Kamikaze: History's Greatest Naval Disaster

(Paperback)

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Description

The true story of history's greatest naval disaster - the destruction of Khubilai Khan's immense armada, the largest fleet the world had ever seen, by a legendary act of divine intervention- the kamikaze. After finally achieving what had eluded even his grandfather Genghis Khan - the conquest of China - and inheriting the world's largest navy, Khubilai Khan set his sights on Japan. He commanded an immense armada, the largest fleet the world had ever seen and his success seemed assured. The Japanese were vastly outnumbered and facing certain death, but they prayed to their gods for survival and the very next day Khan's entire armada were destroyed by a 'divine wind', the kamikaze. The legend of the kamikaze has endured for centuries, and was revived as a Japanese national legend during the Second World War, culminating in the suicide bombers they sent to attack the Allies, but the truth has remained a mystery. Only now, after decades of painstaking research and underwater excavation can leading marine archaeologist James Delgado reveal the truth of what really happened to Khubilia Khan's fleet.

Reviews

James Delgado does a splendid job as a cultural historian in showing how the legend of a brave but doomed defence, supported by the intervention of the gods, shaped national identity over seven centuries * Tablet *
Dredging not only the sea but also historical records, Delgado tells us something new - some of it speculative but most of it richly authentic - about a great nautical adventure * The Times *
Engaging and highly readable * Guardian *
One finishes the book ready to strap on mask and tanks to dive for the buried remains of the shops that still hold more Mongol secrets * Times Literary Supplement *
Delgado's knowledge of water and his archaeological passion for retrieving what history has scattered across sea beds from San Francisco to Vietnam * Literary Review *

Author Bio

The President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, James Delgado is a marine archaeologist who has led and investigated shipwreck expeditions around the world. The author or editor of thirty books, when not travelling the world for the INA in quest of lost ships, he lives on the waterfront in Vancouver.