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A Plague upon Humanity: The Hidden History of Japan's Biological Warfare Program – Unit 731's Human Experiments and the Post-War Cover-Up
From 1932 to 1945, in a headlong quest to develop germ warfare capability for the military of Imperial Japan, hundreds of Japanese doctors, nurses and research scientists willingly participated in what was referred to at the time as 'the secret of secrets' – horrifying experiments conducted on live human beings, in this case innocent Chinese men, women, and children. This was the work of an elite group known as Unit 731, led by Japan's answer to Joseph Mengele, Dr Shiro Ishii. Under their initiative, thousands of individuals were held captive and infected with virulent strains of anthrax, plague, cholera, and other epidemic and viral diseases. Soon entire Chinese villages were being hit with biological bombs. Even American POWs were targeted. All told, more than 250,000 people were infected, and the vast majority died. Yet, after the war, US occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur struck a deal with these doctors that shielded them from accountability. Provocative, alarming and utterly compelling, A Plague Upon Humanity draws on important original research to expose one of the most shameful chapters in human history.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2004
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July 3, 2025
This tells the tale of Japan’s history of Biological Warfare. There is a focus her on Dr. Shiro Ishii, a sociopathological scientist who headed the Japanese program. They began studying how to develop BW weaponry in the 20s and 30s in earnest, and were not shy about using what they had learned, bringing plague, literally, to millions. It is a gruesome tale, with descriptions of the activities that took place at special “camps” where these evil people used humans as guinea pigs. One common bit of work was to infect a prisoner with a particular disease, then vivisect the victim without the benefit of anesthesia to see how the disease had progressed. They even engaged in bizarre experiments. In one, they removed a prisoner’s hands and then restored them on the opposite hands. Only a few of their victims ever escaped. Over 20,000 died in the camps, and hundreds of thousands, millions were murdered with their evil weapons. After WW II, Ishii and his associates hooked up with MacArthur and were recruited by the USA. Ishii taught us what he had learned and we applied that knowledge in the Korean War. I hope we washed thoroughly after that.
November 22, 2023
Before reading this I had heard that the Japanese military had undertaken biological warfare (BW) research in occupied China during the 1930s and 1940s, that they had experimented on living people, and that it all been organised at a place codenamed “Unit 731”. What I found out from the book was that “Unit 731” was merely the headquarters of a vast complex of BW research centres/prison camps located throughout Japanese occupied Manchuria. There was even an agriculture department that specialised in weakening the enemy by spreading crop and livestock diseases. The whole programme was created and led by one Dr. Shiro Ishii, who received support from the very top of the Japanese military.
I’ll spare readers of this review any detailed descriptions of the crimes committed on the prisoners who fell in the hands of Unit 731 and its subordinate camps. Suffice to say these unfortunate people were forced to suffer and die in indescribable agony. The camp staff referred to them by the Japanese word for “logs”, and this conveys their total dehumanization of the victims.
What I hadn’t realised before was the extent to which Unit 731 had put its research into practice. As the author puts it “Doctor made epidemics raged in cities and villages across China”. Typhoid and cholera bacteria were dumped into thousands of reservoirs and wells. Aircraft sprayed towns and cities with bits of wheat coated with bubonic plague bacilli. Sometimes infected fleas were simply sprayed out directly from modified aircraft. The author estimates that a “minimum” of 580,000 persons in China died as a result of germ warfare and camp experimentation. Once lab cultured organisms are released into the environment they will often reproduce naturally and then persist for generations. This book was published in 2004, but the author suggested that “even today, some mice and rats in the rodent populations in parts of northeastern China and east-central Zhejiang Province test positive for bloodstream antibodies to plague bacillus originally dispersed by Units 731 and 1644.”
The other aspect explored was the notorious post war “deal” struck by Dr Ishii and his team with the US Government, under which the Japanese scientists – undoubtedly guilty of war crimes – were given immunity from prosecution in exchange for full information on the research undertaken at Unit 731. Essentially the Americans saw this information as potentially vital in the event of war with the USSR.
