The Rising Sun
The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
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4.7 • 97 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-Times
This Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall 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 author’s words, “a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened—muddled, 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 [Toland’s] book are not the battle scenes but the intimate view he gives of the highest reaches of Tokyo politics.”—Newsweek
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Published in 1970, John Toland’s Pulitzer Prize–winning masterwork examines the history of Japanese imperial aggression during World War II. Toland uses interviews with surviving eyewitnesses and documents like soldiers’ letters and diary entries to deepen our understanding of Japan’s layered past and provide a humanistic perspective on how this Axis power perceived the war. The Rising Sun is a thorough, awe-inspiring, and empathetic history and a deeply satisfying read.
Customer Reviews
Pretty Good, somewhat slanted
Although the author occasionally mentioned (basically in passing) the horrific treatment the Japanese inflicted on non-Japanese (in particular the Chinese) and Allied POWs, his focus is centered on palace intrigues and personalities. Sometimes it borders on obsessive. This is not to say it wasn’t interesting, but more than once I felt, “Get on with the story!” Overall I’m glad I read the book; it offered a lot of details I had been entirely unaware of.