The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library War)

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and source material, John Toland has achieved the impossible, to offer a most unique take on the Pacific War: dozens of people come to life in this history book, which more often than not, ends up being more reminiscent of a novel as it takes its reader diving headlong in a journey of palace intrigues, decision making and, ultimately, the carnage of war. The book kicks off with a brief introduction about the Manchurian adventure and the troubles that plagued Japan during the prewar years: the fight between the various cliques that composed japanese society and the struggle between the military and the civilian government. Soon, the Marco Polo Bridge incident takes place and carnage ensues. The invasion prompts the USA to tighten its embargo on Japan and the rest is known to most readers, ensuing in the turbulent (and fraughty) negotiations that climaxed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Then, Toland covers each and every theater of war from 1941 all the way to 1945, mostly excluding those that took place in the asian mainland. It is worth noting that the title may be a tad misleading, for one would infer that the book covered several other aspects of Imperial Japan: from its society, to its economy, its administration and its military ventures in the mainland. But alas, it mostly covers the Pacific War, with all its island-hopping, sea battles and whatnot. One is hard-pressed to remember that there is actually fighting taking place somewhere else, for there is scant a chapter about them, mostly at the beginning - before the US' entry into the War - and at the very end, when Chiang Kai-Shek comes into play as the leader of one of the victorious nations. That being said, while I felt somewhat dismayed upon realising it, I still found the book absolutely enjoyable, albeit from a completely new perspective. It is a meticulous tale of the hardships and vicissitudes that plagued men and women, elderly and young, rich or bereft, powerful or otherwise during the war between Imperial Japan and the US, and in doing so is a masterpiece. Regarding the sources and material on which the author draws upon: most of it is source material, for Toland embarked on a long journey in order to interview all sorts of people: from Prince Mikasa, brother to Hirohito and former US President Harry Truman, to your rank and file japanese and american troops stationed in the Pacific and the civilians that had to endure the hardships of war. The bibliography on which the author relied to write the book, however, might be a bit dated, considering that almost half a century passed since the book saw the light. But it stills feel fresh, with all its vivid and engrossing accounts that, due to its sheer scope, none may equal anytime soon. Finally, Toland deserves praise for his excellent writing skills, for he managed to make what would have otherwise been a cumbersome task - to read about dozens of excruciatingly precise military data and geographical/topological information - a most enjoyable experience. The characters, the highlight of the book, come to life each with his or her own soul and motives, perfectly and captivatingly crafted , their soul forever captured by the author's masterful writing. It is truly a delight to read. Gripping stories, an abundance of information, a careful attention to detail and a marvelous prose makes reading The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanes Empire (1936-1945) a completely breathtaking experience, that will haunt you long after you are done with it.

I have read many books on the Japanese and their involvement in the Pacific War, from books about individual battles to specific aircraft and ships that fought in this war. This book, along with "A Glorius Way To Die," is among my favorites. Back in the late 1960s when this book was written, there was very little published outside Japan about the Japanese and their involvement in the Pacific War. Books by Mitsuo Fuchida, Mochitsura Hashimoto and Tameich Hara, among others, started giving us the Japanese perspective of the war. These books helped initiate what has become a life-long interest and fascination with Japanese side of the Pacific War, including their government, people and their military. I subsequently began reading books and building models of their planes, ships and tanks. Not surprisingly, I finally read "The Rising Sun" and couldn't put it down. Both my father and uncle (identical twins) fought the Japanese in World War II and, needless to say, had very negative things to say about them. But they both read this book and enjoyed it, and recommended that I read it. I'm glad I did. I still have the original two volume set my father purchased. The chapters leading up to the opening of the Pacific War will be illuminating to those who are unfamiliar with how Japan evolved from a feudal state through the Meiji revolution to the nation it was in the first half of the 20th century. Toland accurately describes 1930s Japan as having one foot in the modern era and one foot in the fuedal era, along with stating that Imperial Japan was interested in Western technology but not Western values. He also sheds light on how the complete array of differences between America and Japan, along with the turbulent times in the late 1930s, led to mutual distrust - and war. Another value of this book is showing the human side - both good and bad - of the Japanese from Emperor Hirohito down to the lowest Jotohei (private first class) as well as the average Japanese man and woman on the street and the war's impact on them. The chapters dealing with the invasion of Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the debate among the Emperor, the military and the civilian government about continuing the war are well written and fascinating. Also, the accounts of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb raids are riveting. Throughout the book, Toland does an excellent job of interjecting the personal perspective of individuals into the history of a particular battle or issue. There are only two negatives that I would give this book. In the text about the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Toland does a good job of describing the rising aspirations of Asians to be viewed as co-equals of white men in the world, but tended to downplay that Japan wanted to dominate all of the nations it was giving "freedom" from colonialism. The other is that the book was written in the late 1960s and new information has been discovered that has either altered what Toland wrote about or contradicted it. A good example is with the chapter about the Battle of Midway - the book "Shattered Sword" disclosed new information about the state of the Japanese carriers at the time U.S. Navy dive bombers attacked them. I highly recommend this book