The author deserves credit for his work in highlighting the extent and depth of the BW practiced by Japan during the 30s and 40s. However I did feel there were a few weaknesses with this book. On starting the first few pages I noticed that no sources seemed to be cited. On looking at the back of the book I found there are some, but there are no references to them in the text. The reader therefore has to wait until the end to check any sources cited. It was also noticeable from the citations that this book relies heavily on an earlier one – Factories of Death by Sheldon R. Harris.
Several contentious allegations seem to have no source listed. An example is a suggestion that the Japanese used poison gas against Chinese soldiers and civilians on numerous occasions. I hadn’t heard of this before, and whilst it might be true, I think the author needed to do more than simply assert this. Towards the end, he also refers to allegations that the US used BW against Chinese and North Korean forces during the Korean War, applying what they had learned from Dr. Ishii. He does acknowledge that this allegation is disputed, though he clearly believes it.
I suppose I fall back on the old cliché “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof” and I’m not sure this book delivered that.
At the end I was left thinking I might have been better off reading Factories of Death.
I’ll spare readers of this review any detailed descriptions of the crimes committed on the prisoners who fell in the hands of Unit 731 and its subordinate camps. Suffice to say these unfortunate people were forced to suffer and die in indescribable agony. The camp staff referred to them by the Japanese word for “logs”, and this conveys their total dehumanization of the victims.
What I hadn’t realised before was the extent to which Unit 731 had put its research into practice. As the author puts it “Doctor made epidemics raged in cities and villages across China”. Typhoid and cholera bacteria were dumped into thousands of reservoirs and wells. Aircraft sprayed towns and cities with bits of wheat coated with bubonic plague bacilli. Sometimes infected fleas were simply sprayed out directly from modified aircraft. The author estimates that a “minimum” of 580,000 persons in China died as a result of germ warfare and camp experimentation. Once lab cultured organisms are released into the environment they will often reproduce naturally and then persist for generations. This book was published in 2004, but the author suggested that “even today, some mice and rats in the rodent populations in parts of northeastern China and east-central Zhejiang Province test positive for bloodstream antibodies to plague bacillus originally dispersed by Units 731 and 1644.”
The other aspect explored was the notorious post war “deal” struck by Dr Ishii and his team with the US Government, under which the Japanese scientists – undoubtedly guilty of war crimes – were given immunity from prosecution in exchange for full information on the research undertaken at Unit 731. Essentially the Americans saw this information as potentially vital in the event of war with the USSR.
The author deserves credit for his work in highlighting the extent and depth of the BW practiced by Japan during the 30s and 40s. However I did feel there were a few weaknesses with this book. On starting the first few pages I noticed that no sources seemed to be cited. On looking at the back of the book I found there are some, but there are no references to them in the text. The reader therefore has to wait until the end to check any sources cited. It was also noticeable from the citations that this book relies heavily on an earlier one – Factories of Death by Sheldon R. Harris.
Several contentious allegations seem to have no source listed. An example is a suggestion that the Japanese used poison gas against Chinese soldiers and civilians on numerous occasions. I hadn’t heard of this before, and whilst it might be true, I think the author needed to do more than simply assert this. Towards the end, he also refers to allegations that the US used BW against Chinese and North Korean forces during the Korean War, applying what they had learned from Dr. Ishii. He does acknowledge that this allegation is disputed, though he clearly believes it.
I suppose I fall back on the old cliché “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof” and I’m not sure this book delivered that.
At the end I was left thinking I might have been better off reading Factories of Death.
August 8, 2020
Trigger warnings: war, violence, medical experimentation on humans including children, rape, vivisection, biological warfare, death, mentions of cannibalism.
This was very important reading because so much of what we hear about the atrocities of WWII is focused on the Holocaust. Which, like, FAIR. But also, there's this shit and h.o.l.y. y.i.k.e.s.
