On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army attacked and captured the Chinese capital city of Nanjing, planting the rising-sun flag atop the city's outer walls. What occurred in the ensuing weeks and months has been the source of a tempestuous debate ever since. It is well known that the Japanese military committed wholesale atrocities after the fall of the city, massacring large numbers of Chinese during the both the Battle of Nanjing and in its aftermath. Yet the exact details of the war crimes-how many people were killed during the battle? How many after? How many women were raped? Were prisoners executed? How unspeakable were the acts committed?-are the source of controversy among Japanese, Chinese, and American historians to this day. In The Making of the