Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army

by Meirion Harries and Susie Harries

Book Overview

The Imperial Japanese Army was a legend in its own time. To the defenders of Singapore and Bataan, its soldiers were demonic supermen. The willingness of Japan consistently to fight to the last man remains a benchmark of courage today. Yet these heroes of Saipan and Iwo Jima were also capable of unparalleled bestiality--the rape of Nanking, the use of slave labor on the Burma-Siam Railway, gross neglect and brutalization of prisoners-of-war, and a...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394569350
• ISBN13: 9780394569352
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 569 Pages
• Weight: 2.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Best, most readable one-volume history on the subject in English

I first read the Harries couple's book about seven or eight years ago in High School and loved it. It really dispels the myths and attemps to reach an analytical if critical understanding of the Imperial Army in particular and Imperial Japan in general. I am re-reading it again and am even more impressed at how well it flows for a book of involved historical analysis on a wide-ranging and complex topic. While my own reference library on modern Japan and modern Japanese military history has grown to include over one hundred volumes as I got my BA and MA in modern Japanese History - this book is one of the first I still turn to for quick though comprehensive reference on some of the critical events on the topic. Great stuff. The British perspective does not detract either. Indeed the after-action reports on Japanese behavior, capabilities, and tactics from the CBI and other fronts outside of the US "island hopping" campaign, add an interesting outsider's take on the IJA. Get this one, you won't be sorry.

A Good Read!

This is a great book, especially for those wishing to understand the complexities in building a national army out of a feudal society during the Meiji restoration.The Japanese use of "total intelligence" is also quite interesting, in that there are many similarities between Japanese tactics in the Pacific War and the Russo-Japanese and Nishin Wars.I don't usually enjoy history books written by attorneys or journalists, but this is a big exception.

A high quality no-nonsense read

This piece is an outstanding history of the Japanese Army, with a focus on the 20th century. Exceptionally well researched, this volume goes along way in explaining how and why the Japnanese army performed the way it did in the Second World War. A primary source for understanding 20th Century Japanese military affairs. SOLID GOLD BUY!

A fascinating insight into the land of the rising sun

The book opens with a recitation of Japanese life under the rule of feuding clans of Samurai warriors. But, when Admiral Perry and his U.S. fleet steams into Tokyo Bay in 1853, and Japan gets its first glimpse of steam powered ships, its isolationist ways are destined to pass into history. The author's then cite how Japan's leaders, the Tokugawa Shogunate and others, decided to restore the Emperor to the throne, in 1868, in what became known as the Meiji Restoration. They did this in obeisance to the reality that they could no longer expel, nor compete with, foreign invaders possessing superior weaponry. The author's lay out the carefully calculated steps taken by the Japanese leadership in their goal to build an army capable of competing on an international stage. Japan brought in European military advisors to assist in establishing the proper training methods for its growing military machine. Japan made its first international splash as a military power, in 1905, when it defeated the Russian navy in the battle of Tsushima straits. In fact Japan's defeat of the Russian army in the battle of Mukden, in March 1905, was the largest land battle in history before WWI. This defeat of the Tsar also represented a turning point in world history as it emboldened the Bolsheviks. The Tsar's loss of stature as the leader of Russia, seen even then as a preeminent world class military power, made him politically vulnerable. It led directly to his loss of power in the 1917 Russian Revolution. The story proceeds along the path of Japan's continued quest for dominance of what ultimately became known as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japan, realizing that it could not become a world military power supported by such meager natural resources, set itself upon a course of imperialism borne of the necessity of its dreams. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 in a quest to avail itself of Manchuria's abundant natural resources. As the fighting in China escalated, the Hawks, who had gained control of the political scene in the 1920's, continued to solidify their grip on all aspects of the nations culture. The Samurai code of Bushido aided this quest by underlying the fevered discipline of the Imperial Army, making them a fiercely formidable force. As Japanese imperialism engulfed China, read "the Rape of Nanking" circa 1937, FDR lost patience. As the USA cut back on oil exports to Japan, the Japanese leaders felt it imperative to seize the oilfields in the Dutch East Indies, today known collectively as the archipelago Indonesia. The Japanese felt if they could destroy the US fleet in Pearl Harbor that the US might just internally decide to let them have the Far East. In fact, they felt that because America was a country of many races, and not a pure race like the Japanese, that it might fracture into quarreling factions and just capitulate to Japanese aspirations in there Eastern sphere. As everyone knows, it didn't turn out like that. The J

a book with simple words and brevity.

in reading this book, i am afraid of its thickness at first, but as time goes by, i find the authors' sentence making is very superb, they use simple words to make u understand and grasp the essence, unlike most other authors, who like to use long, long sentence and let u forget what's in front finally. another advantage is it describes the situation and both sides of the war impartially. all in all, i like it. and i want to know where it can be available.