Basically, Japan was performing a whole lot of incredibly horrifying things on civilians and POWs in China from like 1937 through until the end of the war. People were infected with all manner of infectious diseases just to see what would happen. Male prisoners were forced to rape female prisoners so that the doctors could track the progress of venereal diseases. Any children born as a result were experimented on too.
Highly infectious diseases like bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, typhoid and typhus were experimented with. Bombs full of infected insects were released over civilian towns just to see what would happen. Plague-ridden fleas were released over entire communities. Estimates state that between the medical experimentation in death camps and the biological warfare, nearly 600,000 people died in China. And, unlike Europe, only a handful of people survived the camps.
It's a fascinating but stomach-churning read. Barenblatt has clearly done extensive research and presents things in a somewhat clinical but utterly compelling fashion. So I honestly can't say that I enjoyed this book, I can't say that this 4 star rating fits with the "really liked it" that Goodreads suggests. But it was a very educational and eye-opening read. So. There's that. (Seriously though: don't read if you're at all squeamish)
This was very important reading because so much of what we hear about the atrocities of WWII is focused on the Holocaust. Which, like, FAIR. But also, there's this shit and h.o.l.y. y.i.k.e.s.
Basically, Japan was performing a whole lot of incredibly horrifying things on civilians and POWs in China from like 1937 through until the end of the war. People were infected with all manner of infectious diseases just to see what would happen. Male prisoners were forced to rape female prisoners so that the doctors could track the progress of venereal diseases. Any children born as a result were experimented on too.
Highly infectious diseases like bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, typhoid and typhus were experimented with. Bombs full of infected insects were released over civilian towns just to see what would happen. Plague-ridden fleas were released over entire communities. Estimates state that between the medical experimentation in death camps and the biological warfare, nearly 600,000 people died in China. And, unlike Europe, only a handful of people survived the camps.
It's a fascinating but stomach-churning read. Barenblatt has clearly done extensive research and presents things in a somewhat clinical but utterly compelling fashion. So I honestly can't say that I enjoyed this book, I can't say that this 4 star rating fits with the "really liked it" that Goodreads suggests. But it was a very educational and eye-opening read. So. There's that. (Seriously though: don't read if you're at all squeamish)
February 22, 2014
The history of Unit 731 and the atrocities of Japanese medical experiments on human subjects is not well known even to students of WWII history. Unlike the similar Nazi experiments, the Japanese experiments were covered up in exchange for access to the results and many of the Japanese doctors and scientists responsible went on to long and lucrative careers. There is evidence presented in this book that knowledge and permission for the cover up reached the very highest levels of the American military and government. This book presents information that has been buried for far too long.
Unfortunately, it reads like a hundred miles of teeth jarring gravel road. The first half of the book is written thematically and makes it very difficult to follow the development of Unit 731 as the writing jumps back and forth in time. The brief pre-history of chemical and bacteriological warfare, along with a definition of the terms involved, does not come in the first chapter but rather several chapters along. The second half of the book switches to chronological sequence from the end of the war to the present and is much easier to follow. By that point, however, the reader is too exhausted to care and is just trying to reach the end, much like the few survivors of Shiro Ishii's madness. This is a story that deserves more attention, but this book will not accomplish that as only the most determined students of WWII history will slog through it.
Unfortunately, it reads like a hundred miles of teeth jarring gravel road. The first half of the book is written thematically and makes it very difficult to follow the development of Unit 731 as the writing jumps back and forth in time. The brief pre-history of chemical and bacteriological warfare, along with a definition of the terms involved, does not come in the first chapter but rather several chapters along. The second half of the book switches to chronological sequence from the end of the war to the present and is much easier to follow. By that point, however, the reader is too exhausted to care and is just trying to reach the end, much like the few survivors of Shiro Ishii's madness. This is a story that deserves more attention, but this book will not accomplish that as only the most determined students of WWII history will slog through it.
