r photo opportunities. A couple of mornings ago he hoped to improve on the photo of the moon setting over Mariveles. Unfortunately the moon was already too high in the sky to take the picture he wanted. On his way back he noticed that the moon was in a good position to be photographed with Topside (Milelong) Barracks. He was able to get one photo that he really liked and is passing it along.---
Our newsletter review of Michael and Elizabeth Norman’s Tears in the Darkness has resulted in many people writing to thank us for the effort. Some say that they will not read the book, while others have had their curiosities piqued and are anxious to give it a go. Historian J. Michael Houlahan posted our review on his listserv, receiving the following response which he then forwarded to us. With the Norman’s permission, we include it in total and verbatim.
If you run the Kwiecinskis comments on your listserv, we'd appreciate your posting this as our answer….
Best,
Michael and Beth.
We have received, and acknowledged, the emails from the Kwiecinskis. As we replied each time, we appreciate hearing from readers. Readers should sound off, as it were, and offer their opinions. Writers speak, readers speak back: Its a tradition that dates back to the first days of American publishing. Whenever readers point out what they believe to be errors of fact, we add those comments to a file we call "corrections." (We started this file as soon as we read the final galleys; as every writer of non-fiction knows, there are going to be errors in the work.) When we are given the opportunity to revise the text, we will go through our corrections file, vet each comment, and make the necessary revisions. To date, however, neither the hard-cover publisher -- Farrar, Straus and Giroux -- nor the paperback publisher, Picador, has given us that opportunity (The first Picador edition will appear March 1.). FSG ran one printing on the heels of another; and Picador has decided to move up the printing of the paperback to March 1 and use the original text for their first one. Picador asked us to hold our corrections until -- if, really -- there is a second paper-back printing. These decisions are beyond our control.
Meanwhile, again, we appreciate readers feedback. As Mike Houlahan can tell you (having pointed out to us some numbers he wanted us to recheck in the first-pass galleys), we take the feedback to heart and act on it as soon as we are able. We also happily accept the criticisms about emphasis, balance, theme, selection of characters and so on. They are quite proper and indicate an engaged reader, something we prize. So we respect those opinions. We may disagree with some of them, but we've already had our say in the book and feel it's the readers turn now to have their say in full and unfettered. Most of the criticism we've received has been offered in the spirit of generosity and good will. We make it a practice to personally thank every single correspondent. Given our volume of correspondence, however, we simply do have the time to sit down and answer each point in each email and letter, but, as we said, we are grateful to get those missives. It gives us the opportunity to thank the people most important to us as writers -- our readers.
We'd again like to thank everyone for their support and interest in our work.
Michael Norman
Elizabeth M. Norman
We are very disappointed that the paperback is coming out using the original, uncorrected text. We have never been in the position of having to pass along a manuscript that contains known errors. If we were, we would do everything in our power to say, “Stop the presses!” Furthermore, we believe that careful editing by the right person(s) would have resulted in a more accurate account; i.e., the errors should not have been published in the first place. We realize that the Normans are not subject matter experts, and as such, the errors, although their responsibility, are not entirely their fault.
The Normans acknowledged our emails graciously, and we want them to know that the remarks we sent were made in order to improve the book, and with the best of intentions. As we noted to them, we wish that we had had a chance to give input before publication. We may have had no influence on the book’s occasional use of questionable vocabulary and the equal treatment given Ben Steele and General Homma; that is the authors’ prerogative. However, we believe that the Normans would have made every effort to correct the factual errors and contradictions that we noted.
Following are excerpts from some emails we have received. Note that the first two are from former POWs of the Japanese. The first was on the same Hellship as Ben Steele (and Steve’s father), the second is a past commander of the ADBC (American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor).
I just read your comments on Tears in the Darkness. I have not, or do I intend to, read the book! I lived it, except for the death march. I was on that ship, the Canadian Inventor, and it did take us exactly 62 days from Manila to Moji, but my group had started from the Davao Penal Colony, DaPeCol, on 3 June, so our trip took 92 days! Most of it on board a ship, except for a couple of days at Cebu, and about a week at Bilibid - all of it outdoors, or in the hold of a ship. I lost over 45 lbs in those 92 days! As you will see in my book, I did NOT bathe, wash my hands or my mess kit, brush my teeth, shave or change my clothes for that entire time! Water was used only for drinking, there was none to waste on cleanliness.
---
This is a very good review of the above-named book. I have not read the book and do not intend to read it. Most of us do not want to recall the distasteful events of the defense of the Philippines and horrible mistreatment we received after the surrender. I did not make the Death March, however, I have spoken with many my friends who have. I probably would not be here if I had been on the march. I was on Bataan from December 24 to the 29th and then transferred by the S.S Mayon to Mindanao. Another distasteful event---I suffered through the bombing of Clark Field on December 8, 1941 and then assigned infantry duties on Mindanao. Was a POW for three years and four months at Tokyo Area POW camp #2 where I worked at several different Japanese industries as a slave laborer. Enjoyed your review.
---
The following two responses were the only one we received from people who have read the book. The first is from the man who gave it to us, the second from someone who is very familiar with the treatment of POWs by the Japanese.
That was a very thorough and enlightening review of the book 'The Tears..." which made me realize how much had escaped my eyes when I read the book and the many things I actually didn't know about the events written in it. It takes two analytic and well-informed minds to see the inaccuracies.