I rate Toland's book the best on Pacific war. Author has plumbed into the subject;traced the root causes which led to outbreak of hostilities between US and Japanese Empire.Toland offers penetrating insights into Japanese manners,philosophy and customs. Japan's expansionist designs particularly Tokyo's decision to carve out an empire in China set it on a collision course with US.If the Japanese had confined their aggression to Manchuria it would not have antagonised the Americans .But army hotheads wanted whole of China under Tokyo's heel.This soured relations with US and can be said as the starting point of Pacific war. War in China proved disastrous for Japan and for Chiang Kai-Sheikh's nationalist Kuomintang party ,for it enfeebled both.Power vacuum ensued and Communists under Mao stepped in .Author says Marcopolo bridge incident ,which led to full-scale war in China, may have been a communist provocation .There are reasons to believe that it may be so. During summer of 1940 Tokyo firmly aligned with Axis powers.Tripartite pact was signed.With exit of pro Nazi foreign minister Matsuoka Japan's posture changed.Moderate Konoye govt sought an understanding with US.Author explains how attempts to resolve differences proved futile.American intrasigence is partially to be blamed for ensuing tragedy.To this can be added the intricacies of Japanese language;mistranslations which crept into decoded Japanese messages generated misunderstandings which finally wrecked negotiations.Author has given accurate translation of intercepted Japanese cables. Japan's defeat in Pacific war can be pinned down to following reasons:Japanese empire overextended and found forces woefully inadequate to defend its vast conquests.Remember big chunk of Japanese army was locked up in a debilitating ,inconclusive struggle to subdue China.IJN neglect of antisub warfare.Ships started sailing in convoys belatedly.Submarine assests were frittered away;used for scouting and screening main battle fleet besides attacking enemy warships.Instead subs should have been used to attacking US navy's supply lines streching all the way from the western seaboard of US. Wheather IJN would have emerged triumphant had a such course of action been adopted is hard to say.But I feelTokyo had the chance of prolonging the war.America had overwhelming , superior fire power at her disposal. Intelligence was Washington's trump card in Pacific war.At this point I recall Friedrich ,the philospher king of Prussia said about intelligence.'If you know enemy plans before you will be more than a match for him even with inferior numbers'.So it proved in the battles of Coral sea and Midway where Japanese were thwarted. War ended with the advent of atomic age.Nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was totally uncalled for.Japan was willing to surrender despite oppositon from die-hard militarists. To sum up ,Toland's book is impeccably researched and richly detailed revisionist account of Pacific war.Anyone interested in Pacific theatre in[World War II] will definitely savor reading it.

This book on the US War in the Pacific has no rival. Written with understanding and clarity and documented throughout. It must be a classic among the histories written about major wars. The reader is given insight and understanding of the what’s, why’s and how’s of the war all written in flowing narrative. John Tolan, the author should receive special recognition for this in depth, well written history.