July 18, 2013
So I'll start off by saying this book is not for those with a sensitive soul or stomach. "Plague Upon Humanity" describes numerous, horrid ways the Japanese experimented with the "lesser" Chinese, Korean, Malaysian (etc) and even American, Soviet and Dutch human beings. Experiment extend to, and even go beyond, injecting prisoners with deadly diseases like the bubonic plague and cholera, forcing prisoners to "breed" with each other, dropping plague infested fleas over Chinese villages and even harvesting organs from live human specimens.
Barenblatt fills his book with examples after example of the horrors Japanese medical researchers did in the 1930s and early 1940s. He also follows some of these accounts up with testimonies from surviving Chinese citizens. And to think, the original purpose of all this "experimentation" was to make vaccines for the Japanese army.
I don't think I can bring myself to say anything else about this book. It is well written and presents tons of shocking information on why certain Japanese doctors ARE guilty ( they originally diluted translated versions of medical reports from Unit 731 and 1644 to make it seem like humans weren't experimented on) of horrifying biological&bacterial warfare. Just make sure to mentally prepare yourself before reading.
Barenblatt fills his book with examples after example of the horrors Japanese medical researchers did in the 1930s and early 1940s. He also follows some of these accounts up with testimonies from surviving Chinese citizens. And to think, the original purpose of all this "experimentation" was to make vaccines for the Japanese army.
I don't think I can bring myself to say anything else about this book. It is well written and presents tons of shocking information on why certain Japanese doctors ARE guilty ( they originally diluted translated versions of medical reports from Unit 731 and 1644 to make it seem like humans weren't experimented on) of horrifying biological&bacterial warfare. Just make sure to mentally prepare yourself before reading.
August 10, 2015
A sad time in history and a strong indictment of man's callous indifference to life and inability to deal with differences in a compassionate and accepting manner. I was as much indignant of the US involvement /cover-up as of the Japanese role. The book presented facts, but wasn't written in a very scholarly manner and I felt, at times, like I was reading yellow journalism. A map of the area would have been useful.
April 25, 2024
Reading a history I was never taught.
January 24, 2018
Just as a warning, this is not a happy read. I honestly caution you before reading this.
The book tells the shocking and inhumane story of the Japanese biological and chemical warfare program during World War 2, specifically the doctor who started the program, Dr. Shiro Ishii, and the biochemical-warfare division of Unit 731, placed in Harbin, China.
Most of the atrocities of WW2 are attributed to what Nazi Germany did, everyone hears about that. The concentration camps, the experiments on prisoners by Josef Mengele, and of course everything in-between. But no one ever talks about what the Japanese did before, during, and after the war. I won't write about what is described in the book, it may be too much for some people to stomach, but I think that this should be taught alongside the atrocities of Nazi Germany. This should not be a piece of forgotten history.
The book tells the shocking and inhumane story of the Japanese biological and chemical warfare program during World War 2, specifically the doctor who started the program, Dr. Shiro Ishii, and the biochemical-warfare division of Unit 731, placed in Harbin, China.
Most of the atrocities of WW2 are attributed to what Nazi Germany did, everyone hears about that. The concentration camps, the experiments on prisoners by Josef Mengele, and of course everything in-between. But no one ever talks about what the Japanese did before, during, and after the war. I won't write about what is described in the book, it may be too much for some people to stomach, but I think that this should be taught alongside the atrocities of Nazi Germany. This should not be a piece of forgotten history.
August 11, 2025
Honestly, not much to say about this one other than I was bored. I hesitate to say that because this is a real life historical event and I didn’t enjoy reading it. The text wasn’t dense, but it read like it was. It was drawn out, presumably because there isn’t much information to go off of, and I didn’t think this did much for me.
Unit 731 is something I actually heard about via a TikTok. I wanted to know more and this book came up first when I look up recommendations. This was good, just not my personal favorite and didn’t invigorate my love of reading and learning.
I think if I had gone about this topic via a documentary instead of a book I would have been a lot more “fascinated” (for lack of a better word) than I am now.
