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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Captivating Novel Dec 17, 2009
By William B. Baron
"One of the best books I have ever read....captivating as hell. Brandenburg brings to life this important lesson of history, and tragic story, in a way that no one else can due to his extensive personal interviews with the dozens of remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March. I highly recommend this book and know that you won't be able to put it down".
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A Sobering Account of Personal and Institutional Evil Nov 01, 2009
By Thomas Nessel
I read Dawn of Darkness in one sitting and I was chilled to the bone by the stark truth that this historical novel reveals about the politics of war, ideology, patriotism, privilege, honor, money, ambition, and power which when combined can create evils so unspeakable that conspiracies ultimately are formed to ensure that they not only remain unspoken but also that they bestow great rewards to both the perpetrators and their opposing counterparts. In the end, only the victims, being nothing but little people, silently and lethally suffer the consequences.
I think Lee Brandenburg has exposed a big flaw in Hanah Arendt's classic argument of the "Banality of Evil". Although the setting is mostly in Asia during World War II, its message is current, because as the author suggests, WWII was only the "dawn" of our post-modern era of darkness, a society that may have learned to become permanently blinded to and by our own evils.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A surprising and interesting read Oct 30, 2009
By Gheorghe Chesler
I had previously read about the Japanese atrocities during World War II, but until I read Dawn of Darkness, did I get a real understanding of the Japanese scientists' and doctors' systematic cruelty to the Chinese people and the American prisoners. I was also surprised to learn about the Japanese government's attempts to fly hundreds of balloons over the U.S., which was totally covered up by our government. The book is well written and reads quickly.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 partial praise from Mukden POW Jun 04, 2010
By Al Zee
"in the woods"
I bought one copy for myself and one for my father. My father suffered a deadly combat wound fighting with the 31st Infantry against the better-equipped and far more numerous Japanese. He had a very brief recovery in a field hospital that was made of bamboo. It was shelled by the Japs and men died there by shrapnel and spears of bamboo flying through the air. My father was gut shot, but managed to rejoin his unit and get his sergeant stripes before the surrender. He was largely delirious with malaria during the Death March, but somehow stayed on his feet to the end at Cabanatuan. There he spent time in the "Zero Ward," a holding area where the sick were sent who had "zero" chances of survival. As time somehow passed, he was put on a merchant ship called the "Tatori Maru." American subs in the area were targeting Jap ships not knowing some contained American POWs as cargo in the holds. My father's ship avoided two torpedoes, but other "Hell Ships" were not so lucky and were sunk by friendly fire. There was little food or water for the 30-day trip to Korea and men licked condensation off the hull walls for moisture. Many died of starvation, thirst and total lack of medical care for serious sickness and injuries. Diarrhea, urine and blood might swirl around the feet of the POWS as they tried to stay standing in the filth. From Korea the men were herded onto freight cars and packed in like sardines. Many died standing in place as the train proceeded to Mukden, Manchuria. Survival at the Mukden camp was tentative, at best and the skeleton-like men were put to hard work as "slaves of the Emperor" in tanneries, textile mills, machine shops, etc. Conditions were so bad that if a POW determined he had had enough he would simply lay down and die on the spot. The POWs continued to fight and sabotage their captors in every way they could, knowing some of their actions would be summarily punished by instant execution. POWs who were judged healthy enough were selected by General Ishii for germ and bacteriological testing. My father recalled having a brush filled with "something" waved under his nose by one of Ishii's staff, but it was determined he was "too sick" for the needs of the study and let go, probably sparing his life. There was more that went on, much more. My father read the book with interest, since certain parts seemed to refresh his old, lost memories, but he was looking more for factual names of people and places. He wanted the book to go into more detail of incidents and individuals' identities. His personal memories he says, are "broken up" in sometimes vague pieces. He attributes this to being nearly constantly sick with untreated high fevers, malaria, dengue fever, dysentery, starvation, wet and dry beri beri, solitary confinement, physical beatings, etc., etc. He's alive today, fiercely independent and patriotic.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A Captivating Read and A Story to Be Remembered May 05, 2010
By Aaron Voldman
"Aaron Voldman, Student Peace Alliance Executive Director"
Brandenburg's Dawn of Darkness is a captivating, page-turning read, and a story all Americans should know.
As the pages turned I quickly grew a strong affinity for the protagonists, empathizing with the challenges that all soldiers face, whether they fought in the Philippines in WWII or are fighting today in Afghanistan.
Born more than 40 years after World War II, most of what I have learned about the era is about Europe. I was shocked to learn that the tragedies outlined, from the Bataan Death March to the horrific medical examinations, actually happened.
The book removes the curtain that time and politics wraps around war's gruesome truths; revealing the horrors of war, and challenging us to choose peace. Indeed all of us, from the Germans, to the Japanese, to the Russians, to the Americans, are implicated in the perpetuation of humanity's addiction to violence, and to make change all of us must keep stepping up.
I recommend Dawn of Darkness to all readers, especially young people.
-Aaron Voldman, Executive Director of the Student Peace Alliance
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