“With the seizure of Manchuria and the invasion of North China, the gulf widened as America denounced Japanese aggression with increasingly forceful words. This moral denunciation only hardened the resolve of the average Japanese. Why should there be a Monroe Doctrine in the Americas and an Open Door Policy in Asia? The Japanese takeover of bandit infested Manchuria was no different from American armed intervention in the Caribbean. Why was it perfectly acceptable for England and Holland to occupy India, Hong Kong, Singapore and the East Indies, but a crime for Japan to follow their example? Why should America, which had grabbed its lands from Indians by trickery, liquor and massacre, be so outraged when Japan did the same in China?” - John Toland, ‘The Rising Sun’ Hirohito: “Will you win a great victory? Like the Battle of Tsushima?” Nagano: “I’m sorry, but that will not be possible.” Hirohito: “Then the war will be a desperate one.” - Before the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941 The following morning Stimson [US Secretary of War] brought the report to Churchill, who was exhilarated. The Prime Minister leaned forward. "What was gunpowder?" he asked, brandishing his cigar. "Trivial. What was electricity? Meaningless. This atomic bomb is the Second Coming in wrath. Now I know what happened to Truman yesterday. I couldn't understand it. When he got to the meeting after having read this report he was a changed man. He told the Russians just where they got on and got off and generally bossed the whole meeting." - Churchill’s reaction to the test of the A-Bomb, Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945 General Dwight Eisenhower also took vehement issue with [Army Chief of Staff] Marshall's conclusion. He told Stimson privately that Japan was already defeated. Dropping the bomb was "completely unnecessary." Moreover, America should avoid rousing world condemnation by using a weapon which "was no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives." - John Toland, ‘The Rising Sun’ Kido immediately informed the Emperor that Hiroshima was laid waste by a secret weapon. "Under the circumstances we must bow to the inevitable," said His Majesty. He could not hide his anguish. "No matter what happens to me, we must put an end to this war as soon as possible. This tragedy must not be repeated." But both agreed the moment had not come for the Emperor to take personal action. - August 6, 1945 MacArthur, the first to leave the plane, paused at the top of the ladder. He lit his corncob and descended, pipe clenched between teeth. Later that evening he told his staff "Boys, this is the greatest adventure in military history. Here we sit in the enemy's country with a handful of troops, looking down the throats of nineteen fully armed divisions and seventy million fanatics. One false move and the Alamo would look like a Sunday-school picnic!" - August 30, 1945 ************ John Toland begins this massive volume with a thumbnail history of Japan since its opening by Commodore Perry in 1853 through the Meiji Restoration and modernization of the military and industrial means, war with Russia and seizure of the Liaoning peninsula in 1905, annexation of Korea in 1910 and the conquest of Manchuria in 1931. Japan was in an economic depression and hard line militarists pressed for expansion, assassinating moderate politicians including the Prime Minister. Toland won a Pulitzer Prize for the book in 1971 and his writing is clear and compelling. Using newly released diaries and records, interviewing eyewitnesses, he attempts to tell the story from a Japanese point of view. Roots of War A 1936 army insurrection seized control of the government, under the guise of restoring power to the Emperor that had been subverted by politicians and businessmen. Hirohito, although commander-in-chief of the armed forces, was unaware of the plot and disapproved. Thought to be a living god and a father of the nation he was an unassuming and retiring man who would rather study biology and play golf than deal with the autocratic army and navy chiefs of staff. Part of their demands were to see military action to restore the honor and achieve glory for the Emperor. Many military leaders posited the only way to maintain order and improve the economic conditions would be by armed conquest. Bridge To War A puppet government had been formed in 1931 with Puyi, the deposed emperor of China, installed on the throne in a new state named Manchukuo. By 1936 the Kwantung Army in Manchuria was making plans to capture north China without the approval of its civilian government or central command. China was battling between the nationalist troops of Chiang Kai-shek, the communists led by Mao Zedong and regional warlords. The Japanese case for war was to provide a buffer zone from Russians and protect traders in Manchuria. A brief detente was made between Chinese factions in 1937 to expel the Japanese from north China where they were taking more territory. A skirmish at the Marco Polo Bridge ignited war. War in China Bombers began to strike cities in the Beijing region, troops invaded by ground. China appealed to the League of Nations as FDR made a speech condemning the aggression. Japan claimed it was saving Asia from western domination and communism. Within months Japan seized Shanghai and Chiang’s capital in Nanjing, 300,000 civilians slaughtered. Toland suggests government in Tokyo knew less about the massacre but it was front page headlines in the news. Japan took Wuhan, drove Chiang west to Chongqing and occupied Canton in the south. Resentment of Roosevelt’s 1905 denial for Japanese war reparations and Wilson’s 1920 League of Nations rejection of racial equality provisions rankled Japan. Axis of War