Hirohito

Rating:
Summary: An overview of the reign of the Showa Emperor.
Review: I have read Hoyt's books about Yamamoto and Tojo and gave them an average read for various reasons. Hoyt in his book gives a better picture of Hirohito. The overview is very sympathic to the Japanese Emperor. The coverage is of his entire life, rather than just the war years. Hoyt's view is that Hirohito was overwhelmed by the militarists when it came to war. I think the judgement is still out on this. Overall I think the book gave a good summation of his reign, with a concentration on pre war and war material. The source material Hoyt uses are predominately Japanese, with some Western sources.
This is a good read of Hirohito's reign. The reader will understand the factional disputes within the Army and Navy after reading this book. He/she will also understand how the Imperial Japanese Army forced the war on an unwilling Emperor and population.

Rating:
Summary: An overview of the reign of the Showa Emperor.
Review: I have read Hoyt's books about Yamamoto and Tojo and gave them an average read for various reasons. Hoyt in his book gives a better picture of Hirohito. The overview is very sympathic to the Japanese Emperor. The coverage is of his entire life, rather than just the war years. Hoyt's view is that Hirohito was overwhelmed by the militarists when it came to war. I think the judgement is still out on this. Overall I think the book gave a good summation of his reign, with a concentration on pre war and war material. The source material Hoyt uses are predominately Japanese, with some Western sources.
This is a good read of Hirohito's reign. The reader will understand the factional disputes within the Army and Navy after reading this book. He/she will also understand how the Imperial Japanese Army forced the war on an unwilling Emperor and population.