World War II brought tremendous devastation to the entire world. However, people tend to focus more on what Hitler and his Nazi’s did to the Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and the rest of Europe than the crimes committed by the Japanese Empire. This book provides compelling evidence that the Japanese were arguably more gruesome and sadistic than their Nazi allies. The Rape of Nanking, written by Iris Chang, is a must read non-fiction book about one of the most horrifying things the Japanese or any country did during the War. The book chronicles, in horrific and explicit detail, the rape, murder and torture the Japanese perpetrated against the Chinese in Nanking and how this event has been forgotten and sometimes erased from history. During an approximate six week period beginning in December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army entered Nanking, China’s capital and proceeded to murder 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers in the city. The “Rape” details the killings and forced sexual servitude of the Chinese who were captured by the Japanese and is often called the forgotten Holocaust of World War II.

Dr. Robert Wilson, an American doctor in Nanking, at the time of this crime against humanity, and who survived the “Rape,” stated during the pillaging, “Today marks the 6th day of modern Dante’s Inferno, written in huge letters with blood and rape, murder by wholesale and Rape by the thousands.” Dr. Wilson compares what the people of Nanking had to endure as a living hell for all victims.

I personally enjoyed The Rape of Nanking and cannot praise it enough. If like me, you enjoy history, especially World War II history, this book is a MUST READ! I was amazed that I had never heard of these crimes before I read this book. I liked how this book taught me in great detail about something I didn’t know anything about. We must remember that this massacre killed more people than the two atomic bombs combined. It is hard to fathom the things human beings are capable of. Once you read the The Rape of Nanking, it will be very hard to forget about what was done to the people of Nanking. I highly recommend this book to everyone in High School or older, and especially those that like history and WWII. If there is one negative, and it is really nitpicking, this book, in particular the pictures are extremely graphic so you need to be warned. However, without the graphic detailing of the crimes, perhaps something would be lost. The bottom line is that this book is truly incredible and you will learn that human beings are capable of committing even the vilest of acts.