As Japan fought border battles with Russia in north China, it considered Hitler’s invitation to join a pact with Germany and Italy. Policy was thrown into confusion by a 1939 non-aggression treaty between the Nazis and Soviets. Hitler’s astonishing 1940 advances in Western Europe encouraged leaders in Japan to wage all out war in Asia. Since Britain and France were tied up in Europe, they began to make plans to take Singapore and Indochina. Prime Minister Konoe formed a cabinet with Matsuoka as Foreign Minister and Tojo as War Minister, key characters in the impending conflict. Designs for a Greater East Asia with Japan as leader formed, the Axis joined, a treaty with Russia drafted and the nation mobilized. Diplomacy of War The Tripartite Pact caused the US to tighten embargoes on Japan while Churchill recklessly reduced troops in Singapore. Matsuoka met Hitler, who urged an attack on Singapore, and Stalin to sign a non-aggression treaty. Diplomats were sent to Washington to push for a Japanese “Monroe Doctrine” in the Far East and the recognition of Manchukuo, in return for Japan’s withdrawal from China. As they disembarked in New York the US had passed a Lend-Lease Act to arm enemies of the Axis. The US wanted firm commitment of no more armed aggression from Japan. Matsuoka ended negotiations with a demand that if Japan went to war with Britain the US would remain neutral, anticipating a Japanese attack on Singapore. War in Russia With the German invasion of Russia Japan was caught off guard although Ribbentrop had hinted about it to Matsuoka weeks earlier. Germany devastated Soviet air and ground defenses in the first few hours. Matsuoka pressed to attack Russia and Singapore simultaneously, but opposed by the military the decision was made seize Indochina. Hirohito is depicted as passively approving the action. Matsuoka had become so belligerent dealing with the US and other cabinet members that he was ousted by Konoe and Tojo, replaced as foreign minister by Toyoda, a Navy Admiral. FDR, Secretary of State Hull and the Navy began to plan for war, seizing Japanese assets in America, Britain and the Netherlands. A Desperate War All trade with Japan was frozen including the steel and oil imports, the most critical resources. The Navy Chief of Staff Nagano predicting depletion of reserves counseled Hirohito to take initiative in Southeast Asia and seize oil and rubber resources in the Dutch East Indies. PM Kanoe urged talks with FDR to negotiate a peaceful settlement and tried to convince Tojo and others odds against winning a war with the US were 10:1. They agreed to the Four Principles FDR had sent to Japan, but the State Dept. didn’t believe they would negotiate in good faith. Hirohito questioned the six week deadline for a diplomatic resolution or attack. FDR and Hull stalled for more time, all while the war clock was ticking. Clouds of War As the US delayed talks and reinforced the Pacific, PM Kanoe and American Ambassador Grew became more anxious to begin, knowing the narrow window to avert war was closing. Minister of War General Tojo pressed Kanoe and Hirohito to end the pursuit of peace, his sympathies with the radical wing of the Army. The Navy Minister Oikawa, doubting the ability to win the war, favored negotiations. In the course of their disagreements Kanoe resigned as Prime Minister and Tojo appointed, the only man considered able to control the Army if peace was negotiated. Sugiyama, the Army Chief of Staff, played the role Tojo had, pressing for swift military action while Tojo tried to advance diplomacy as Kanoe had. War of Words Arguing amongst themselves, the military/civilian leaders backed each other into an artificial deadline of midnight November 30 to reach an agreement with the US or attack. More than half of the concerns centered around how to keep the army from rebelling and saving face, instead of avoiding an unwinnable war, as the US was busy building aircraft and training pilots in China. Japan sent diplomats to Washington in hopes to reach an agreement. Counter proposals by FDR were offered but rejected by the Allies, and Hull issued an ultimatum to remove all troops from China (mistakenly thought to include Manchuria) and Indochina for releasing frozen assets and resuming trade, a proposal certain to fail. Folly of War After Pearl Harbor Toland continues with the naval battles, island hopping, jungle warfare, internment camps, death marches, fire bombings and A-bomb devastation. Critical decisions had been made by an inordinately small group of politicians and military men. How things could have come to this is told convincingly by Toland. The peer relationships, personalities, psychology and political stage all played their part. If Japan had stayed in Manchuria, its original objective, and continued to occupy Korea everyone in the region might be speaking Japanese now. Imperial overreach would not allow that scenario, as an uncontrolled cancer kills its host. Rising from ashes Japan remains the third largest economy. Toland’s take on the Japanese war seems to be the standard one, out of control factions of militarists and industrialists, a weak emperor and moderate parliament. It’s contradicted by Herbert Bix’s ‘Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan’, also a Pulitzer Prize winner in Non-Fiction (2001) which viewed the imperial house as complicit. Likely the truth lies somewhere in between. John Toland’s ‘The Rising Sun’ is a modern narrative history and deserves its high place in the extensive Pacific War canon. Herbert Bix’s ‘Hirohito’ is not a traditional biography, it is a political history and compares well to this book. The two accounts are valuable as side by side bookends to one of the great 20th century catastrophes.

