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Rating: 
Summary: A Big Book About A Little War
Review: Denis and Peggy Warner's The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5 is an excellent history of this pivotal event in Asian, and world, affairs. Drawing on the histories of two distinct antagonists, Russia and Japan, as well as military, political, and diplomatic events, it is vividly descriptive, balanced, and prophetic. The Warners start with the assumption, that readers wrongfully would dismiss the brief war as insignificant, and convincingly prove, how this little war changed the world. From the evocation of Pearl Harbor in the first chapter, the book still resonates today, post 9/11.The Russo-Japanese War, along with the American Civil War and World War One, showed how much technology had changed military science. Additions, such as machine guns and naval plating, made traditional tactics obsolete and deadly. Japanese officers also outperformed their Russian opponents, and fortune persistently favored the Japanese, in the form of freak weather patterns and unforeseen logistical planning. The book provides a useful introduction to the unfortunate journey of the Russian Baltic Fleet defeated at Tsushima. Appalling descriptions of the interactions of bodies and modern weapons, as well as the effects of the Manchurian winter, add color to dry tactics. The narrative structure of the writing, alternating from the Japanese to the Russian side, highlights the flow of events and the errors in judgment in a war before modern communication and satellites, but with torpedoes and siege guns. There is also the discussion of the Japanese use of irregular forces. From the intelligence activities of Colonel Akashi in St. Petersburg, which facilitated revolution, to the indigenous, Manchurian Chunchus cavalry and secret society agents acting as agents provocateurs, the Japanese excelled at efficiently marshalling their limited resources. On the other hand, the Russian armies never realized the true loyalties of their Chinese laborers. The crass anti-Semitism of many Russian leaders also rebounds to the Japanese advantage, when Jewish financiers loan money for a cash-strapped Japan. On the diplomatic front, the book delineates the consequences of the war for the rest of the century. The Japanese, who considered the peace brokered at Portsmouth humiliating, resented the United States. Not appeased by gaining territorial control of Korea, Japan continued to dream of a Manchurian empire and control of China. The United States lost influence in the entire region, not just diplomatically, but economically as well. And, Korea ceased to exist. A new generation of Asian leaders raised Japan as a beacon for their own anti-colonial dreams. Although the first introductory section is excellent, the epilogue chapter is dated. However, the book is well annotated, with a good index, maps, bibliography, and photographs. Along the way, the book presents poignant portraits of various leaders and lesser characters on both sides, from Count Witte to Marquis Ito. The book really begins in Japan with the Meiji Restoration and the failed reforms in Russia. The war highlights the condition of two countries in a situation brewing for generations. Tide At Sunrise demonstrates, how an excellent book can make much out of a little war.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction
Review: Fine introduction to the Russo-Japanese War. Covers the political origins of the war as well as the naval and military engagements. Mr. Warner does a splendid job of characterizing the participants and describes places and events in terms that are graphic, memorable, and instructive. My copy contains over 600 pages of text, scores of contemporary photographs, a useful index, and an extensive bibliography.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction
Review: Fine introduction to the Russo-Japanese War. Covers the political origins of the war as well as the naval and military engagements. Mr. Warner does a splendid job of characterizing the participants and describes places and events in terms that are graphic, memorable, and instructive. My copy contains over 600 pages of text, scores of contemporary photographs, a useful index, and an extensive bibliography.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous book!
Review: This is one of the best history volumes I have ever read; the
closest I can come in comparison is "The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation," by Donald Morris. It is
a comprehensive account of the conflict, packed with details and
analysis, and almost impossible to put down once started. It is
of special interest with the centennial of the conflict and the
fates of the nations involved over the past century. An almost
unbelievable tale of heroes, scoundrels, soldiers, and politicians. You will treasure this book....
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