 The book was a source of fame for Chang but was also controversial ; it was received with both acclaim and criticism by the public and by academics . It has been praised as a work that " shows more clearly than any previous account " the extent and brutality of the episode , while at the same time it was criticized as " seriously flawed " and " full of misinformation and harebrained explanations " . Chang 's research on the book was credited with the finding of the diaries of John Rabe and Minnie Vautrin , both of whom played important roles in the Nanking Safety Zone , a designated area in Nanjing that protected Chinese civilians during the Nanking Massacre . 
