Synopses & Reviews
andlt;B andgt;From an and#8220;illuminating and entertainingand#8221; (andlt;I andgt;The New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt;) historian comes the World War II story of two men whose remarkable lives improbably converged at the Tokyo war crimes trials of 1946. andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;In the wake of World War II, the Allied forces charged twenty-eight Japanese men with crimes against humanity. Correspondents at the Tokyo trial thought the evidence fell most heavily on ten of the accused. In December 1948, five of these defendants were hanged while four received sentences of life in prison. The tenth was a brilliant philosopher-patriot named Okawa Shumei. His story proved strangest of all.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Among all the political and military leaders on trial, Okawa was the lone civilian. In the years leading up to World War II, he had outlined a divine mission for Japan to lead Asia against the West, prophesized a great clash with the United States, planned coups dand#8217;etat with military rebels, and financed the assassination of Japanand#8217;s prime minister. Beyond and#8220;all vestiges of doubt,and#8221; concluded a classified American intelligence report, and#8220;Okawa moved in the best circles of nationalist intrigue.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Okawaand#8217;s guilt as a conspirator appeared straightforward. But on the first day of the Tokyo trial, he made headlines around the world by slapping star defendant and wartime prime minister Tojo Hideki on the head. Had Okawa lost his sanity? Or was he faking madness to avoid a grim punishment? A U.S. Army psychiatrist stationed in occupied Japan, Major Daniel Jaffeand#8212;the authorand#8217;s grandfatherand#8212;was assigned to determine Okawaand#8217;s ability to stand trial, and thus his fate.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jaffe was no stranger to madness. He had seen it his whole life: in his mother, as a boy in Brooklyn; in soldiers, on the battlefields of Europe. Now his seasoned eye faced the ultimate test. If Jaffe deemed Okawa sane, the war crimes suspect might be hanged. But if Jaffe found Okawa insane, the philosopher patriot might escape justice for his role in promoting Japanand#8217;s wartime aggression.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Meticulously researched, andlt;I andgt;A Curious Madnessandlt;/Iandgt; is both expansive in scope and vivid in detail. As the story pushes both Jaffe and Okawa toward their postwar confrontation, it explores such diverse topics as the roots of belligerent Japanese nationalism, the development of combat psychiatry during World War II, and the complex nature of postwar justice. Eric Jaffe is at his best in this suspenseful and engrossing historical narrative of the fateful intertwining of two men on different sides of the war and the world and the question of insanity.
Review
"Eric Jaffe has given us an extraordinary book, at once intimate (a wrenching tale of family madness) and epic (two nations gathering themselves to fight a devastating war). While never slowing his narrative velocity, the author finds in the convergence of two very different lives an encapsulation of immense issues: When does patriotism become criminal? What does combat do to the human spirit? Can a victorious nation ever mete out just punishment to a vanquished enemy? Here is a work of the greatest significance that is as engrossing as a first-rate detective storyand#8212;which, in a way, it is as well."
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Travelling effortlessly between times and places, Eric Jaffe recounts the uneasy meeting of two curious minds. The story of the eccentric Japanese philosopher Okawa Shumei, a suspected war criminal and ideological mastermind behind Japanand#8217;s war mobilization in World War II, and Daniel Jaffe, a young American combat psychiatrist and the authorand#8217;s grandfather who judged Okawa too mad to stand trial, provides a series of illumining, thoughtful, and at times funny insights on how we ourselves deal with our own minds and imaginations. A CURIOUS MADNESS is a powerful proof that true life is stranger, indeed more curious, than fiction."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
"In Tokyo, just after World War Two, Eric Jaffe's grandfather played a small but remarkable role in what is sometimes remembered as Japan's Nuremberg Trials. In andlt;iandgt;A Curious Madnessandlt;/iandgt;, Jaffe tells the story. The book is a brave, meticulously researched and beautifully balanced account of an episode that by its very nature must always remain unaccountable."
