Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45: Amazon.co.uk: Max Hastings: Books

Review

‘A monumental achievement…compassionate but unsparing in its judgements.’ Sunday Times

‘An outstandingly gripping and authoritative account of the battle for Japan, and a monument to human bravery and savagery.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Absolutely excellent.’ John Simpson, Observer

‘Magisterial…it is truly cathartic to reach the end of the Second World War in Hastings’s company.’ The Times

‘Brilliantly though Hastings lays out the strategic context, his real talent lies in his account of the “terrible human experience” that it involved…This is a book for anyone who wants to understand what happened in half the world during one of the bloodiest periods of the blood-soaked 20th century.’ Spectator

‘Spectacular…Hastings makes important points about the war in the East that have been all too rarely heard…excellent…compelling…searingly powerful.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘As Hastings brilliantly describes, conditions for fighting men on both sides were appalling…the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the decision to drop the atomic bombs were influenced by the urge to 'get this business over with', but the argument, as Hastings explains so well with his usual exemplary judgement, is far more complex.’ Financial Times

‘Highly readable…absorbing…excellent…admirably balanced…the author's attitude…refreshingly modern and sensitive.’ Guardian

‘A delight to read…absorbing…engrossing.’ Scotsman

‘A delight to read…its originality lies…in the meticulousness of the author's research…an absorbing read… “Nemesis” is an engrossing book.’ Evening Standard

Reviews for ‘Warriors’:

‘With this collection, Hastings is back on home territory, where he can bring his unique blend of skills as war reporter, and social as well as military historian to bear…This is one of the best and most diverting of his shorter pieces.’ Evening Standard

‘All [of the stories] are corking…opinions are stated firmly and with big bold swings of the pendulum. His virtues are clarity and decisiveness – greatly to be admired when it comes to making clear, for the lay reader, roughly what is going on in the fiendishly complex and bloody engagements he describes.’ Spectator

‘A wonderfully eclectic selection…a marvellous book. Wry, perceptive and engaging, it lays bare the curious mix of character traits – good and bad – that a successful warrior requires.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘His brisk prose has the qualities of his warriors: clear, decisive, forceful…“Warriors” will enthral everyone.’ Daily Telegraph

Review

'A monumental achievement!compassionate but unsparing in its judgements.' Sunday Times 'An outstandingly gripping and authoritative account of the battle for Japan, and a monument to human bravery and savagery.' Daily Telegraph 'Absolutely excellent.' John Simpson, Observer 'Magisterial!it is truly cathartic to reach the end of the Second World War in Hastings's company.' The Times 'Brilliantly though Hastings lays out the strategic context, his real talent lies in his account of the "terrible human experience" that it involved!This is a book for anyone who wants to understand what happened in half the world during one of the bloodiest periods of the blood-soaked 20th century.' Spectator 'Spectacular!Hastings makes important points about the war in the East that have been all too rarely heard!excellent!compelling!searingly powerful.' Sunday Telegraph 'As Hastings brilliantly describes, conditions for fighting men on both sides were appalling!the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the decision to drop the atomic bombs were influenced by the urge to 'get this business over with', but the argument, as Hastings explains so well with his usual exemplary judgement, is far more complex.' Financial Times 'Highly readable!absorbing!excellent!admirably balanced!the author's attitude!refreshingly modern and sensitive.' Guardian 'A delight to read!absorbing!engrossing.' Scotsman 'A delight to read!its originality lies!in the meticulousness of the author's research!an absorbing read! "Nemesis" is an engrossing book.' Evening Standard Reviews for 'Warriors': 'With this collection, Hastings is back on home territory, where he can bring his unique blend of skills as war reporter, and social as well as military historian to bear!This is one of the best and most diverting of his shorter pieces.' Evening Standard 'All [of the stories] are corking!opinions are stated firmly and with big bold swings of the pendulum. His virtues are clarity and decisiveness -- greatly to be admired when it comes to making clear, for the lay reader, roughly what is going on in the fiendishly complex and bloody engagements he describes.' Spectator 'A wonderfully eclectic selection!a marvellous book. Wry, perceptive and engaging, it lays bare the curious mix of character traits -- good and bad -- that a successful warrior requires.' Sunday Telegraph 'His brisk prose has the qualities of his warriors: clear, decisive, forceful!"Warriors" will enthral everyone.' Daily Telegraph

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169 of 181 people found the following review helpful