Unit 731 is something I actually heard about via a TikTok. I wanted to know more and this book came up first when I look up recommendations. This was good, just not my personal favorite and didn’t invigorate my love of reading and learning.
I think if I had gone about this topic via a documentary instead of a book I would have been a lot more “fascinated” (for lack of a better word) than I am now.
February 28, 2012
A very haunting, powerful, and disturbing book that exposes the secret history of Japan's biological warfare program and the US orchestrated cover-up that followed. A genuinely thrilling and entertaining read for those who want to know more about the deeper darker cracks hidden during WWII
March 9, 2021
fittingly, i powered through this while unwell and needing something to distract myself. i bought this book for $2 from a tip store, so i did t expect much.
the contents of this book are alarming on a few levels. the fact that it’s so unknown, the fact that so little has been done to the perpetrators, the actual actions of the japanese army, it is a thoroughly chilling, harrowing experience. i would consider myself fairly hardened to historical tragedies or horrors but this cut through me like a cold wind.
you can’t help but feel the author was forced to write this as a way to expunge some of it from his brain. it flows well and rarely gets bogged down in the minutiae of dates and names, and never leaves the human scale. this keeps it grounded, but makes it absolutely fucking horrifying to read. while some of the descriptions are quite graphic, it’s not gratuitous and it doesn’t make the mistake of trying to humanise the people who did this.
this is a great book that i will probably never read again. reading it fundamentally changed my view of ww2, and reinforced my view of the united states. it’s quite telling that the US manages to be a villain of their own in a book like this. definitely not for the faint of heart.
the contents of this book are alarming on a few levels. the fact that it’s so unknown, the fact that so little has been done to the perpetrators, the actual actions of the japanese army, it is a thoroughly chilling, harrowing experience. i would consider myself fairly hardened to historical tragedies or horrors but this cut through me like a cold wind.
you can’t help but feel the author was forced to write this as a way to expunge some of it from his brain. it flows well and rarely gets bogged down in the minutiae of dates and names, and never leaves the human scale. this keeps it grounded, but makes it absolutely fucking horrifying to read. while some of the descriptions are quite graphic, it’s not gratuitous and it doesn’t make the mistake of trying to humanise the people who did this.
this is a great book that i will probably never read again. reading it fundamentally changed my view of ww2, and reinforced my view of the united states. it’s quite telling that the US manages to be a villain of their own in a book like this. definitely not for the faint of heart.
April 28, 2025
This is an outstanding book that should be required reading. I'm a huge bookworm and history buff with three degrees, but I had NEVER before heard of Unit 731 until I stumbled across a fiction book that pulled its plot from the history of Unit 731. My curiosity was peaked and this was one of the few books I found that addressed this shameful part of history head-on and in full.
The appalling horrors that were perpetuated on thousands of innocent victims is just hard to believe. But even more shocking is the fact that almost all of these criminals were allowed to walk away scott free and unpunished. I also see some similarities with the experiments done by Unit 731 and events that have occurred since 2020.
All I can say is that I am completely disgusted by corrupt governments and the fact that so few of those responsible for these egregious and vile acts are ever held accountable.
The appalling horrors that were perpetuated on thousands of innocent victims is just hard to believe. But even more shocking is the fact that almost all of these criminals were allowed to walk away scott free and unpunished. I also see some similarities with the experiments done by Unit 731 and events that have occurred since 2020.
All I can say is that I am completely disgusted by corrupt governments and the fact that so few of those responsible for these egregious and vile acts are ever held accountable.
May 23, 2021
this book totally traumatized me, i had never been told about what happened at School or by my parents,so i decided to educate myself.it is a harrowing read but i finished it as it was relatively little trauma to what these poor humans were subjected too,deeply upsetting....i think i need to read some Winnie the Pooh or something else upbeat from my childhood to realign my brains,as i now feel very troubled by how cruel humans can be to others.impressive book and i admire the Author for having the courage to research and write about it.
