{"product_id":"the-lost-pilot-a-memoir-by-jeffrey-paparoa-holman","title":"The Lost Pilot: A Memoir by Jeffrey Paparoa Holman","description":"On 6 April 1945, a Japanese kamikaze pilot breaks cloud at 3,000 feet, near the island of Ishigaki. He plunges his Suisei divebomber into a fatal dive at the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. On the signals deck, Chief Petty Officer W. T. Holman sees him coming – he has just seconds to live. Intense and accurate fire from the ship blows the plane off course; it crashes into the sea. Its 1,000-pound bomb explodes beside the great ship in the nearest of near-misses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLater in life, Jeffrey Paparoa Holman begins to ask questions: Why did his father live and that pilot die? Who was the pilot and did he have any family who survived him? What was the meaning of such an odds-against moment of war?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe answers lead Jeffrey into the heart of a troubled relationship with his father, combat veteran, alcoholic and problem gambler; into his past and his wartime marriage; to the names and faces of the six kamikaze who died that day in 1945; and, in 2011, to miraculous and deeply moving meetings with Japanese brothers of those aircrew, old men who welcome him into their homes like a long-lost family member.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA unique and beautifully written book – part memoir, part history, part travelogue – \u003ci\u003eThe Lost Pilot\u003c\/i\u003e charts a gripping journey of discovery and reconciliation. It stands as testimony to the power of memory and the persistence of grief in the wake of war's faceless cruelties.","brand":"Book Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43440931110986,"sku":"6446an","price":10.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/9101\/8826\/files\/6446an.jpg?v=1774411062","url":"https:\/\/www.bookexpress.nz\/products\/the-lost-pilot-a-memoir-by-jeffrey-paparoa-holman","provider":"Book Express","version":"1.0","type":"link"}