Review
and#8220;Absorbingand#8230; In the hands of a lesser writer, this construct wouldnand#8217;t work, but Mr. Jaffe pulls it off with skill and intelligence. Fascinatingand#8230; a mini-history of the treatment of the mentally ill in the first half of the 20th century along with public attitudes toward mental illness.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A richly layered exploration of the thin line between wellness and madness and the extent to which our understanding of those states is sometimes a matter of perception. andlt;i andgt;A Curious Madnessandlt;/iandgt; is much more than a narrow portrait of its protagonists. It is also a wider study of their cultures and the collective spirits of their countries before and during World War II.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Illuminatingand#8230;in stylish, effortless prose, Jaffe plumbs interesting depthsand#8212;was Okawa an and#8216;ideological villainand#8217; or a psychological casualty of war? Is madness contagious?and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Jaffeand#8217;s well-researched, engaging story touches on subjects as diverse as the roots of Okawaand#8217;s conservative nationalism and the U.S. Armyand#8217;s theories and treatments for combat fatigue, but most importantly, it reveals the strange ways war can bring diverse lives together for a brief moment to change not only those individuals, but history.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;and#8220;Gripping.and#8221;andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;and#8220;Highly recommendable to readers of WWII history.and#8221;andlt;/divandgt;
Review
"Over 250 fascinated pages, andlt;Iandgt;A Curious Madness andlt;/Iandgt;performs a valuable service for history buffs by figuratively exhuming Okawa from obscurity... For readers who believe the 20th century has been squeezed dry of its secrets, this book is a revelation.and#8221;
Synopsis
andlt;Bandgt;From an and#8220;illuminating and entertainingand#8221; (andlt;Iandgt;Theandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt;) young writer, the story that explores the fateful intersection of two men at the Tokyo war crimes trial that followed World War II: a Japanese nationalist charged with war crimes and the American doctor assigned to determine his sanityand#8212;and thus his fate.andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;brandgt;andlt;brandgt;In the wake of World War II the Allied forces charged twenty-eight Japanese men with crimes against humanity during the Tokyo war crimes trial. At their conclusion, seven were hanged for their war crimes and almost all the others served lengthy prison sentences. Okawa Shumei, a brilliant ideologue, was the only civilian among the indicted and#8220;Class-Aand#8221; suspects. In the years leading up to World War II, Okawa had outlined a divine mission for Japan to lead Asia, prophesized a great clash with the United States, planned coups dand#8217;etat with military rebels, and financed the assassination of a Prime Minister. Beyond and#8220;all vestiges of doubt,and#8221; concluded a then-classified American report prepared in 1946, and#8220;Okawa moved in the best circles of nationalist intrigue.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;On the first day of the trial, Okawa made headlines around the world by slapping star defendant Tojo Hideki on the head. Had Okawa lost his sanity? Or was he faking madness to avoid a grim punishment? A US Army psychiatrist in occupied Japanand#8212;the authorand#8217;s own grandfatherand#8212;was charged with determining whether Okawa was fit to stand trial. Heand#8217;d seen madness his whole life, from his home in Brooklyn to the battlefields of Europe, and now his seasoned eye faced the ultimate test. andlt;I andgt;A Curious Madnessandlt;/Iandgt; is the suspenseful tale of each manand#8217;s journey to this climactic historical moment.
Synopsis
From an “illuminating and entertaining” (The New York Times) young writer, the story that explores the fateful intersection of two men at the Tokyo war crimes trial that followed World War II: a Japanese nationalist charged with war crimes and the American doctor assigned to determine his sanity—and thus his fate.In the wake of World War II the Allied forces charged twenty-eight Japanese men with crimes against humanity during the Tokyo war crimes trial. At their conclusion, seven were hanged for their war crimes and almost all the others served lengthy prison sentences. Okawa Shumei, a brilliant ideologue, was the only civilian among the indicted “Class-A” suspects. In the years leading up to World War II, Okawa had outlined a divine mission for Japan to lead Asia, prophesized a great clash with the United States, planned coups d’etat with military rebels, and financed the assassination of a Prime Minister. Beyond “all vestiges of doubt,” concluded a then-classified American report prepared in 1946, “Okawa moved in the best circles of nationalist intrigue.”
On the first day of the trial, Okawa made headlines around the world by slapping star defendant Tojo Hideki on the head. Had Okawa lost his sanity? Or was he faking madness to avoid a grim punishment? A US Army psychiatrist in occupied Japan—the author’s own grandfather—was charged with determining whether Okawa was fit to stand trial. He’d seen madness his whole life, from his home in Brooklyn to the battlefields of Europe, and now his seasoned eye faced the ultimate test. A Curious Madness is the suspenseful tale of each man’s journey to this climactic historical moment.
About the Author
andlt;b andgt;Eric Jaffeandlt;/bandgt; is the author of andlt;i andgt;The Kingand#8217;s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made Americaandlt;/iandgt;, which won the U.S. Postal Serviceand#8217;s 2012 Moroney Award for Scholarship inandnbsp;Postalandnbsp;History. Heand#8217;s a former web editor of andlt;i andgt;Smithsonianandlt;/iandgt; magazine and now writes for andlt;i andgt;The Atlantic Citiesandlt;/iandgt;, a site devoted to urban life run by andlt;i andgt;The Atlanticandlt;/iandgt; magazine.