War Without Mercy

From AwardAnnals

Jump to: navigation, search
Book:

War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War

Author: John W. Dower
Honors:
Genres:
Publisher: Pantheon
War Without Mercy has been hailed by the New York Times as “one of the most original and important books to be written about the war between Japan and the United States.” In this monumental history, Professor John Dower reveals a hidden, explosive dimension of the Pacific War—race—while writing what John Toland has called “a landmark book…a powerful, moving, and even-handed history that is sorely needed in both America and Japan.”

Drawing on American and Japanese songs, slogans, cartoons, propaganda films, secret reports, and a wealth of other documents of the time, Dower opens up a whole new way of looking at that bitter struggle of four and a half decades ago and its ramifications in our lives today. As Edwin O. Reischauer, former ambassador to Japan, has pointed out, this book offers “a lesson that the postwar generations need most…with eloquence, crushing detail, and power.”

Find it:

Reviews

Amazon.com

Dower’s premise in War without Mercy is a startling one: Though Western allies were clearly headed for victory, pure racism fueled the continuation and intensification of hostilities in the Pacific theater during the final year of World War II, a period that saw as many casualties as in the first five years of the conflict combined. Dower doesn’t reach this disturbing conclusion lightly. He combed through piles of propaganda films, news articles, military documents, cartoons—even entries in academic journals in researching this book. Though his case is strong, Dower minimizes other factors, such as the protracted negotiations between the West and the Japanese.

Retrieved from "http://www.awardannals.com/wiki/War_Without_Mercy"
Personal tools