The Kamikazes

by Edwin P. Hoyt

Describes the missions of the Japanese suicide pilots during the battles of World War II in the Pacific Ocean

Genres: History, World War II, Military Fiction

333 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1983

About the author

Edwin P. Hoyt was a prolific American writer who specialized in military history. He was born in Portland, Oregon to the publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1897–1979) and his wife, the former Cecile DeVore (1901–1970). A younger brother, Charles Richard, was born in 1928. Hoyt attended the University of Oregon from 1940 to 1943.

In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.

Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.

Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.

While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.

Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.

Reviews

[Asfandyar Malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books out there that bears testimony to the ferocity of the Imperial Armed Forces of Japan and their loyalty to their Emperor; the Kamikazes. Prepossessing and horrifying at the same time the book leaves you to ponder the extents to which men can reach when they're at the edge of precipice. All of it to "repay the Imperial Benevolence".

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

"One of the pilot's legs and a machine gun from the plane flopped on the forward deck."

[Mohd Sufian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of supreme devotion to the Imperial Japanese institution (Kokutai) which made the military into a bunch of murderous psychopath and fanatics. As usual, the leaders made war, and the youths died for it. The recruits for the Kamikaze units were barely 17- to 20-year-old boys and they were theoretically "volunteered" into becoming one although many were peer pressured into joining. There were cases where these teenagers did not want to participate but were forced into joining just because they disobeyed their Emperor wishes. The author did a good job in telling engaging stories about these Kamikaze units and their exploits. Most of them were trained to get up the plane to air, piloted them to destination and finally ram their planes towards a target so that he can join others at Yasukuni Shrine. He also inserted poignant poems and letters from these unfortunate soldiers to their family and loved ones. They are often short and abrupt probably what soon to be dead tells so much?

Kyo sakite, asu chiru
Blossoming today, tomorrow scattered.

Hana no wagami ka na
Life is like a delicate flower.

Ikade sono ka wo kiyoku todomen
Could one expect the fragrance to last forever?

[Sharon Zink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good narrative of the Pacific War and the Kamikaze attacks during World War II. The chapters were reasonably short, and the whole thing was very interesting.

[Elizabeth Coleman]

It's full of fascinating (if depressing) information, but it's the most well-written book out there. Some of his thoughts skip around, and some sections could probably be condensed down. Condensing might help with the depression actually, since so much of it is just "The Japanese are losing the war and getting desperate. Kamikazes are excited to die for their country and write beautiful, tragic poetry before they leave. Kamikazes fly out and get shot down without doing any damage to the enemy. Survivors go home and exaggerate the results." Rinse and repeat.