guinea first, acquiring a fearsome reputation with his many air-to-air kills. As time goes on, the weight of material coming from the US in the form of numbers of aircraft bodes ill for the Japanese. With the successful invasion by the US of Guadalcanal, the air war takes on a very different tone, with US forces gaining in experience and dealing the IJN defeats. In one operation, Sakai is severely wounded and manages to nurse his crippled fighter back to his base at Rabaul, despite falling in and out of consciousness.

The final part of the book deals with his surgeries and recovery in Japan and his relegation as a flight instructor of the new pilots being run through training as fast as possible as well as being a test pilot for new aircraft that came too late to help Japan. The book ends with Japan's surrender in 1945.

In many ways, this is a war memoir like those of western pilots. He exults in the thrill of flight and the excitement of aerial combat. He jokes with his friends and comments on his attachment to his fellows. He grieves for his friends that die in combat. On the other hand, his attitude is very different on other matters. The reader will note that he defends the Kamikaze, despite the fact that they did nothing to prevent Japan's defeat despite the waste of human life. The reader will also note that the author and all his comrades fear nothing as much as shame or dishonor. They don't use parachutes for the fear they might bail out over enemy-held territory and be captured. Often they do things that are foolhardy rather than retreat to "live to fight another day".

It's an interesting account as much for Sakai's flying prowess and skill as for the window into the mind of the Pacific enemy during WWII. This is a solid four star book.
4 people found this helpful
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stkevin
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great WW2 books.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
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This is a review of the Kindle edition, which states that the book was originally published in 1957. I give this book a solid five stars.

First, it is hard to put down. It's just a darn good read. It contains blow by blow descriptions of Sakai's many aerial duels in such a manner that you feel as if you were there. I found Sakai's accounts of his aerial encounters to be straightforward and without embellishment. He gives credit where credit is due, even to the enemy. I had always heard of the Zero's unparalleled aerial performance versus American planes early in the war, but I never understood the 'why' of it very well until I read Sakai's book. If you want to know why the Zero was so deadly, Sakai's book explains it better than any dry historical research.

Sakai's description of the performance abilities of American aircraft, and his discussion of their tactics, is also interesting. Sakai expresses his admiration for the constant aggressive tactics shown by outclassed American aircraft, including bombers, against the Zeros. Most of these stories were never told by the American pilots involved because they did not survive the encounters. Sakai further expresses his admiration for the American "teamwork" tactics used against the Zero. The Japanese pilots, trained in the Samurai tradition, saw themselves as solo aerial warriors (with wingman) to whom a greater teamwork was unknown. The Japanese eventually learned teamwork at the squadron level, but they learned it the hard way, from watching the Americans use it against them.

There is also a human and personal side to Sakai's story that gives the book much more than the simple "I was there" story.

Finally, in the "Foreword" section of the book, Sakai tells of being invited, many years after the war ended, as a guest of honor aboard several American warships, and states "This to me is truly the most impressive fact of all; these same people who, for all I know, came under my guns so long ago, sincerely offered friendship."

This book is eminently readable on its own. I recommend it to anyone, not just WW 2 or aviation fans.
6 people found this helpful
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FuzzyFocus
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2023
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Enjoyed the book n read it in 3days...love the "other sides" perspective...
One person found this helpful
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schapo
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
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interesting
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Top reviews from other countries

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Hector Flores
5.0 out of 5 stars I got it...finally!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on January 14, 2024
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I had been on the hunt for this book since a long time ago.
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Paulo Roberto Orofino da Silva
5.0 out of 5 stars Um Livro Excepcional
Reviewed in Brazil on September 1, 2023
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O livro está em excelente estado de conservação. É umas das melhores biografias de pilotos da Segunda Guerra Mundial..
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Paulo Roberto Orofino da Silva
5.0 out of 5 stars Um Livro Excepcional
Reviewed in Brazil on September 1, 2023
O livro está em excelente estado de conservação. É umas das melhores biografias de pilotos da Segunda Guerra Mundial..
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James Roney
5.0 out of 5 stars incredible story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2020
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Facinating reading for anyone interested in the air war campaign this book is a real eye opener to the japanese side of the conflict.
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Bücherboje
5.0 out of 5 stars Das beste englische Buch, das ich je gelesen habe ...
Reviewed in Germany on August 13, 2020
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... und das sind nicht wenige. Was die Autoren hier über Sakais Luftkämpfe und Leben schreiben, ist schlicht und ergreifend meisterhaft. Der Mann, der eines der japanischen Asse im Zweiten Weltkrieg war, war nicht nur ein Meister in der Luft, sondern auch eine herausragende Persönlichkeit, obwohl er am Anfang nur im Rang eines einfachen Fliegers war. Seine Schlichtheit in allen Dingen ist so überragend, dass es wohltuend ist, seinen Werdegang mit zu erleben. Schließlich fand er auch privat sein Glück mit einer Frau, die er über alles liebte. Wenn es möglich wäre, würde ich diesem Buch zehn Sterne geben, und das wäre noch zu wenig. I rove you, Saburo!
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Empe
5.0 out of 5 stars Edizione elettronica
Reviewed in Italy on June 28, 2020
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in inglese, come si capisce bene dal sottotitolo, di un classico sulla II Guerra Mondiale, tradotto in Italia da Longanesi negli anni '70 e ormai introvabile (l'originale Caccia Zero è del 1960, l'ultima ristampa del 2001) . Gli appassionati hanno l'occasione di (ri)leggerlo apprezzandone lo stile semplice e diretto con cui vengono raccontate le gesta del maggior asso dell'aviazione nipponica nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
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