Factories of death epub

Then came Williams and Wallace and their book Unit Seven years later, Sheldon Harris expanded greatly on Williams and Wallace's knowledge with the definitive text on Unit 's war crimes, Factories of Death. Another seven years has gone by since, and Harris and Routledge have released a second edition of Factories of Death that contains the updated information from documents that have been declassified since. As time goes on, the book gets even more horrifying.

Unlike Williams and Wallace or Hal Gold whose book Unit Testimony is a brilliant, if anecdotal, complement to this work , Harris keeps his feet rooted firmly on the ground, keeping any conjecture to the most logical conclusions to be drawn from the facts at hand. Gold, for example, speculates in Unit Testimony that both MacArthur and Truman were fully aware of the American cover-up of Unit 's activities; Harris refrains from even hinting at such a thing until all the evidence is completely laid out, and even then, he only glancingly makes reference to then-President Truman at all.

Because of this loathness to speculate, when Harris does let the cork out and start ranting which happens only very briefly, at the end of the penultimate chapter , some of the teeth are taken out of his vituperation; he's just not willing to go where he needs to go. One might cynically think that the stronger language that haunts the last third of the penultimate chapter is there simply because ranting sells and scholarship doesn't.

That said, those reviewers who have noted the book's dryness are right, to an extent, but anyone who considers this painfully dry should try reading any other book Routledge has ever released. This is a John Grisham novel in comparison, going by readability. I was surprised, and pleased, at how quickly the book flew by, given its imprint.

That same failing is Harris' greatest sin here; not one of commission, but of omission. Other books on Unit have raised a number of questioning specters that Harris doesn't touch on at all, including a few for which there is smoking-gun evidence use of American biological warfare in North Korea in the s that has Ishii Shiro's stamp on it, the biological munitions plant at Hiroshima that led to America's bombing of that city in , etc.

It could reasonably be concluded that Harris didn't think the evidence was sufficient to warrant mentioning them in the text, but even the casual Unit scholar is sure to have heard the allegations; better, if you're writing the definitive piece of scholarship, to address them rather than leave them twisting in the wind.

Still, an excellent piece of work, one that history buffs are well advised to seek out. Schoolchildren for this material is definitely in need of dissemination could do with an abridged version; those who seek this out because they loved Men Behind the Sun should probably stick with the film unless they're used to reading nonfiction. The notion of Ishii as a two-dimensional villain will be shattered within the first few pages.

Prepare yourselves. Shelves: history. Guess what? Despite the Geneva Accords banning such activities, the Japanese conducted deadly biological and chemical warfare experiments on thousands of unwilling men, women, children not to mention various nonhuman species during , mostly in China, mostly to Chinese, but including other foreign nationals as well. Then, having been defeated by the United Nations, the scientists responsible for these activities went on without any prosecution whatsoever except for the few captured by Guess what?

Then, having been defeated by the United Nations, the scientists responsible for these activities went on without any prosecution whatsoever except for the few captured by the Soviets , some of them running the Japanese medical and pharmaceutical establishments until dying out themselves in the eighties. Why no prosecution? The US Occupation forces and their bosses back home, also heavily invested in biological and chemical warfare research contrary to signed accords, were very interested in obtaining this useful knowledge for themselves--and keeping it from the Soviets.

Although dryly written, this extremely well-researched and documented book by historian Harris California State, Northridge is a cautionary tale for those who might trust their governments or the medical establishment.

Nov 13, Dina rated it it was amazing Shelves: history , science. If you thought the Germans were the big, bad boys not playing by the rules, then you should read this and learn something I'm sure you had no idea was happening. As a scientist, this book was interesting, but as a human with ethics, this was disgusting. Aug 26, Laura rated it it was ok. Too disjointed and repetitive and opinionated. It felt like a series of papers smashed together, which is what I suspect it was.

May 04, Tricia Bolle rated it it was amazing. A difficult read if only because the horrors it covers is so awful to behold. Nevertheless, it is an important read for those who wish to understand the awfulness of the biological warfare brought upon the Chinese by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation of China during the Pacific War and why the US did little in response.

I was working in Japan when the first court victory recognizing the atrocities committed was awarded in a Japanese court. The author was still alive to see some amount o A difficult read if only because the horrors it covers is so awful to behold.

The author was still alive to see some amount of public justice being brought for these heinous crimes.

There is still so much more to be done, including learning our history and how we are called to be more responsible in the future. I wanted a history documentation that was as encompassing as The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang, so perhaps it fell short based on my own expectations. Dec 30, Maggie A rated it it was amazing. Ridiculous to think that there could be as swirl if intelligence archives worldwide are opened to researchers.

Aug 19, Jenny Chan rated it it was amazing. Great book on the subject. It is well researched and groundbreaking! Highly recommend. Aug 29, Mr. ToppDeck rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Interesting Book. These guys got away with it all. No reparations for Chinese and Allied victims.

It should be so interesting, but it isn't. Jun 30, Patrick rated it really liked it. A well-researched book about the biological warfare "research" at Unit and other sites in China, as well as the aftermath.

It also touches on the American biological weapons research during the same period and how the unethical Japanese research results were used by the United States. This book goes into great detail about names and places, but if you're looking for something like "Philosophy of a Knife" in book format this is not it.

It is an academic work and somewhat detached from the eve A well-researched book about the biological warfare "research" at Unit and other sites in China, as well as the aftermath. It is an academic work and somewhat detached from the events. Apr 05, Melissa rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction. Aug 11, Kate rated it really liked it. Very brutal, but highly interesting.

Some parts were slow, but that is envitiable while reading a history based book. Good read for anyone interested in biological warfare. Nov 15, Teasha rated it it was amazing Shelves: couldn-t-finish-but-someday-will. Love it!!! Bart rated it it was amazing May 14, Peter rated it it was amazing Jan 10, Hurry up.

They told us to take three days worth of food. I seem to remember they said for three days. Along with 4, other children, they were sent to a makeshift camp in the suburbs of Paris.

It was called Drancy. Michel was crying. Within a short time, all the children at Drancy were packed into freight trains and sent east.

Michel and Annette Muller, however, were spared the journey because their father bribed French officials for their release. The journey for the parentless children lasted two days and nights before it ended at Auschwitz. They were then taken from the train ramp to the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were murdered with the poisonous insecticide Zyklon B.

None of the children sent from Drancy survived. About 70 percent of them were murdered immediately upon arrival.