Nemesis: the Battle for Japan, 1944--45 Pdf, Epub, Ebook

NEMESIS: THE BATTLE FOR JAPAN, 1944--45 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

They also hastened the end of that death and destruction. The ugliness and brutalities of the conflict are often lost amid the platitudes, parades and foreign legion hats. This is another source Hastings omitted because it clearly ran counter to Hastings' attempt to denigrate MacArthur. He has written 18 books on military history and current events. Soft cover. Search Within These Results:. License this article. That apparent mentality is further reinforced by his citing of latter-day matter-of-factness of how many Japanese ex-soldiers and historians view the attrocities. You have to love learning things like that, right? This is a very big and detailed book. Hastings provides enough history to put each section in context without getting bogged down in irrelevant detail. He does come down, mostly on the positive side regarding the use of nuclear weapons. Its economy was dependent upon fuel and raw materials shipped from China, Malaya, Burma and the Netherlands East Indies. Again, a book of this breadth must reduce topics that often take up page books on their own to a chapter or two on each; the British Army - who were mostly Indians and East Africans - fighting in Burma, the U. Condition: Very Good. There is little discussion about the reasons for the war, no analysis of Dutch oil, co- prosperity spheres, or missed warnings. Hastings also worked as editor and editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph. Customers who bought this item also bought. Hastings thinks that the bomb served the twin aims of retributive justice and keeping the Russian bear at bay. History books reviews. Quotes from Retribution: The Some historians would even reverse that ratio" p. For example the author asserts that Japan could have been brought to surrender by the U. I don't always agree with his conclusions, but he is always evocative. This takes up the last third of the book, and here I had some quibbles. Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944--45 Writer

Hastings sets the scene in this chapter, briefly covering the flow of the War to this stage, and laying out for the reader the tensions that existed between the Allies, and within the US itself. Recent evidence suggests that in America, especially, charlatans prosper on the hustings, while good people flinch from exposing themselves to the humiliations and deceits essential to secure public office. Jan 27, Joseph rated it liked it Shelves: military-biography. I learned a lot of details that I had not heard from other sources. He lives outside London. Stalin would almost certainly have seized Hokkaido, with his usual indifference to losses. Oct 24, Mikey B. The political situation in China has also received relatively little attention in the past, making this a useful corrective. Hastings' account of the last year of the Asia-Pacific War is comprehensive. View all 4 comments. It was clear to many if not most, that the War was lost in , so why did they fight on? The US were very reluctant for the Colonial Powers to take up their former territories after the War, to the extent that they refused to help the French in Indo-China, while Britain and Australia for differing reasons were critical of the US efforts to sideline their input to Japan's defeat. The campaign to retake the Philippines comes across as one long disaster for everyone, the Americans, the Japanese, and especially the civilians caught in the fighting. Beheadings, vivisection, maiming, starvation, slavery, grueling battlefield deaths, mental breakdowns, rape: raping teenagers, raping families, public rape, raping with knives, raping and then murdering, kidnapping tens of thousands of women to be shipped off and raped by their soldiers, Japan loved it some rape. This is the Asian cultural element of "face" at work I suppose. I'm not going to get into a lengthy discussion on this, but suffice it to say, I did not find his moral arguments compelling. LeMay wasn't typical as there were many honorable American leaders in the military. He takes familiar history and makes you look at it from entirely new angles; once you read his books, you feel you have a new understanding, or at the very least, that your mind has been taught to think a little more critically. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. This seems a sterile exercise, since it is plain that both played their parts. He gives a good history of the Kamikaze efforts, complete with illuminating viewpoints from both the Japanese and American perspectives. Seller Rating:. This book has real strengths and, in the main, is well put together. May 15, Marcus rated it it was amazing Shelves: world-war-2 , pacific-front , aerial-warfare , history. Its economy was dependent upon fuel and raw materials shipped from China, Malaya, Burma and the Netherlands East Indies. He claimed to perceive a 'crooked streak' in both Marshall and Eisenhower, two of the most honourable men in American public service. All in all these chapters would have been a great book all on its own. Sadly it is quite clear that the Japanese people as a whole do not want to know about the atrocities, and wish the whole of this history to be buried. Hastings is also aware of the politics behind the decision to use the atomic bomb, with the US desire to win the war before the intervention of the Soviets certainly playing a part. Featuring the most remarkable cast of commanders the world has ever seen, the dramatic battle for Japan of was acted out across the vast stage of Asia: Imphal and Kohima, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima, With an introduction read by Max Hastings. A British, he doesn't write like a brainwashed American on these controversies, but ends up writing in defense just the same which is inexcusable. I really like Max Hastings. The numbers of dead, the huge battles, the sacrifices and hardships that people went through are hard to imagine for any of us sitting here at our desks in Goodreads Librari Book Description Condition: New. No general of the Second World War has seen his reputation fall as far as MacArthur, and Hastings considers him unfit for his position, saying he displayed a taste for fantasy quite unsuited to a field commander, together with ambition close to megalomania and consistently poor judgement as a picker of subordinates. Nemesis: The Battle For Japan, Considering the plight of civilians and captives, dying in thousands daily under Japanese occupation, together with the casualties that would have been incurred had the Soviets been provoked into maintaining their advance across mainland China, almost any scenario suggests that far more people of many nationalities would have died in the course of even a few further weeks of war than were killed by the atomic bombs. Add Bill Slim to my very short list of officers I admire. Condition: Very Good. His savagery represents a strain in American life that should be feared by Americans if we are to value our country. He was incapable of admitting a mistake, and over time his mental state started to be called into question. But upon rereading it and cross-checking with other references, this turns out to be a decent book. Therefore I started this book with very limited knowledge of the campaigns in this area. The suffering was appall This is a remarkable book, worth reading even for those who consider themselves knowledgeable about World War II in the Pacific. Beyond just the abject quality of the work, Retribution is also notable for Hastings' willingness to make sweeping conclusions on the topics of focus. Prior to the dropping of the bombs the Japanese were bargaining futilely with the Russian government to obtain favourable terms from the Allies. Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944--45 Reviews

