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-Robert G
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He didn't know when WWII ended and every attempt by Americans, locals, and even friends and familiy from Japan, to get him to come out was seen as a trap by Onoda. Only when his orders were specifically rescinded, did he emerge. Over the years his skills in evading and surviving were honed to a edge.
For humanists this is a positive message and a remarkable tale about the ability of the human spirit to endure great hardships for the sake of beliefs and duty. Less positive, from a mental health perspective, the book is a startling illustration of the power of the mind to program itself to shut out all messages and signals it does not wish to receive.
The style of the book is very prosaic, getting across the basic facts without (alas) many lengthy digressions from his main line of describing life in the jungle. Unfortunately, life after Lubang island was not described in the book. We certainly learn a lot about life in the jungle, though. Typical sentences begin like:
"Speaking of stings..."
"More troublesome than the rats were the ants..."
"Some years it would rain all through May..."
He endured all this for 30 years, for nothing. 30 years eating green bananas.
The psychology of it all is fascinating; he constructed a model of how the war was going on and examined all the evidence he had in light of this unshakeable belief. The Japanese soldier must have been fearsome indeed, if even a fraction of them had the strength of conviction that Onoda had.
Definitely worth a read.
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De Zayas proves that victims know no nationality. I recommend this book for all interested in World War II and the immediate aftermath.
I applaud this and other efforts to inform the public of the truth, regardless of ideology. It is a reminder that, after all, the blood we all spill is exactly the same shade of red ...
Of interest to many readers will be the time Col. Scott takes to fully develop (in the mind of the reader) his relationship with his "benevolent terrorist", Akbar. He also gives a significant portion of the book to Akbar's history, and I really felt, at the end of the book, as if I had been right there in the midst of things, listening, feeling, and watching the story unfold. A fantastic read by an extraordinarily talented man.