---
I'm familiar with at least 90% of all their "references" and the typical crap such professors produce... the more "citations", the more prestige they have amongst their peers. God spare me from having to wade through such academic sewage. The reviews presented in the NY Times, etc., all appear to have been written by the friendly suck-up class of slobbering fools who wish to believe in global warming and that the "masses" need to be instructed on what to believe.
---
And now some of the other responses, which run the gamut, so to speak:
What with your perspicacious eyes, you have rendered excellent service with your review of "Tears of Darkness". I am flabbergasted at the errors… I shall print out your review in order to keep it in the pages of "Tears of Darkness" (if and when someone sends me the book!)
---
That was a terrific book review. I enjoyed reading it. You tell it like it is and pull no punches. Most of all, you say what you like and what you don't. Now I must get the book -- it does look interesting.
---
BRAVO! What A great review!
---
As for me, I think I'll stay away from this book as I'm sure [the treatment of Homma] would make me puke!
---
Thanks for the review. As a history geek myself, anything new is looked at with awe. It is very disappointing when factual errors are made, especially when they are numerous. The grammar and "big words" can be overlooked by a bumpkin like me, but facts,,,,,,,,? With the so many participants fading to history, the facts are the only things that keep the memory alive. In other words, the truth is easier to dilute, then deny altogether. Don't feel bad about giving it an average review if it turns the truth. Thanks for the great work and hope that you two have a great holiday season.
---
Congratulations on a most thorough and scholarly review of "Tears in the Darkness ..."
---
I agree 100% on the necessity of historical accuracy (albeit "qualified" where required), when documenting the events of the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor. This is of particular importance when any book claiming to tell the story becomes a "Best Seller", thus potentially helping to establish the public perception of "accepted" historical events.
---
I have not read the book. I have great differences with the Normans myself. I find them very tony. Very self assured that they are the only ones who can write on the subject they choose. Their arrogance is appalling.
---
I hope they give the works to Homma. He was horrible. At one point he was living grandly very near the camps and he KNEW what was going on there. Clothing and supplies were given him (by US nurses) to help out the POWs at the camp but these were never delivered.
And, yes, the #1 war criminal in the Pacific was the Emperor himself. He even had his own personal spies in the battle zones, so he also knew everything that was going on, not to mention that a member of his own family was behind the infamous Medical Unit 731. And it was his own personal OK that executed a couple of the Doolittle flyers.
---
Thank you for sharing this interesting review. Your attention to the detail is truly impressive. We will definitely buy the book and look at some of the sites mentioned.
---
I was rather shocked to read your comments about the book and all its inaccuracies and errors, especially as you say, by two authors who are supposed to be so renown. It gave me some ideas for my own upcoming book and also supported some of the things I am trying to do and not to do with mine. Fancy big words and obscure references do not belong in a book like this in my opinion either. I have been writing for over 30 years and my style tends to be more simple and easy to read without using such words or terms that people need a dictionary or thesaurus to understand. Also, the other technical and factual mistakes are quite inexcusable, in my opinion as well, especially by such so-called "professional" writers and their editors.
---
Thanks for the thorough analysis. I just received this book for Christmas but will tuck your notes inside the cover for reference. It's always tough to know if I'm reading the truth. So much sloppy writing out there on the POW experience makes it tough to glean the facts from the rest. My loose grasp of the facts is inadequate and the perspectives you share are helpful.
---
Thank you for those excellent review notes. It's not likely that I'll buy that book, but if I do, or if I learn of someone that I know having bought the book, I'll keep your notes so that they can be used as an errata reference.
---
WOW… as if I have already read the book.. that makes me want to grab a copy.
---
The Normans spent weeks being squired and hosted by the Homma family on their island in Japan, hence the reprehensible polishing of Homma's tarnished war atrocities and history. I have mixed feelings and emotions on this. However, I agree whole heartedly with your review. I am so glad you posted this for all to read and ponder.
---
In an interview with a Death March survivor, I mentioned to the survivor that Homma claimed that he did not notice anything unusual when he drove by and saw the men marching on the East Road, as Homma stated on the witness stand. The survivor laughed out loud and told me, "That is impossible. We were quite a spectacle on that road."
The Hommas are a very wealthy clan. We know they have been active in trying to vindicate Homma and lobby Washington in an attempt to get a US President to either pardon Homma or overturn his guilty verdict. I can not prove anything, but I do have my suspicions.
---
The final two letters contain serious accusations, the penultimate being written by a civilian internee at Sto. Tomas University, and the final one being written by the son of a Death March survivor. If true, they may indicate that the book in fact was not so much a tribute to Ben Steele and the other POWs as an attempt to put Homma in the best light. This also explains why the Homma trial, which, in our opinion, merits at most a page or two in a book about the Death March, makes up more than 10% of the book.
The Norman’s make clear that General Homma’s trial was rushed and he was given limited defense. But no matter what the circumstances of the trail, General Homma was responsible for his men’s actions. During the Death March, between 5-12,000 soldiers were needlessly murdered. He was accountable for the initial treatment of the POWs at Camp O’Donnell, where as many as 300 Filipino and American prisoners were dying each day. We feel that any attempt to make Homma look good, or to ultimately exonerate him, is nauseating. He was a war criminal who got his just desserts.
For our original review of Tears in the Darkness, see http://steveandmarciaontherock.blogspot.com/2009/12/tears-in-darkness.html
No comments:
Post a Comment