Rising Sun
By John Toland
4/5
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About this ebook
Why did the dawn attack on Pearl Harbor occur? Was was inevitable? Was the Emperor a puppet or a warmonger? And, finally, what inspired the barbaric actions of those who fought, and who speak here of the unspeakable - murder, cannibalism and desertion?
'Unbelievably rich … Readable and exciting' Newsweek
'The most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific War' Chicago Sunday Times
John Toland
John Toland (1912–2004) was one of the most respected and widely read historians of the twentieth century, known for writing without analysis or judgment and allowing the characters and their actions to speak for themselves. He was the author of two novels, a memoir, and more than a dozen works of nonfiction, including Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography and The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971. Upon its original publication in 1991, In Mortal Combat: Korea, 1950–1953 was hailed by the New York Times for its “panoramic” scope and its skill in presenting “the soldier’s-eye view of the war.”
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Reviews for Rising Sun
137 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it. Excellent book, great narrator. Highly recommend for the subset of history buffs who enjoy WWII history in extreme detail. It's an incredibly long book, with tremendously in depth chapters on just about everything having to do with Japan... but if you like that kind of detail, this is a great book. I found the extreme detail excellent in most chapters - just a couple of chapters seemed to drag on with detail that seemed a bit over the top. But, wow, the research needed to write a book like this is staggering. Several chapters I had to reread because spacing out for a line or 2 made it impossible to follow - so if you want to dig in to this book I suggest setting aside your reading list for a while and just read this book for a while. I think overall I'll have spent 2 months on this book but it's well worth it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting look at the Pacific War through the eyes of the Japanese. The personal stories are the most gripping.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spoiler : Japan looses
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book - very long but very readable and keeps you wanting to hear the next part.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A blow-by-blow account of the war, with very little analysis or big picture summary. Parts of it were, to me, very much old news, but other parts were fascinating. Lots of interesting anecdotes from the Japanese side, and great descriptions of both the pre-war negotiations and the final obstacles to surrender. Overall, Toland's writing is clear and the book is hard to put down. It's a good foundation to start learning more about the period.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A blow-by-blow account of the war, with very little analysis or big picture summary. Parts of it were, to me, very much old news, but other parts were fascinating. Lots of interesting anecdotes from the Japanese side, and great descriptions of both the pre-war negotiations and the final obstacles to surrender. Overall, Toland's writing is clear and the book is hard to put down. It's a good foundation to start learning more about the period.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed this in depth look at the Japanese Empire and the war in the Pacific. I've read a lot of books about World War II, especially the battles in the Pacific, and while The Rising Sun doesn't go into as much depth as those other books on specific battles or campaigns, it excels at providing a detailed overview of the entire war from the American and Japanese perspectives. I greatly enjoyed the detailed recounting of the events that preceded Pearl Harbor, as well as the turmoil in the Japanese government and army as they considered surrender. The detailed recounting of events from individual soldiers, non-combatants, and politicians provided detail and a human perspective on the war, especially from the Japanese side. If you are a student of history, especially of World War II, then this is a book you need to include in your reading list.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How time flies. It is difficult to remember that this book (or these books, since this is a two-volume work) is almost 50 year old. Written, as the title suggests, mostly from the Japanese point of view, it covers the period from the 2/26 Incident down through the surrender. It is based mostly on interviews with hundred of participants, nearly all of whom must by now be dead — along with the author, who died in 2004. Despite the vast length of the book, it doesn’t cover everything equally; some important incidents are covered only incidentally, while a few are covered in excruciating detail. It is not entirely devoid of mistakes. For example, it describes the Casablanca Conference as being held with “the brilliant blue of the Mediterranean as a background” — Casablanca is on the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, it is very well written, and highly recommended to anyone with an interested in the Pacific War.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Impressivebook with a good view of the problems per-war Japan had. because of its political structure Japan had little choice but to fight or be a second tier government.Well worth the effort of wading thru its length.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I find this a useful adjunct to WWII research on the level of Shirer's rise and Fall of Nazis. The prose is lucid, and I believe Toland has laid out a believable narrative of the Japanese actions that led to the war. I think Bergami's Imperial Japanese Conspiracy is a more difficult read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is a political history of Japan between 1936 and 1945, played out in scenes in Tokyo, Washington and in the battles in China, the Pacific, and South East Asia. The particular strength of the book is its use of personal recollections and accounts of key figures in the Japanese Government and Imperial Councils. What comes across are the deeply divided factions within Japan, and the surprisingly sophisticated and nuanced views they held towards the capability and intentions of the United States of America. The author's thesis (and he argues that this represents the views held in Japan at the time) was that the US and Japan went to war over the Japan's desire to bring China within its sphere of influence, and the US determination to block that outcome. Toland argues that the Japanese were genuine in their desire to reach some compromise with the US in relation to China in the period leading up to Pearl Harbour - admittedly under considerable pressure from the US. It is ironic that the US success in cracking Japanese codes meant that the US Secretary of State became aware that the Japanese were preparing a military fall back position if the talks on China failed, and from this knowledge concluded that the Japanese attempts at compromise were simply a smoke screen rather than a legitimate diplomatic option. This is no apology for Japan, but adds a deeper understanding to how wrong-headed their decision to go to war was. It also gives the lie to statements that the Emperor's instruction to lay down arms and 'bear the unbearable' defeat was universally complied with. Simply a classic history.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent read, though John Toland tends to soften Japan's the atrocities committed. Could be because his wife is Japanese?