The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library War)

This Pulitzer Prize–winning history chronicles the rise and fall of the Japanese empire from 1936 to 1945, covering the invasion of Manchuria and China through the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, the book presents what the author describes as "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened—muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox." Toland weaves together historical facts and human drama to create a narrative history of the Pacific war. In his Foreword, he notes that the book's central conclusion is "that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human nature that repeats itself, not history." The account combines battle scenes with intimate views of Tokyo politics and decision-making during the war.