The story of two World War II soldiers—a Japanese surgeon and an American sergeant—during a brutal Alaskan battle in which the sergeant discovers the medic's revelatory and fascinating diary that changed our war-torn society’s perceptions of Japan.
Mr. Obmascik has found a remarkable story and dug deeply to enrich the telling. His narrative suffers occasionally from trite phrasing...and he does better with the close-up human stories than the broad military strategy, but this is an engrossing and at times deeply moving book.
...a moving, intimate tale of two men, two families, and two countries ... Obmascik’s account of their relationship’s growth reinforces the compassion of everyone involved. This poignant, dramatic tale will captivate both younger readers less familiar with the details of WWII history and those who are passionate about it.
A poignant chronicle of...deeply complicated emotions ... Obmascik has carefully and fairly sifted through the layers to this complex story, offering a tightly focused examination of the different, misleading translations of Tatsuguchi’s diary as well as Laird’s efforts to get the diary back to his family. An evenhanded, compassionate portrayal of the two deeply wounded sides to this story.
