The Rising Sun : The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945

John Toland
Random House Publishing Group
 9780812968583
0-8129-6858-1

[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.Chicago Sun-TimesThis Pulitzer Prizewinning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall.

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of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the authors words, a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happenedmuddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox. In weaving together the historical facts and human drama leading up to and culminating in the war in the Pacific, Toland crafts a riveting and unbiased narrative history. In his Foreword, Toland says that if we are to draw any conclusion from The Rising Sun, it is that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human nature that repeats itself, not history.Unbelievably rich . . . readable and exciting . . .The best parts of [Tolands] book are not the battle scenes but the intimateview he gives of the highest reaches of Tokyo politics.Newsweek