Yukikaze's War: The Unsinkable Japanese Destroyer and World War II in the Pacific

Only one elite Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer survived the cruel ocean battlefields of World War II. This is her story. Brett Walker, historian and captain, delves into questions of mechanics, armaments, navigation, training, and even indoctrination, illustrating the daily realities of war for Yukikaze and her crew. By shifting our perspective of the Pacific War away from grand Imperial strategies, and toward the intricacies of fighting on the water, Walker allows us to see the war from Yukikaze's bridge during the most harrowing battles, from Midway to Okinawa. Walker uncovers the ordinary sailor's experience, and we see sailors fight while deep-running currents of Japanese history unfold before their war-weary eyes. As memories of World War II fade, Yukikaze's story becomes ever more important, providing valuable lessons in our contemporary world of looming energy shortfalls, menacing climate uncertainties, and aggressive totalitarian regimes.

只有一艘精銳的日本帝國海軍驅逐艦在第二次世界大戰的殘酷海戰中倖存下來。這是她的故事。歷史學家兼船長布雷特·沃克深入探討了機械、武器、導航、訓練甚至教條化等問題，生動地描繪了「雪風」和她的船員在戰爭中的日常現實。通過將我們對太平洋戰爭的觀點從宏大的帝國戰略轉向水上戰鬥的細節，沃克讓我們能夠從「雪風」的指揮橋上看到最艱難的戰鬥，從中進入中途島到沖繩的戰場。沃克揭示了普通水手的經歷，我們看到水手們在疲憊不堪的眼神中奮戰，同時日本歷史的深層洪流在他們眼前展開。隨著對第二次世界大戰的記憶逐漸淡去，「雪風」的故事變得越來越重要，在當今世界面臨能源短缺、氣候不確定性和侵略性極權政權的情況下，提供了寶貴的教訓。