Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Battle of Iwo Jima was the most intense ground fighting of the war, and it took 36 days to take the island from its 20,000+ defenders. 19,217 Americans were wounded and 6,822 were killed for every square mile. #2 The B-29s’ primary weapon was the M69 incendiary bomblet. Each bomblet contained Napalm-B encased in cheesecloth as its incendiary filler. The improved version of napalm included newly added polystyrene and benzene, which yielded a longer-burning fire at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. #3 On March 9, 1945, the first B-29 crews started rolling down Guam’s runways and continued one at a time in fifty-second intervals. They flew parallel to the coastline of Tokyo Bay and released their white phosphorous M47 bombs to mark the primary target. #4 The fire raid on Tokyo was, by far, the most devastating attack the Americans had ever conducted. The scene that greeted the flying crews was beyond anything they could have imagined. A wall of flames stretched across the horizon, and it looked like Hell on earth.

本作は、第二次世界大戦終結へ至る１４０日間の凄絶な軌跡を、冷徹な事実の積み重ねによって凝縮した衝撃の記録です。硫黄島の死闘から東京を焼き尽くす火炎の雨まで、著者は単なる戦史の記述に留まらず、極限状態における人間の尊厳と破壊の残酷さを浮き彫りにします。凄まじい筆致が、読者を当時の焦土へと引き摺り込むような圧倒的なリアリティを放っています。 特に、最新兵器の機能性と、それがもたらす地獄のような光景の対比は見事です。Ｂ２９から放たれる焼夷弾が都市を壊滅させる描写は、科学の進歩が殺戮の効率化に直結した時代の狂気を鋭く告発しています。原著のエッセンスを抽出し、戦争の本質を我々の魂に直接問い直してくる、情熱に満ちた一冊と言えるでしょう。