Download or read book Tennozan written by George Feifer and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 1992 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tennozan offers a remarkable account of the battle of Okinawa, the largest land-sea-air engagement in history. It examines the disastrous collision of three disparate cultures--American, Japanese, and Okinawan--and provides the context for understanding the decision to drop the atomic bomb. 41 photographs.
Download or read book Military Law Review written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bringing Mulligan Home written by Dale Maharidge and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sergeant Steve Maharidge returned from World War II an angry man. The only evidence that he'd served in the Marines was a photograph of himself and a buddy tacked to the basement wall. On one terrifyingly memorable occasion his teenage son, Dale, witnessed Steve screaming at the photograph: “They said I killed him! But I didn't kill him! It wasn't my fault!” After Steve died, Dale Maharidge began a twelve-year quest to face down his father's wartime ghosts. He found more than two dozen members of Love Company, the Marine unit in which his father had served. Many of them, now in their eighties, finally began talking about the war. They'd never spoken so openly and emotionally, even to their families. Through them, Maharidge brilliantly re-creates Love Company's battles and the war that followed them home. In addition, Maharidge traveled to Okinawa to experience where the man in his father's picture died and meet the families connected to his father's wartime souvenirs. The survivors Dale met on both sides of the Pacific Ocean demonstrate that wars do not end when the guns go quiet—the scars and demons remain for decades. Bringing Mulligan Home is a story of fathers and sons, war and postwar, silence and cries in the dark. Most of all it is a tribute to soldiers of all wars—past and present—and the secret burdens they, and their families, must often bear.
Download or read book Hachiman Taro written by Ned Greenwood and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2011-07 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Soon after becoming the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers, MacArthur ordered all Japanese weapons confiscated and destroyed. This order includes swords, even Shinto temple swords of great beauty and value. Some of these art swords, called nippon-to, are documented national treasures. At the same time, Japanese secret societies, such as Showa and the Kanesuka Brotherhood, are to sell them to bigtime foreign collectors for the lucrative profit they will bring. The Johkai Priest of the nearby Sengaku-ji Temple and his assistant, Yoshida Nobu, have asked us to smuggle two extremely valuable swords out of Japan and keep them hidden until political conditions are favorable for their return.' Charged with smuggling priceless swords out of Japan to protect them from being destroyed by Allied forces or sold on the black market by criminal organizations, Blaz Carvajal, Ragnor Ragnvold, and Magwitch Russell conceal the swords and transport them back to the United States for safekeeping. Among the swords is the Hachiman Taro, invaluable Samurai sword from the sixteenth century. Showa, a Japanese secret society, sends Watanabe, a brutal, Japanese POW guard, to retrieve the swords from the trio. Once in the United States, Watanabe covertly tracks down the swords' locations. Can Blaz, Ragnor, and Magwitch keep the swords from falling into Showa's hands? What lengths of brutality will Showa go to retrieve the swords? Who will emerge victorious in the battle for the blades? Follow the path of the swords in the history-rich, action-packed Hachiman Taro: Firstborn of the God of War.
Download or read book Crucible of Hell written by Saul David and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the award-winning historian, Saul David, the riveting narrative of the heroic US troops, bonded by the brotherhood and sacrifice of war, who overcame enormous casualties to pull off the toughest invasion of WWII's Pacific Theater -- and the Japanese forces who fought with tragic desperation to stop them. With Allied forces sweeping across Europe and into Germany in the spring of 1945, one enormous challenge threatened to derail America's audacious drive to win the world back from the Nazis: Japan, the empire that had extended its reach southward across the Pacific and was renowned for the fanaticism and brutality of its fighters, who refused to surrender, even when faced with insurmountable odds. Taking down Japan would require an unrelenting attack to break its national spirit, and launching such an attack on the island empire meant building an operations base just off its shores on the island of Okinawa. The amphibious operation to capture Okinawa was the largest of the Pacific War and the greatest air-land-sea battle in history, mobilizing 183,000 troops from Seattle, Leyte in the Philippines, and ports around the world. The campaign lasted for 83 blood-soaked days, as the fighting plumbed depths of savagery. One veteran, struggling to make sense of what he had witnessed, referred to the fighting as the "crucible of Hell." Okinawan civilians died in the tens of thousands: some were mistaken for soldiers by American troops; but as the US Marines spearheading the invasion drove further onto the island and Japanese defeat seemed inevitable, many more civilians took their own lives, some even murdering their own families. In just under three months, the world had changed irrevocably: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died; the war in Europe ended; America's appetite for an invasion of Japan had waned, spurring President Truman to use other means -- ultimately atomic bombs -- to end the war; and more than 250,000 servicemen and civilians on or near the island of Okinawa had lost their lives. Drawing on archival research in the US, Japan, and the UK, and the original accounts of those who survived, Crucible of Hell tells the vivid, heart-rending story of the battle that changed not just the course of WWII, but the course of war, forever.