A comprehensive view of the collapse of Japan 4 Oct 2007

By Pyers Symon

Format:Hardcover

Most accounts of the fall of Japan follow, understandably, the progress of the US across the Pacific, culminating in the invasions of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and finally the cataclysmic events of August 1945. Hastings paints a much broader picture, following events in Burma, where the British Empire forces were engaged in a stunningly successful but ultimately pointless, in terms of the final destruction of Japan, campaign, to Borneo where the Australians where relegated to fighting in a backwater, losing much of their stature gained in the Western Desert 3 years before, and being hampered by in-fighting. Macarthur's arrogance - megalomania even - in the Philippines is described with the savage battle for Manila. The necessity for the battle for Iwo is seriously questioned with the normal answer "it saved allied aircrews" being doubted. Some of what he describes is well-known - the fire bombing of Japan's cities, the battle for Okinawa are covered well but less-known aspects are handled well: the China war (which had been going on for far longer that WW2), the Soviet invasion of Manchuria (Stalin's race to grab land before the war ended - the battles there continued for some days after the "official" surrender) and the choking of Japan's logistical supplies by the relatively small (compared with the U-Boats a couple of years earlier) US submarine force. Hastings makes the point that the sinking of Japan's merchant navy dwindled back in late '44 and early 45 for the very simple reason: there was pretty well nothing more to sink. He criticises the USAAF (a la Bomber Command) for not diverting more resources into the mining of the Inland Sea. When this did happen, the results almost crippled Japan's inter-island traffic. The actual nuclear attacks are briefly covered - I suspect that Hastings realised that they are just too well known - but the political build up, in Washington, Tokyo and Moscow, is covered is some detail.

For those used to Hastings's earlier work dealing with the end of WW2 in Europe - Armageddon and Overlord - will be familiar with his technique of mixing personal memories and reflections with the broader picture - both military and political. In Nemesis he succeeds again admirably and this book thoroughly deserves five stars.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Opinion of a Pacific rookie 14 Dec 2007

By Weisenwolf

My knowledge of the Pacific War is fairly limited and confined to the Pearl harbour to Midway period so what I wanted was a broad brush view of the later stages of the conflict and this tome fulfilled my need very well.

Hastings gives a good chronological account of each part of the campaign with plenty of flavour and puts the battles and decisions of all participants into context: if the evidence supports a conclusion he makes the argument and if it does not he outlines the case for each conclusion, ventures his opinion but leaves the other possibilities open for you to make your own mind up. I like this sort of approach in preference to shying away from opinion or asserting your own to the exclusion of any other possibility. The fact that the entire region is covered and not just the US campign is also very welcome and the well worn arguments regarding the dropping of the Bombs and the political situation in Japan etc. are very concisely covered.

I was left with a fair framework for the period to hang further reading onto, a great deal of respect for those who fought on both sides and a small slice of anger towards their collected political and military masters.

Had I had to spend time at the pointy end on either side I would have felt ill used I think; a very Good read.

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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

An Excellent Overview 26 Nov 2007

By Jon Latimer

Max Hastings describes how and why Japan was finally brought low in 1945 - the politics and the military grand strategy - and what it was like for the ordinary people swept up by these events. And in his descriptions of action on the ground in China, Burma, the Philippines and across the Pacific, he succeeds in conveying the horror of total warfare by allowing participants to speak for themselves. The book does not, however, provide a detailed operational analysis of the campaigns involved, and the absence of a bibliography which is dismissed as an author's `peacock display', is therefore a disappointment. A good bibliography is a resource and the literature of this subject is little better known than its detail, so the absence of one, or at least of a bibliographic essay, is a pity - hence only 4 stars. This is all the more apparent given Hastings's clear exposition of Japanese as well as American strategic imperatives; he shows why this war degenerated into a slugfest.

There are excellent pen pictures of leading characters, and the failings of senior commanders are rigorously examined: General Douglas MacArthur, for example, was a paranoid megalomaniac obsessed with his personal mission to liberate the Philippines, and ignored any intelligence that didn't suit him. In describing systematic Japanese brutality towards both Allied prisoners and fellow Asians, Hastings is also careful to shade the coin, showing that not all Japanese were sadists. But if today some Japanese suggest such inhumanity was no worse than Allied bombing, he notes that having started the war, they `waged it with such savagery towards the innocent and impotent that it is easy to understand the rage which filled Allied hearts in 1945'.

The horror of the atomic bombs is put in context by the description of the fire bomb raid on Tokyo of 9 March 1945, in which as many as 100,000 people died, and the strategic significance of aerial bombardment is itself put in context with the submarine campaign that effectively crippled Japan's economy. Subsequently Hastings doesn't dwell on the horrible effects of the bombs themselves, but describes the Tolstoyan inevitability of their use in balanced terms. He concludes that if today Japan is guilty of a collective rejection of historical fact in denying its army's brutal and nihilistic actions, some US historians interpret the pursuit of decisive victory - unconditional surrender - as the American way of war, an outlook that `renders the country liable to chronic disappointment'. In Nemesis Hastings has covered a vast canvas with superbly realised detail, and has provided an excellent companion to Armageddon, his earlier study of the defeat of Germany.