The first chapter talks about Vice Admiral Onishi who established the kamikaze system as a workable unit. It was also called the Special Attack Force.
Then the strength of the book becomes evident. This isn't a dry history of Okinawa as told from the American viewpoint. The author covers both sides of the battle. He tells, for example, of how Ushijima, the leader of the defense forces there, had to personally involve himself in a problem with a growing number of soldiers who were not behaving. This makes the whole thing much more realistic and much more interesting.
It's also interesting how much the Japanese soldiers hated Okinawans. It also tells of how several small islands were taken first, and how the U.S. soldiers found the Japanese suicide boats.
The author talks about how the invasion went at first, with very little fighting, and then how the fighting on the southern portion of the island got very bad, and Japanese kamikaze attacks increased.
One thing to keep in mind here. There is a major fundamental difference in the kamikaze and the suicide bombers of today's world. The kamikaze attacked military targets, period. The used boats, planes, and men with explosives strapped to their bodies to attack boats, planes and tanks. It was considered an honorable way to die. In today's world, the suicide bombers have no hesitation about killing innocent civilians. By the standards of WW II, they would be considered honorless curs.)
The book describes the sinking of the Yamato. then it goes on to describe the final stages of the battle for Okinawa.
This is one of the best books I have read on Okinawa and WWII. It's written in a style which draws the reader in and is not dry and boring in any way.
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Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
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