Download or read book Breaking Open Japan written by George Feifer and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-07-02 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On July 14, 1853, the four warships of America's East Asia Squadron made for Kurihama, 30 miles south of the Japanese capital, then called Edo. It had come to pry open Japan after her two and a half centuries of isolation and nearly a decade of intense planning by Matthew Perry, the squadron commander. The spoils of the recent Mexican Spanish–American War had whetted a powerful American appetite for using her soaring wealth and power for commercial and political advantage. Perry's cloaking of imperial impulse in humanitarian purpose was fully matched by Japanese self–deception. High among the country's articles of faith was certainty of its protection by heavenly power. A distinguished Japanese scholar argued in 1811 that "Japanese differ completely from and are superior to the peoples of...all other countries of the world." So began one of history's greatest political and cultural clashes. In Breaking Open Japan, George Feifer makes this drama new and relevant for today. At its heart were two formidable men: Perry and Lord Masahiro Abe, the political mastermind and real authority behind the Emperor and the Shogun. Feifer gives us a fascinating account of "sealed off" Japan and shows that Perry's aggressive handling of his mission had far reaching consequences for Japan – and the United States – well into the twentieth if not twenty–first century.
Download or read book The Greatest War Volume III written by Gerald Astor and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2009-09-26 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third volume of this American combat history of World War II highlights the exploits of General MacArthur in the Phillipines and General Patton in Germany and covers from the Battle of the Bulge to Hiroshima and the end of the war. Written by award-winning journalist, acclaimed historian, and World War II veteran Gerald Astor, THE GREATEST WAR is an Americancombat history of World War II told largely in the words of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who fought-and ultimately emerged victorious from-this battle. In this third volume, Astor highlights the exploits of General MacArthur in the Phillipines and General Patton in Germany and takes the reader from the Battle of the Bulge to the bombing of Hiroshima, and up through the end of the war. It is a gripping narrative of unparalleled courage, honor, and glory that is sure to become a military classic.
Download or read book The Samurai Castle Master written by Chris Glenn and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2023-01-05 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the samurai warlord and respected castle architect Todo Takatora died in 1630, the funeral attendants responsible for preparing his body were shocked to note that there was not a single part of his body not scarred or disfigured by sword, spear, glaive or matchlock gun wound. Todo Takatora lived a life that unfolds like a drama. Born to a small landholding samurai family, the maverick youth worked his way to the top, becoming one of the most successful of daimyo warlords. He had served on the front lines of some of the most violent of battles, turning points that forged the nation. In a land and time in which loyalty was held dear, he changed his allegiances a record seven times, serving a record ten lords, more than any other samurai in history. Because of this, he has long been held in contempt by the Japanese. Standing 6 feet tall in a time when the average Japanese man stood between 5 and 5 1/2 feet, Todo Takatora was a giant among men. He died aged 74, when the normal life span was around 50. He was also the finest, most innovative of castle architects, responsible for the design and construction of over 30 of the strongest, most innovative Japanese castles and structures, and influencing samurai castle construction across Japan. In explaining his life, his reasons for having served so many lords, his achievements in battle and in castle design, his political and personal ideals and how these attributes were shaped during the course of his adventurous life, this book will reveal the man, and show why Takatora deserves the epithet of National Hero. In this fascinating biography, the first ever published in the English language, Chris Glenn explores Todo Takatora’s remarkable, and influential, life, the battles he fought in, the political intrigues he was part of, as well as detailing the magnificent castles he built.
