Killing the Rising Sun
How America Vanquished World War II Japan
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4.5 • 1.5K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The powerful and riveting new book in the multimillion-selling Killing series by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan.
Across the globe in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. In Washington, DC, FDR dies in office and Harry Truman ascends to the presidency, only to face the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon. And in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito, who is considered a deity by his subjects, refuses to surrender, despite a massive and mounting death toll. Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and Killing Reagan, this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before.
Customer Reviews
Best book out of the "Killing" series
This book is so captivating that I finished it in just two days. There is no spin in this book. Simply a book that brings history to life. If you read one book this year, this should be it.
Killing the Rising Sun
Highly recommended for WWII history buffs as well as college age students who would be well served in learning the nature of total war in the 1940's. The brutality and horror of WWII is documented and described by Mr. O'Reilly and Mr. Dugard with complete candor, and it is not for the squeamish. In chronicling the inhuman atrocities perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese forces in places like Nanking, Bataan, Manila, the moral judgements of Truman's fateful decision to use atomic weapons become less simplistic. The case is well made that a full scale invasion of Japan would cost potentially hundreds of thousands of lives, given the Japanese ideology of fighting to the death, combined with the United States commitment to receiving terms of unconditional surrender from Japan. An unflinching examination of the closing months of the Pacific war, and an honest look at the moral implications of using atomic weapons in war.
Awesome
A great read. I thought I knew a little world was history but this book really proved I did not. This book is the perfect example of the written word making me feel like I was there. Thanks to the authors and publishers for an interesting and informative read.