A Curious Madness

Eric Jaffe's A Curious Madness (2014) is one of those books that is really several books in one. It is a historical mystery which focuses on the question of whether or not nationalist intellectual Shumei Okawa was faking insanity during the Tokyo tribunals, it is also a personal foray into the life of Jaffe's laconic grandfather Daniel Jaffe, the roots of Japanese nationalism, the development of combat psychiatry during World War II, and postwar justice. You can see the historic slap of Hideki Tojo's head that brought to question, Okawa's sanity, here on You Tube. The chapters are as follows: 1. "The Slap Heard Round the World" 2. "A Young Philosopher-Patriot 3. "The House on Lyme Avenue" 4. "Heavenly Mission" 5. "Loose Ends" 6. "Showa Restoration" 7. "The Making of a Combat Psychiatrist" 8. "A War for Asian Liberation" 9. "Breakdown" 10. "Unconsciously Conscious" 11. "Judgement" 12. ""The Ghosts of East and West." Jaffe brought to light many interesting observations about both men, the rise of Asian nationalism in Japan, and psychiatry in general. It was interesting to see that Patton's public slapping of two combat fatigued soldier brought the idea of combat psychiatry to the attention of the powers that be. I was also interested to hear that his grandfather's unit, the 97th infantry was one of the most traveled in the war-covering 35,000 miles chasing the Germans toward Czechoslovakia and then raced across Europe to the U.S. to take part in the U.S. occupation of Japan. It is a well-researched and fascinating book for anyone who is interested in WWII.