January 18, 2021
Disturbing look down the dark paths the mind of war can take us in an attempt to achieve victory, and what can be ignored with the promise of knowledge and power. Really gets you thinking about all that is going on with viruses today. Very interesting stuff. This is one of those books that makes you dig deeper. As I was reading it, I spent several hours jumping online to read old articles and watching old news clips which were all referenced in the book.
December 20, 2020
Interesting topic, I didn't know much of biological warfare during WW2 before. I thought it was let down by the writing though, I found it really dry and therefore this took forever to read. Full review to follow.
September 28, 2021
Should be required reading.
Very difficult to fathom the atrocities done to our fellow men, woman and children under the guise of care.
Even worse is the ridiculous justifications, cover-ups and complete failures of justice.
Very difficult to fathom the atrocities done to our fellow men, woman and children under the guise of care.
Even worse is the ridiculous justifications, cover-ups and complete failures of justice.
January 6, 2026
Filled with lots of information, just seemed pretty repetitive to me with descriptions of people, events, and places being repeated multiple times throughout the book when we had already been made aware of them earlier on made it a bit tough to keep going. Still a "good" book given the topic.
January 12, 2019
Great, readable overview. But does not have the heft of a Sheldon Harris or Iris Chang.
June 25, 2021
This was an eye-opening experience. They didn't teach this at community college.
December 6, 2024
There are a lot of books out there that cover the darkest parts of history. This one covers perhaps one of the most disturbing. Prepare to lose faith in humanity with this one.
July 6, 2016
Everyone should have some aquaintance with the reality of the wide scope of biological warfare in Asia in World War II. The author puts forth the conservative calculation of 580,000 that died because of Japan's germ warfare and experimentation. The Holocaust and the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan make it into every history curriculum, but Japan's biological warfare program makes it into. . .none, as far as I know, at the elementary or secondary level.
Only government sponsorship could produce an evil of such proportions and funding. Selective breeding of ever-more-virulent strains of disease, "vaccination programs" to infect the public with what they were supposedly being protected from, distribution of contaminated food to children, areal spraying of infected fleas, bombing with infected flies, bombing infected towns to force the refugees to scatter, vivisection and organ removal without anesthesia, and perhaps most dark, General Douglas MacArthur's Faustian deal to provide immunity and suppression of evidence in exchange for the ill-gotten goods of the these Asian Mengeles, because fear of communism superceded the United States' morality.
Lessons that apply
1. Never trust the government to accurately name an agency or a program.
2. Scientific inquiry quickly becomes sadistic inhumanity when practiced without regard to morality. "For the good of science" is never a reason to dismiss moral concerns.
3. "Rules of War" are broken in every war.
4. We risk becoming like those we collaborate with.
5. The depravity of man
6. The caprice of war time justice. While former Nazi collaborators faced constant danger of being brought up for war crimes, some of those Japanese scientists who committed the most heinous and depraved acts in China went on to become well-respected doctors and CEOs.
Only government sponsorship could produce an evil of such proportions and funding. Selective breeding of ever-more-virulent strains of disease, "vaccination programs" to infect the public with what they were supposedly being protected from, distribution of contaminated food to children, areal spraying of infected fleas, bombing with infected flies, bombing infected towns to force the refugees to scatter, vivisection and organ removal without anesthesia, and perhaps most dark, General Douglas MacArthur's Faustian deal to provide immunity and suppression of evidence in exchange for the ill-gotten goods of the these Asian Mengeles, because fear of communism superceded the United States' morality.
Lessons that apply
1. Never trust the government to accurately name an agency or a program.
2. Scientific inquiry quickly becomes sadistic inhumanity when practiced without regard to morality. "For the good of science" is never a reason to dismiss moral concerns.
3. "Rules of War" are broken in every war.
4. We risk becoming like those we collaborate with.
5. The depravity of man
6. The caprice of war time justice. While former Nazi collaborators faced constant danger of being brought up for war crimes, some of those Japanese scientists who committed the most heinous and depraved acts in China went on to become well-respected doctors and CEOs.
