The Nanking Atrocity, 1937-1938: Complicating the Picture

Through a series of deeply considered and empirically rigorous essays, it provides a far more complex and nuanced perspective than that found in works like Iris Chang's bestselling The Rape of Nanking. First published in 2007, The Nanking Atrocity remains an essential resource for understanding the massacre committed by Japanese soldiers in Nanking, China during the winter of 1937-38. This second edition includes an extensive new introduction by the editor reflecting on the historiographical developments of the last decade, in advance of the 80th anniversary of the massacre.. It systematically reveals the flaws and exaggerations in Chang's book while deflating the self-exculpatory narratives that persist in Japan even today

This collection also offers refreshing counterpoints to the hyperbole that biases - and undermines - Chinese accounts of the tragedy."· Japan Times. SECOND EDITIONPraise for the First Edition"A refreshingly candid response to Japanese scholarship that denies or minimizes the attack on Nanking in order to advance contemporary jingoistic politics Highly recommended."· Choice"All of the articles in the volume are essential reading for anyone interested in the subject."· The Historian"These essays provide a compelling refutation of the tired and implausible arguments typically espoused by t

He specializes in Japanese political thought and World War II in East Asia.. Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi is Emeritus Professor of History at York University, Toronto