Jürgen P. Melzer is Professor of Modern Japanese History at Yamanashi Gakuin University.
Extremely well-written and beautifully presented…Melzer’s book has excellently made the case that aviation is worthy of study, not merely for understanding the development of the industry itself but also for gaining a much better understanding of the workings of the Japanese state, media, and public during this period. -- Christopher Hood * Journal of Japanese Studies * Melzer’s history of aviation in Japan speaks to several audiences. For readers interested in the history of aviation, and particularly in the development of aircraft as military technology, the book offers a clear and detailed account that begins with balloon flights in the late nineteenth century and ends with attempts to develop jet engines during the last stages of World War II…[Melzer] brings to his work an intimate knowledge of the engineering of aircraft as well as the pleasures and challenges of flying them…Wings for the Rising Sun surely has a long career ahead of it as the standard, go-to work on the history of flying in Japan. -- David L. Howell * Pacific Historical Review *