Japan's Infamous Unit 731

Firsthand Accounts of Japan's Wartime Human Experimentation Program

By: Hal Gold, Yuma Totani - foreword

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

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

A very dark history

This book left me in such shock about how much history was hidden from me growing up in high school and college

Shocking

For years I 'd thought that the Germans and the holocaust were as bad as human beings could get, but only because I had never read anything about what the Japanese did. The performance is not the best, but it is information that seems to have been too well hidden.

well written

The untold atrocities of WW2 in Japan, the history American students should be taught. The intense brainwashing of the Japanese imperial forces, and the horrific experiments played out on the Chinese people.

Truly shocking and insightful.

I’m shocked (but not surprised) that this topic isn’t taught in history classes. An honest retelling of some of the most horrific crimes against humanity- not for the weak of heart or stomach.

Important yet brutal history

It’s not easy to listen to, but it’s important. The information in this book is well researched and deeply unsettling.

Good information. Quick read

Enjoyed the info. Some of it is hard to hear, but that is expected. Good quick read.

historically horrific

I had no idea such evil truly existed. The human animal is a monstrous creature.

The lack of remorse is sickening

Great book and well written. Many of these stories came from people that felt true remorse for what they did during WWII. Yet we still don't know all that happened because many more Japanese soldiers and doctors feel no remorse and decided to forget their evil deeds. All while their victims live with the scars everyday. Even the Japanese government fails to take responsibility. Truly sad.

Shocking piece of history

Hard to rate a story good when it’s based on terrible acts of man against man but this is well researched and the events clearly told.

Confused presentation

I happened to read Wikipedia’s summery of this book, and kept thinking “where was this in the book?” It had the info in there, obviously, but somehow it was presented in such a way as to slip past me. And I have read thousands of books over a lifetime of always having one I was reading. It mite have worked better if I was reading, not listening.