Kamikaze

Out of the sun they came, Japan’s suicide samurai, diving down fast to explode in death and destruction as they hit the decks of Allied warships. There was no turning back, no hope of survival.

Was it needless sacrifice, a panic strategy in the last, losing days of the war? Or was it a valid military tactic, born of a centuries-old belief in the sanctity of Imperial Japan?

In this fascinating study historian Raymond Lamont-Brown examines the psychology, myths and reality of the kamikaze programme. Detailed accounts of training, weapons and actual attacks, by air and sea, illustrate the idealism of young men wanting to die for the greater glory of their nation.