Download or read book Toyotomi Hideyoshi written by Stephen Turnbull and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-10-20 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguably the greatest military commander in the history of the samurai, Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose from the ranks of the peasantry to rule over all Japan. A student of the great unifier Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi would later avenge the murder of his master at the battle of Yamazaki. After consolidating his position, Hideyoshi went on the offensive, conquering the southern island of Kyushu in 1587 and defeating the Hojo in 1590. By 1591, he had accomplished the reunification of Japan. This book looks at the complete story of Hideyoshi's military accomplishments, from his days as a tactical leader to his domination of the Japanese nation.
Download or read book Taiko written by Eiji Yoshikawa and published by Vertical, Inc.. This book was released on 2012-08-03 with total page 944 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tempestuous closing decades of the sixteenth century, the Empire of Japan writhes in chaos as the shogunate crumbles and rival warlords battle for supremacy. Warrior monks in their armed citadels block the road to the capital; castles are destroyed, villages plundered, fields put to the torch. Amid this devastation, three men dream of uniting the nation. At one extreme is the charismatic but brutal Nobunaga, whose ruthless ambition crushes all before him. At the opposite pole is the cold, deliberate Ieyasu, wise in counsel, brave in battle, mature beyond his years. But the keystone of this triumvirate is the most memorable of all, Hideyoshi, who rises from the menial post of sandal bearer to become Taiko--absolute ruler of Japan in the Emperor's name. When Nobunaga emerges from obscurity by destroying an army ten times the size of his own, he allies himself with Ieyasu, whose province is weak, but whose canniness and loyalty make him invaluable. Yet it is the scrawny, monkey-faced Hideyoshi--brash, impulsive, and utterly fearless--who becomes the unlikely savior of this ravaged land. Born the son of a farmer, he takes on the world with nothing but his bare hands and his wits, turning doubters into loyal servants, rivals into faithful friends, and enemies into allies. In all this he uses a piercing insight into human nature that unlocks castle gates, opens men's minds, and captures women's hearts. For Hideyoshi's passions are not limited to war and intrigue-his faithful wife, Nene, holds his love dear, even when she must share it; the chaste Oyu, sister of Hideyoshi's chief strategist, falls prey to his desires; and the seductive Chacha, whom he rescues from the fiery destruction of her father's castle, tempts his weakness. As recounted by Eiji Yoshikawa, author of the international best-seller Musashi, Taiko tells many stories: of the fury of Nobunaga and the fatal arrogance of the black-toothed Yoshimoto; of the pathetic downfall of the House of Takeda; how the scorned Mitsuhide betrayed his master; how once impregnable ramparts fell as their defenders died gloriously. Most of all, though, Taiko is the story of how one man transformed a nation through the force of his will and the depth of his humanity. Filled with scenes of pageantry and violence, acts of treachery and self-sacrifice, tenderness and savagery, Taiko combines the panoramic spectacle of a Kurosawa epic with a vivid evocation of feudal Japan.
Download or read book Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War written by James B Wood and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-06-14 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative history, James B. Wood challenges the received wisdom that Japan's defeat in the Pacific was historically inevitable. He argues instead that it was only when the Japanese military prematurely abandoned its original sound strategic plan—to secure the resources Japan needed and establish a viable defensible perimeter for the Empire—that the Allies were able to regain the initiative and lock Japanese forces into a war of attrition they were not prepared to fight. The book persuasively shows how the Japanese army and navy had both the opportunity and the capability to have fought a different and more successful war in the Pacific that could have influenced the course and outcome of World War II. It is therefore a study both of Japanese defeat and of what was needed to achieve a potential Japanese victory, or at the very least, to avoid total ruin. Wood's argument does not depend on signal individual historical events or dramatic accidents. Instead it examines how familiar events could have b
Download or read book Challenges for the 21st Century written by T. Alten and published by Taylor & Francis US. This book was released on 1999 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Story of World War II written by Donald L. Miller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-08 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, prizewinning historian Donald L. Miller has written what critics are calling one of the most powerful accounts of warfare ever published. Here are the horror and heroism of World War II in the words of the men who fought it, the journalists who covered it, and the civilians who were caught in its fury. Miller gives us an up-close, deeply personal view of a war that was more savagely fought—and whose outcome was in greater doubt—than readers might imagine. This is the war that Americans at the home front would have read about had they had access to the previously censored testimony of the soldiers on which Miller builds his gripping narrative. Miller covers the entire war—on land, at sea, and in the air—and provides new coverage of the brutal island fighting in the Pacific, the bomber war over Europe, the liberation of the death camps, and the contributions of African Americans and other minorities. He concludes with a suspenseful, never-before-told story of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, based on interviews with the men who flew the mission that ended the war.