I have read many books on WW2 and this ranks as one of the best. The book was detailed and informative yet very readable. It was written from the Japanese perspective which gave excellent insight on how cultural factors influenced how and why the war was so brutally and stubbornly fought.

Given how Japan is at odds with her neighbours over her militaristic past, Japan’s role in WWII is often presented through the lens of victors with face value understanding of Japanese society, or in a sympathetic tone to justify Japanese aggression. Rising Sun offers none of that, a gem that presents known facts and oral accounts as it is, from both sides, written in a moderator-like tone. A rare in-depth coverage of imperial Japan that transcends the usual presentation of Japan as a mindless, blood thirsty aggressor. Rising sun does not whitewash Japanese aggression, nor glorify Allied efforts. Instead, the book offers a glimpse into the minds of leadership of warring nations, the soldier on the frontlines, civilians caught in the war, giving readers a chance to appreciate trade offs individuals had to contend with during that turbulent era. The author has done an excellent job presenting a timeline of key events that led Japan down the road of no return, the complexities of Japanese culture, society and thinking that is seldom appreciated in the west. A must read for all history buffs.

The book starts with events that preceded the attack on Pearl Harbor and then continues on until the start of the post-war occupation of Japan. That’s a lot of material -- and since many events are covered from both the US and Japanese perspectives, that amount of material is essentially doubled. Still, gaining a better understanding of the Japanese perspective is what drew me to this book in the first place. Before Pearl Harbor, the Japanese didn’t seem to understand why their friendly overtures toward the US were being rebuffed. They didn’t seem to appreciate how damaging it was, from the US perspective, for Japan to have signed a pact with Germany and Italy. And the Japanese soldiers’ initial savage treatment of the Chinese citizens (including infants!) in the cities and territories they conquered gave Japan’s reputation a stain they could not cleanse. I was pleased the book also covered the Japanese surprise attack on Clark Air Force base in the Philippines. Although not as well-known as the Pearl Harbor attack, that attack was still devastating to the US’ ability to defend that region of the world. And the book continues through all the major Pacific actions of WW II. To name a few, the sinking of the HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, the Bataan Death March, MacArthur’s escape from Corregidor, battle of the Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa and on through to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. And, in most cases, with those actions described from both the US and Japanese perspective. It was incredible that, even after the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were elements who wanted to keep fighting, viewing national suicide as preferable to surrender. Bottom line: Lots of information. Quite complete, though by necessity somewhat abbreviated. Reasonably unbiased. Provides some understanding of the Oriental perspective of that time.

