{"product_id":"descent-into-hell","title":"Descent Into Hell (hardcover)","description":"\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eCivilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRyukyu Shimpo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2014,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e514 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eISBN 978-1-937385-27-9\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“What we learn from this profoundly disturbing and enlightening book is that tens of thousands of misled Okinawans died for nothing.”— “What we learn from this profoundly disturbing and enlightening book is that tens of thousands of misled Okinawans died for nothing.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"text-align-right\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e—The New York Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConcerned about the need to record and explain the experiences of Okinawans caught up in the Battle of Okinawa, in 1983 the local\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eRyukyu Shimpo\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003enewspaper carried out several hundred interviews with survivors. With explanatory comment added, this was published first in serial form, then later as a book. More often than not talking in detail about their experiences and visiting the caves and shelters where they spent weeks on end as the U.S. bombardment destroyed everything above ground was a cathartic experience for those who came forward to tell their stories.\u003cbr\u003e    The Battle of Okinawa affected every resident in some way. Ten of thousands of Okinawans were killed in the relentless bombardment by U.S. forces, ten of thousands more local recruits died in Home Guard units, thousands died of starvation and malaria in places away from the fighting, hundreds of young students died in the Blood and Iron Student Corps or as nurse's aides tending to wounded soldiers in hospital caves, and hundreds of evacuees lost their lives in ships sunk by American submarines or aircraft. There were even people who took their own lives, or the lives of loved ones, to avoid what they had been told by the Japanese Army would be a far worse fate at the hands of their American captors.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eDescent into Hell\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the story of this apocalyptic struggle as told by those Okinawans who survived.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Ealey\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a freelance translator specializing in Japanese history and foreign affairs. His latest translation is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTyphoon of Steel: An Okinawan Schoolboy's Quest for Martyrdom in the Battle of Okinawa\u003c\/em\u003e, by Akira Yoshimura (2009).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlastair McLauchlin\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a leading expert on minority issues and discrimination in Japan. His latest translation is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhere Are the Sunflowers? A Media Celebity's Depiction of Her Tragic Encounters with Anti- Korean and Anti-Buraku Prejudice in Japan\u003c\/em\u003e, by Kurihara Miwako (2012).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merwin:Asia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43651637936241,"sku":null,"price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0673\/6465\/1121\/files\/DescentintoHell_LargeWeb2.webp?v=1784049211","url":"https:\/\/asian.work\/products\/descent-into-hell","provider":"American Street Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}