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The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Japanese Navy (Paperback)

by Hiroyuki Agawa (Author), John Bester (Translator) "I have by me as I write a faded group photograph ..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 408 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha International Ltd; New edition edition (1 Oct 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 4770025394
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770025395
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 14.2 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,061,824 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #76 in  Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Naval Warfare > Japan

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Product Description

New York Times

"One of the most comprehensive and enlightening biographies available of a wartime leader."


The New Yorker

"Brilliant."
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I have by me as I write a faded group photograph. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A clear and concise biography., 17 Aug 2009
By Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy (Paperback)
Yamamoto was regarded as one of Japan's most able pre-WW2 naval officers who rose to become Naval Vice Minister prior to returning to those sea-going duties which saw him in command of Japan's fleets when that war commenced.

Widely regarded as the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbour, from this exceedingly well researched book, we learn that the very idea of such an attack originated many years earlier. During 1927-8 Lieutenant Commander Ryunosuke Kusaka worked simultaneously as an instructor at the naval staff college and the aviation corps. His expertise was aerial tactics and he devised a training scenario which included an attack on Hawaii. He then went on to inject this "theory" into successive students - pilots and future staff officers, over that time. By 1940, therefore, the very idea of such an attack was firmly entrenched in to the minds of all those officers.

Defensive and attack scenarios are a basic part of the teachings of all armed forces. Japan's senior naval staff had devised a training plan whereby Japan would attack the Philippines in the full expectation that the US Fleet would come the aid of that country whereupon the Japanese Fleet would then destroy the US Fleet at sea. When one officer attending such a training session asked "what do we do if the US fails to respond as expected?", the official reply revealed an expectation of all Japanese officers to conform to the accepted thinking of their seniors!

This book reveals Japan's pre-war tactical training as mostly wishful thinking and based on enemy forces doing exactly as was pre-determined by those in charge of strategic planning. In reality, all military plans are changed just as soon as the first shot is fired.

Doubtless, had he survived the war, Yamamoto would have faced a war crimes tribunal. Instead, he lost his life during a conflict which, albeit not of his making, was one in which he went on to play a major role. This book is about this senior Japanese officer from WW2. It is written by a Japanese who clearly understands his subject better than most - perhaps in a way that only a Japanese could. Consequently, we have as complete a biography as one might hope to find.

NM

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An affectionate Portrait, 5 Aug 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy (Paperback)
This biography almost reads like a novel. The author has drawn a very affectionate portrait of the man (sometimes overly so), to the degree that you wonder if he had any faults at all. In this context, I think the reading of alternative biographies of the man is essential (finding them written in English is difficult though!). I also found the lack of chronology to be a bit distracting. Overall however, it gives a very revealling insight into an undoubtedly major personality.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous Insight!, 16 Oct 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy (Paperback)
Agawa gives great insight into the private life of Yamamoto. We see that he was an intellectual, romamtic, a gambling addict, a patriot, and most importantly, a military man who was agaist the junta that was running Japan prior to and during the war.

The deatails of the military command can get a little slow at times, but this is only testimony to the author's command of the subject. This is a must read for any armchair historian, as well as anyone interested in a facsinating biography. I could not put it down, and I'm no WWII or military buff.

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