Samurai!

New York: Ballantine Books, 1963. Fourth printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. fair. 270, [2] pages. Wraps. The pages have darkened. Cover has some wear and soiling. Slightly cocked. Sub-Lieutenant Sabur Sakai (25 August 1916 - 22 September 2000) was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28 aerial victories (including shared) by official Japanese records, while his autobiography Samurai!, co-written by Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, claims 64 aerial victories. Such discrepancies are common, and pilots' official scores are often lower than those claimed by the pilots themselves, due to difficulties in providing appropriate witnesses or verifying wreckage, and variations in military reports due to loss or destruction. Sakai visited the US and met many of his former adversaries, including Harold "Lew" Jones, the tail-gunner who had wounded him. Following a US Navy formal dinner in 2000 at Atsugi Naval Air Station where he had been an honored guest, Sakai died of a heart attack at the age of 84. Derived from a Kirkus review: Saburo Sakai was Japan's legendary pilot during World War II and his story told here in conjunction with Martin Caidin and Mr. Saito, a newsman, has its healthy portions of human interest and flying lore that ought to interest anyone. The events in Sakia's life are exciting. One of the outstanding points of interest include Sakai's rigid pilot training and a glimpse at the Japanese aggression-forcing training psychology, the missions over China after 1937, his romance with the sister of a dead comrade, and the growing intensity of fighting against the allies as Sakai became a wing commander, survived incredible ordeals of the air, shot down 64 allied planes and gained the record of never having lost a wing man. For the enthusiasts there are the details of air tactics- from maintenance to dogfights. But popularized through a hero's biography, they appeal to an air minded audience and the broader reader group as well.