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This revisionist book is a blatant and poorly-organized attempt to counter Timothy Brooks' outstanding work, "Documents on the Rape of Nanking," which had been published the previous year by the University of Michigan (1999). Unlike the clear objectivity of that book, here once again a deluded Japanese ultra-nationalist tries to skew facts that have been verified by numerous international sources. This is done using clumsy English, for the "benefit" for those gullible enough to accept a viewpoint where Japanese soldiers did no wrong in their march from Shanghai, where the Rape of Manila also never occurred, and where Allied soldiers and civilians were "guests" of Japanese "hospitality" during WWII, instead of its very unfortunate victims. The title of this book should read: "What We Hope Really Happened in Nanking", because the book is subjective whitewash. To believe the findings of a Japanese journalist assigned to the Imperial Army in China during WWII is the same as asking readers to embrace the propoganda of Joseph Goebbels or Soviet revisionists. For those who truly desire to learn about the Rape of Nanking, you are better served to obtain works from legitimate historical sources, most of which unfortunately must come from outside of Japan. While I do admire many aspects of the Japanese culture, ultra-nationalists such as this misguided author do severe discredit to the youth of Japan today. Most of them are not fooled by their elders and harbor much private shame over Japan's role in brutalizing its Asian neighbors during the first half of the 20th Century. Books like this only will result in confusing the reader, rather than dealing forthright with the disturbing reality of what happened in China during the winter of 1937-38.