Japanese Destroyer Captain cover art

Japanese Destroyer Captain

Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles Seen Through Japanese Eyes

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Japanese Destroyer Captain

By: Captain Tameichi Hara
Narrated by: Brian Nishii
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About this listen

This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.

A hero to his countrymen, Capt. Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled, hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders.

©1967 Tameichi Hara (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Armed Forces Asia Japan Military Military & War Naval Forces World War II War Veteran Samurai Imperial Japan
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I feel as though I walk a mile in another man's shoes ,I was also a naval man from a different generation and I am respectful of the Captain Hara's humanity for his men and his tenacity under fire. Excellent narration by Brian Nishii

Excellent Naval Story, I related to Captain Hara

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Highly recommend to anyone who has listened to any other books about the pacific war

Great story !

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Excellent narration of an insightful book. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in naval history or the Pacific theatre as a whole. Thoroughly enjoyed Brian Nishii's effort to portray Hara and key moments through his words.

A rare Japanese perspective.

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narrator has got a nice voice but the captains story is interesting with lots of detail

brilliant

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Excellent book. I didn't know what to expect but was very pleasantly surprised by how comprehensive and honest this recounting was. Glad it was read by a Japanese speaker. Filled in quite a few gaps as all the other recounts are from the US side.

An Excellent and Comprehensive Recounting

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Any additional comments?

I think if you are really into your ships you should get this. If you are only slightly interested in the topic you may be put off as at times this can be dry.
Clearly this was written with a sense of putting the IJN case forward for all time. Therefore its narrative suffers as I feel the author may have held back or included certain stories if it serves his overall purpose of presenting that picture he wants to paint. At times I thought he was being very unreliable despite my best attempts to give him the benefit of the doubt. At other times I felt he had an axe to grind. However despite all its flaws, by the end as the mighty Yamato sinks to the bottom and with it the hopes and dreams of the IJN, and as the narration abruptly ends, I strangely felt myself feel very sorry for captain Hara and the IJN and felt the world is a slightly less fascinating place without the Japanese warships of the IJN and men like Captain Hara. And its this feeling I cant explain that reveals the magic behind novels.

I think a must for navy buffs

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