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Japan's Infamous Unit 731

Firsthand Accounts of Japan's Wartime Human Experimentation Program

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Japan's Infamous Unit 731

By: Hal Gold, Yuma Totani - foreword
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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This is a riveting and disturbing account of the medical atrocities performed in China during WWII.

Some of the cruelest deeds of Japan's war in Asia did not occur on the battlefield, but in quiet, antiseptic medical wards in obscure parts of China. Far from front lines and prying eyes, Japanese doctors and their assistants subjected human guinea pigs to gruesome medical experiments in the name of science and Japan's wartime chemical and biological warfare research.

Author Hal Gold draws upon a wealth of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities. The book presents the words of former unit members themselves, taken from remarks they made at a traveling Unit 731 exhibition held in Japan in 1994-95. They recount vivid first-hand memories of what it was like to take part in horrific experiments on men, women, and children, their motivations and reasons why they chose to speak about their actions all these years later.

By showing how the ethics of normal men and women, and even an entire profession, can be warped by the fire of war, this important book offers a window on a time of human madness and the hope that history will not be repeated.

©2019 Hal Gold (P)2020 Tantor Asia China Japan Military Politics & Government War & Crisis War Imperial Japan Japanese War Crimes
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Really interesting facts and horrifying incidents - a shame so few people are aware of it.
The narration was very hard to listen to - very fast.

Interesting facts but hard to listen to

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Personally felt this highly sensitive and distressing subject was not given the respect it deserves by bizarrely comical and annoying naration. The same repeatedly used infection is extremely grating and distracting, and feels totally at odds with the subject of the book.

Strange choice of narration

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Pretty horrible topic but something I knew little of prior to this book. Having recently read around the Nanking massacres I moved on to this. Disturbing at times but a very interesting topic.

Great Listen

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I could write a great deal about this book, the stories in it are so horrific.

The idea that the atrocities committed are so unknown, the perpetrators allowed to go unpunished and the findings used by the US to defend the studies and the units doctors.

We truly don't know the extent governments are willing to go to, this book should enlighten people and terrify them at the same time.

The Hidden Horrors of the Japanese laid bare.

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I had never heard of this unit and was shocked about it all being kept secret especially driven by the US to gain its secrets. Whilst much of the story is duplicated due to the personal testimony it is relevant. It makes one look at the bigger picture and no one comes out well. I love the narrator but didn’t feel the topic suited his style.

What a surprise

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