Description
Book SynopsisThe United States'' involvement in World War II began with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. But for Japan, the conflict began at a much earlier date. This book focuses on Japan and the events in its military history leading up to and including Pearl Harbor. Unique in its perspective, A Gathering Darkness shows how historical events in the 1920s and 1930s steered the country into war with America and its allies.A Gathering Darkness looks at what happened inside Japan in the 1920s to change its outlook on the West. There was a general repudiation of western values by Japanese society, and Japan turned its back on the outside world and an international order that were making life difficult for the country. The treaties made in Washington in the 1920s left Japan with a local supremacy that no other power, including Britain and the United States, could challenge on the account of their lack of forward bases and their commitments that precluded full deployment of for
Trade ReviewIn this installment to the series entitled Total War: New Perspectives on World War II, edited by Michael A. Barnhart and H.P. Willmott, the latter has teamed up with Haruo Tohmatsu to produce a concise account of the events that led to the outbreak of war in the Pacific against the Allies in late 1941. -- Jeff Alexander, The Univerity of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada * Pacific Affairs *
Tohmatsu and Willmott see the coming of the Pacific War as an ever-expanding series of conflicts begun by the Japanese army in Manchuria in 1931 and continuing through 1942. By focusing on the activities of the Japanese army and navy high command rather than diplomats between 1921 and 1942, this book provides a fresh perspective on the outbreak of the Pacific War. Recommended. It will be of interest to advanced students of the Pacific War. -- C J. Weeks, Southern Polytechnic State University * CHOICE *
The book is a lively piece of critical writing from which the university student and the general reader will derive many new insights. It is novel in concept and rich in new information. -- Ian Nish, STICERD, London School of Economics and Political Science * War in History *
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Japan the Taliban, 1921–1941 Chapter 2: Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Northern China, and the End of Internationalism, 1931–1937 Chapter 3: The War in Northern and Central China Chapter 4: The War in China after 1938 and the Decision for War in the Pacific, 1939–1941 Chapter 5: The Pacific War Unleashed: The Initial Japanese Attacks Chapter 6: The Japanese Victory Chapter 7: The Japanese Dilemma Bibliography