John Toland’s Pulitzer Prize winning ‘Rising Sun’ was first published in 1971, so it can take no advantage of more recent scholarship. Even so, I’d strongly recommend it for the sheer quality of both the research and the writing. It is an excellent account of the latter years of the Japanese Empire, the years in which the rising sun, symbol of imperial Japan, reached its zenith and quickly set. He tells the story at three distinct levels. He gives us just enough detail on the politics, both inside and outside Japan, to make the context comprehensible without ever becoming tiresome. He describes the military events with precisely the same level of detail, neither boring nor insufficient, from the very start of the fighting by Japan’s armies, in Manchuria in 1932, long before any Western powers became involved. Finally, he uses material left behind by survivors to give us a personal view of the events, whether of Japanese soldiers and civilians. The tale of Shizuko Miura, a nurse who witnessed the landings and fighting on Saipan, was particularly telling, and those of atomic bomb survivors chill the blood. He starts with the background of Japan itself, including several attempts made by groups of army officers to impose their will on the country, if necessary (according to their own lights) by violence. They justified insubordination spilling over into mutiny as true loyalty, to a higher set of values, the essence of Japan or ‘kokutai’. The apparent impossibility of snuffing out such movements, probably because the ideas of ‘kokutai’ were so broadly shared even by those who would not break with discipline to uphold them, led to the growing pressure on the nation to flex its muscles. An expansionist programme saw Japanese forces occupying increasingly extensive areas of China and eventually led to the clash with the United States. There was nothing inevitable about that clash. Toland tracks the long and painful negotiations between the two nations that might have avoided conflict. I was particularly fascinated, and not a little horrified, by the misunderstandings caused by the US ability to read all Japanese communications – they had broken their codes – but failure to translate the contents correctly. Toland gives a series of examples. For instance, Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo wrote: “This is our proposal setting forth what are virtually our final concessions” After the code was broken, the message was translated, or rather mistranslated, as: “This proposal is our final ultimatum” leaving Secretary of State Cordell Hull with a view of the Japanese position as far more unbending than it was. It seems that being able to read an adversary’s messages may be no advantage, and may even be a handicap, if one misunderstands them so thoroughly. In the end war broke out simultaneously against the US, Britain and Holland, with Japanese forces invading the Far Eastern possessions of the latter two powers, as well as attacking Pearl Harbor. For a little over a year, Japan knew nothing but success, her advance apparently unstoppable. But then the US began to prove the wisdom of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto’s words, that the Pearl Harbor raid had merely awakened a sleeping giant. At the battle of Midway in 1942 the US established air and naval superiority in the Pacific. And in successfully taking back Guadalcanal, an island in the Solomons, it finally blocked and indeed reversed Japanese progress. Then its hugely superior economic and industrial strength came into play and the machine of American power began to grind forward towards Tokyo. Toland charts its advance compellingly, with much survivor material to bring to light just what the cruelty of the conflict meant to individuals. In amongst the horrors and brutality, he describes some reactions that bring a little relief: for instance, the Japanese soldier who decided not to follow most of his colleagues into suicide, when he was told by another survivor that the whole garrison had already been posted as dead back in Japan. What was the point of dying again? The book describes the politics of both sides, within Japan, between Japan and the Allies and within the Allied powers – the Soviet Union, for example, refusing to act as a go-between between Japan and the United States over peace overtures, until it too declared war in the last days of the conflict, so that it could stake its claim to territory it coveted. He also describes the tensions in the high commands, or between Japanese military and political leaders: there was a final attempt at a coup in Japan to prevent the slide towards peace. At the personal, political and military level the book gives an immensely readable and highly engaging account of a fascinating and crucial period of our history. Never dull, always engrossing, Toland’s book is well worth reading if you’re interested in those turbulent times. Or, indeed, if you enjoy history for its capacity to astonish even more than fiction.

I first read this book in graduate school study of Japanese history and it impressed me as impartial narrative. Now, many years later, I read it again because I now have lived in Japan for 25 years and I cannot help but wonder how much unbiased truth was told on either side of the Pacific. With the 70th year memorial for the end of WWII this year, and questions about a possible modification of the Japanese constitution which prohibits military action by the Defense Force of Japan, people probably should be thinking about the past a little more. For those of us who were raised in the USA, we got the USA perspective for years on the big screens at theaters and then, on TV late movies. But, the truth wasn't all American "John Wayne" heroes, or stereotyped images of crazy Japanese soldiers and politicians. One thing I am certain of after reading this book is that WWII was hell on earth on both sides- Allies and Axis; and even more so for all of the people living in the countries that made up the war zone. We need to remember that point, and we really need to make sure we know what really happened so that we won't make the same mistakes again,. If you are interested in a good presentation of available information from both sides (although perhaps more so from the Japanese perspective) this is a must-read book.

Amazing book and an easy read that goes into depth but doesn’t bore you with too many details.

The West has the reflex to think warmonger Japan was the pacific version of nazis. It was not. It was a democracy, peculiar perhaps, but where no Hitler existed. The book is absolutely breathtaking and is the result of hundreds of interviews with Japanese first hand participants.

Excelent book about Japan in WWII, from the Japanese point of view.