Details: By: Bernard Edwards

Imperial Japan's wartime attrocities left a bloody stain on the waters of the Pacific. These are stories that might have slipped beneath the waves of history had Bernard Edwards not written this important book. It is not a pleasant read as Blood and Bushido vividly recounts the barbaric actions of Japan's navy in the wake of its attacks on Allied shipping, but it is essential reading for all those who want to try and understand what happened to civilised behaviour, on both sides, during World War 2.

As Edwards explains, the ancient Japanese warrior code of Bushido - under which capture is forbidden - was in stark and lethal contrast to the humane code of conduct traditionally honoured by seafarers. Anyone unfortunate enough to fall victim to to the Imperial Navy paid a terrible price, including the ramming of lifeboats, the machine-gunning of survivors and the bayoneting and beheading of captured crew members. Edwards draws on the dramatic accounts of Allied survivors and pays tribute to those who perished during the brutal war at sea in the Pacific.