June 19, 2013
One of the most frightening accounts of human experimentation I've ever read. What the Nazis did to inmates at their European concentration camps is nothing compared to what was done by the Japanese to Russian and Chinese POWs. The events surrounding the 'Rape of Nanking' are only a part of the story but have become related to those leading up to the construction of one of the most notorious research labs known- Unit 731. However, what was done to the inmates was only the beginning. The biggest travesty was soon to come by way of the U.S's reaction- after the war was over, U.S occupational forces lead by Douglas MacArthur struck a deal that would help shield the doctors, nurses and other medical personal involved with these horror from much deserved accountability. Some had gone on to continue their practices in academia and in public service.
I've seen fictional accounts of these events by way of horror/exploitation films ('Men Behind the Sun', The Philosophy of the Knife') that seemed to 'glorify' in the brutal violence and grotesqueness of these crimes. However, Barenblatt, in stunning and frightening detail, tells it how it was, provides some insights into the people involved as well as the mind-set of a nation and its people into their 'justifications' for committing the horrors that they did.
Warning- this book is not going to be for the faint of heart, or those who are of a squeamish nature. Most of the descriptions of the experiments that were done and the after effects are very graphic in their details, as well there will be things in their that may upset some readers, such as graphic descriptions of sexual violence.
I've seen fictional accounts of these events by way of horror/exploitation films ('Men Behind the Sun', The Philosophy of the Knife') that seemed to 'glorify' in the brutal violence and grotesqueness of these crimes. However, Barenblatt, in stunning and frightening detail, tells it how it was, provides some insights into the people involved as well as the mind-set of a nation and its people into their 'justifications' for committing the horrors that they did.
Warning- this book is not going to be for the faint of heart, or those who are of a squeamish nature. Most of the descriptions of the experiments that were done and the after effects are very graphic in their details, as well there will be things in their that may upset some readers, such as graphic descriptions of sexual violence.
Read
July 22, 2021
Trigger & Content Warnings
Rape
Medical experimentation
Cannibalism mentioned
War & biological warfare themes
Rape
Medical experimentation
Cannibalism mentioned
War & biological warfare themes
July 24, 2015
I've always been interested in Japanese history and finding good information about their biological warfare programs is often difficult and this book does a great job exploring this horrifying period that more people should know about.
Read
May 31, 2011Click here to find it in the catalogue.
March 27, 2012
There are better books on the subject. Large sections of information (e.g., Ishii's seeming fall from grace after combat tests in China) are unreported.
September 9, 2016
I'm slowly becoming an expert on books about Japan's WWII atrocities, and this is one of the best.
November 25, 2016
Exceptional research into the Japanese BW program of WW2. Hard to read because of the gruesome topic, but very well written and super interesting.
April 15, 2018
This really needs to be covered in school. It's as awful as the Holocaust and no one really knows about this.
April 12, 2017
The book is extremely accesible. However, I found it disorganized. It's not chronological, which is not a problem in and by itself if it weren't for the fact that it keeps repeating the information over and over again. Still, the writing is simple, straightforward and engaging. Be warned!!!! The subject is horrifying. I found myself stopping more than once just so I could stomach what I was reading. In fact, I don't know of any other moment and place in history in which humanity sank lower than this. The same? A few. Lower? None. What the Japanese did in Unit 731 and its satellites defies the imagination. Even worse, with a few exceptions caught and processed by the Soviets at the end of WWII or those who were accidentally poisoned or exposed during research or while carrying out an experiment or an attack, most of the people responsible for the atrocities described therein went on to have successful professional careers and were never held accountable for their misdeeds. For a people and a culture so enthralled by the concept of honor, the way the Japanese Armed forces and the Nation of Japan carried out their Biological and Chemical Warfare Research and Experimentation throughout their Asian Empire during first half of the 20th Century was most dishonorable indeed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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