R.I.P Iris Chang

Iris Chang, the author of The Rape of Nanking, has committed suicide, Reuters reports. The book, an extremely graphic description of Japanese atrocities during the invasion of China, was published in 1997.

“Not only did live burials, castration, the carving of organs and the roasting of people become routine, but more diabolical tortures were practiced,” [Chang wrote.] Japan has been slow to acknowledge the scale of the atrocities, and her account sparked anger from conservative Japanese. In 1998 Japan’s ambassador to the United States created a diplomatic stir by calling Chang’s book misleading.

She is survived by her husband and two-year old son.