Download or read book The Ultimate Battle written by Bill Sloan and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-10-14 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ultimate Battle tells the full story of the Battle of Okinawa as it has never been told before, utilizing the same up-close narrative style and "grunt's-eye" view of the action that distinguishes Sloan's Brotherhood of Heroesfrom other war books. It is a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death in the largest land-sea-air operation in US history. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost (including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire). The Ultimate Battle is a searing re-creation of the Okinawa campaign as seen through the eyes of men who were in the midst of it, and it is filled with fresh insights that only these men can provide.
Download or read book Deciphering the Rising Sun written by Roger Dingman and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about Americans not of Japanese ancestry, who served as Japanese language officers in World War II. Covering the period 1940-1945, it describes their selection, training, and service in the Navy and Marine Corps during the war and their contributions to maintenance of good relations between America and Japan thereafter. It argues that their service as “code breakers” and combat interpreters hastened victory and that their cross-cultural experience and linguistic knowledge facilitated the successful dismantling of the Japanese Empire and the peaceful occupation of Japan. The book shows how the war changed relations between the Navy and academia, transformed the lives of these 1200 men and women, and set onetime enemies on course to enduring friendship. Its purpose is twofold: to reveal an exciting and hitherto unknown aspect of the Pacific War and to demonstrate the enduring importance of linguistic and cross-cultural knowledge within America’s armed forces in war and peace alike.The book is meant for the general reader interested in World War II, as well as academic specialists and other persons particularly interested in that conflict. It will also appeal to readers with an interest in America’s intelligence establishment and to those interested in Japan and its relations with the United States. This history tells and exciting and previously unknown story of men and women whose brains and devotion to duty enabled them to learn an extraordinarily difficult language and use it in combat and ashore to hasten Japan’s defeat and transformation from enemy to friend of America.
Download or read book Before The Bomb written by John Chappell and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost forgotten in the haze of events that followed Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the summer of 1945 witnessed an intense public debate over how best to end the war against Japan. Weary of fighting, the American people were determined to defeat the imperial power that had so viciously attacked them in December 1941, but they were uncertain of the best means to accomplish this goal. Certain of victory—the "inevitable triumph" promised by Franklin Roosevelt immediately after Pearl Harbor—Americans became increasingly concerned about the human cost of defeating Japan. Particularly after the brutal Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns, syndicated columnists, newspaper editorialists, radio commentators, and others questioned the necessity of invasion. A lengthy naval and aerial siege would have saved lives but might have protracted the war beyond the public's patience. Advertisers filled the media with visions of postwar affluence even as the government was exhorting its citizens to remain dedicated to the war effort. There was heated discussion as well about the morality of firebombing Japanese cities and of using poison gas and other agents of chemical warfare. Chappell provides a balanced assessment of all these debates, grounding his observations in a wealth of primary sources. He also discusses the role of racism, the demand for unconditional surrender, and the government's reaction to public opinion in the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Compelling and controversial, this is the first work to examine the confusing and contradictory climate of the American home front in the months leading up to V-J Day.
Download or read book Remembering Hiroshima written by Francis X. Winters and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking the example of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima as a case in point, Francis Winters analyzes the ethics of warfare, demonstrating how the examples of World War II hold relevance to the contemporary world. The volume examines the ethics of Japan's refusal to surrender and seeks to balance the verdict of responsibility for Hiroshima by extending the analysis to the ethics of the end of the war. It also illustrates how two displays of American naval and munitions power had an impact on Japan comparable to the September 11, 2001 assaults on America. Linking his study with two contemporary films on Iwo Jima, the author illustrates how the 1940s were an era of costly triumph that can still inspire national pride in American citizens. Unique in concept and approach, this volume will have relevance to scholars interested in both historical and contemporary politics, US-Japan relations as well as foreign policy and the ethics of warfare.