This is a book not only for military history buffs but for anyone who wants to understand what happened in half the world during one of the bloodiest periods of the blood-soaked 20th century. Buy New Learn more about this copy. Hastings also states that the onus was on the Japanese with many of their cities in utter devastation to end the war. Indeed, there are some interesting chapters on the war in Burma, the fight in China, and especially the post-atomic invasion of Manchuria by the Russians. Escape the Present with These 24 Historical Romances. After performing magnificently in North Africa their troops were recalled home, where they spent the rest of the war contributing little other than occasionally being sent off on pointless expeditions, such as rooting out bypassed Japanese garrisons which were incapable of doing any significant damage, and were starving to death anyway. Its economy was dependent upon fuel and raw materials shipped from China, Malaya, Burma and the Netherlands East Indies. Hastings is an outstanding military historian and I learned a great deal from this book. Hastings has much excellent research to present, though too much of it went into the writing and not enough of it into thinking about humanity in general. They were searching for an end-game. Hastings is unflinching in his condemnation of Japanese atrocities while still managing to find enough individual acts of decency and kindness to prevent his criticism becoming a demonisation. Max, while detailing the campaigns, looks from all angles and doesn't in my opinion, try to bring personal opinions to the table. I learned a lot of details that I had not heard from other sources. Seller Inventory DH29pgto View all 9 comments. As the Allied forces hammered away at Japan island by island, only in China did their empire continue to expand, because the Nationalists could not, and would not fight. I don't know what you'd call this type of book. It was only in the last 18 months of the war that land troops began to meet face to face. More information about this seller Contact this seller 9. Perhaps "historical mood piece. Jan 29, Ozymandias rated it it was amazing Shelves: history. Hastings also has time to pound a few more nails into the coffin of General Douglas MacArthur's reputation. The entire population got into the act and worked to make those airplanes or munitions of war This book is a wonderful portrait of Douglas Mac Arthur's arrogance and absolute spirit of showmanship and the bloody consequences which were borne by the ordinary american soldier. Saying basically that Churchill must imagine the flattery was going to have the same effect on him as on FDR. He is not bound by traditional American views of American commanders, although I think that he was a little hard on Halsey, allowing hindsight influence his judgment. Hastings also aggressively defends the use of atomic weapons on civilian population centers; "Those who seek to argue that Japan was ready to surrender before Hiroshima are peddlers of fantasies. Hastings is also aware of the politics behind the decision to use the atomic bomb, with the US desire to win the war before the intervention of the Soviets certainly playing a part. I think Bird overstates the case that Hastings's central theme is that the atomic bombings were "justified and necessary. He does come down, mostly on the positive side regarding the use of nuclear weapons. This was one of the most engaging war histories I have ever read, and probably due to my own American myopia, full of things I didn't know. Stalin would almost certainly have seized Hokkaido, with his usual indifference to losses. The enmity for Japan exists to this day in countries like China and the Philippines. But he also wasn't the exception. This is a very big and detailed book. The campaign to retake the Philippines comes across as one long disaster for everyone, the Americans, the Japanese, and especially the civilians caught in the fighting. The blurb on the jacket of my edition of Nemesis says that the Pacific theatre had the most extraordinary cast of characters and having just finished the book I would have to say I agree. Search for all books with this author and title. The battle for Japan that ended many months after the battle for Europe involved enormous naval, military and air operations from the borders of India to the most distant regions of China. Hastings is an outstanding military historian and I learned a great deal from this book. Now, I will readily admit that Douglas MacArthur was arrogant, headstrong and that he was sometimes a lousy judge of character especially in the selection of his senior staff. This is an engrossing book focusing on the last year of the war with Japan. No general of the Second World War has seen his reputation fall as far as MacArthur, and Hastings considers him unfit for his position, saying he displayed a taste for fantasy quite unsuited to a field commander, together with ambition close to megalomania and consistently poor judgement as a picker of subordinates. Had to be done.

Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944--45 Read Online

Japan had been behaving barbarously since the invasion of Manchuria in , and its atrocities had become widely know. Hastings loves to retell stories he had translators gain during interviews. The most important and admirable quality of "Retribution" lies however in its relentless, sometimes even scathing critical analysis of events described in this book and people who took part in them, both as nations and individuals. Oct 24, Mikey B. The fighting there was as much a fight against historical forces as against the Japanese, a last ditch effort to try to ensure the continuation of colonialism after the war. It was clear to many if not most, that the War was lost in , so why did they fight on? Other editions. The topics are as fascinating as they are endless, and this is as good and approachable as one page volume that delves into all of them could be. Every battle was to be the last and determining one — Saipan, then the Philippines, followed by Iwo Jima then Okinawa. It would've been better if he had delineated a philosophical school and then applied it to these facts. Saying basically that Churchill must imagine the flattery was going to have the same effect on him as on FDR. Japanese occupation across south east asia was characterised by institutionalised bureacracy and a sense of racial arrogance which knew little parallel. Yet, Hastings believes there were still good reasons for the atomic bombs though he is oddly of the belief that the Tokyo firebombings were unnecessary in light of the airtight sub blockade. New Hardcover Quantity Available: 1. It is particularly vivid in the case of the bloody battles of attrition that took place in the recapture of the Philippines and on the Pacific islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Dropping the atomic bombs was brutal, but was it justified? But upon rereading it and cross-checking with other references, this turns out to be a decent book. The Russian invasion of Manchuria, for example, was a lot more brutal and humiliating than I had been led to believe. Stalin would almost certainly have seized Hokkaido, with his usual indifference to losses. Jan 29, Ozymandias rated it it was amazing Shelves: history. To my surprise, Hastings was in complete agreement with Frank. They believed that their ability to extract a huge blood price from their enemy before succumbing represented a formidable bargaining chip. And it works a treat, shining the light on the human consequences of warfare. A bit of biography a dint of analysis. The games played by the Nationalists in China eventually saw them lose the whole-hearted backing of the US, as the latter country began to fully realise the corruption and ineffectiveness of Chiang's regime. Continue shopping. British and American war efforts in the China-Burma- India Theater are also well detailed and fascinating. Here, Hastings colors the tactical and technical details of troop movements and battles that covered a third of the globe with an impressive array of commentary from belligerents from all sides. Max, while detailing the campaigns, looks from all angles and doesn't in my opinion, try to bring personal opinions to the table. While they had served a purpose over Germany, they did not over Japan. I quite liked how Hastings was willing to say some policies were simply wrong. He ends the book with a blistering documentation of the current efforts in Japan to pretend that there were no atrocities committed in WWII by the Japanese. Finally, there is a bit of a problem with General Douglas MacArthur. You have to love learning things like that, right? First Edition. Max Hastings though yet again does an amazing job with his writing, knowledge and detailed research to bring to life I chose this book after reading 'All Hell Let Loose' by Max Hastings. The Western political imagination, both left and right, cannot conceive of a world without armed conflict. There is no love lost either for Mountbatten, whom Hastings sees as out of his depth. This invasion led to thousands of deaths of Americans and Japanese and an orgy of Japanese violence in Manila that conjures images of Nanjing. Excellent detail with some interesting perspectives of events, including the explosions of the bomb. Ironically, I recall that when Doolittle's bombers took off from the Hornet and bombed Tokyo back in , they were told not to bomb the Imperial Palace, which would've been one way of actually punishing the wrongdoers. Their society-wide disdain for being placed in a meaningless mopping- up role after the main battle had moved on and the remnant Japanese formations were left isolated and irrelevent and of no threat to anyone speaks well of how sensible they were. When I first started reading, I knew that Hastings was in the pro-bombing camp. The author praises our one good leader in the Pacific, Chester Nimitz, and details the errors of the megalomaniacs General McArthur and Admiral Ernest King wh This is a very good book for those really interested in the war against Japan. In this gripping narrative, Max Hastings weaves together the complex strands of an epic war, exploring the military tactics behind some of the most triumphant and most horrific scenes of the 20th century.

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