Hal Gold (–1925)

Significance
First-hand accounts by Japanese army Unit 731 members who conducted or were closely involved in human experiments in WWII published by a reputable publisher, Tuttle. These first-hand accounts are from the Unit 731 Exhibition that took place in Japan during 1993 and 1994. Furthermore, many other books that cover this period make evidential reference to this work in order to support their statements.

Artwork/Writing/Narrative/Organization
Very good organization and substantiation as follows:
* Historical introduction and overview of Japanese military biological and chemical warfare.
* Several chilling pictures.
* Detailed description about how the US decided not to prosecute Unit 731 members for war crimes.
* List of living, former members and their current occupations.
* The very real and consequently chilling interviews with mostly low-ranking members--everyday people as opposed to leaders from which much history is usually drawn.

Personal Notes
How can we truly know ourselves as human beings if we don't know history? I would also highly recommend Japan at War: An Oral History, which also gives first-hand accounts of common, everyday people--both victims and perpetrators of violence.

How can we comprehend the breadth of our actions--the compassionate and monstrous--without acknowledging our history? When we, as individuals and as a nation, consider going to war, we must understand what we are capable of doing to each other.… (meer)