Kamikaze!: Japan's "Divine Wind" and the Spirit of the Martial Arts

Kamikaze! is the story of two wars. During the Mongol invasion of Japan in the late 1200's, the badly out-matched Japanese were saved from defeat by a fortuitous typhoon which wrecked the Mongol fleet and caused them to with draw. The grateful Japanese called this storm the kamikaze, or divine wind. Japanese soldiers were to revive that name during the waning days of World War II, when they embarked on a last-ditch effort to use suicide attacks to stave off defeat. In addition to historical narratives of both wars, Kamikaze includes rare Japanese woodblock prints of samurai, several maps, photos of the suicide vehicles used by the Japanese, and actual combat photos of American ships under attack by kamikaze suicide pilots. It contains excerpts from letters sent home by kamikaze pilots just before they embarked on their final missions and an extensive list for further reading.