The Emperor's General

Rating:
Summary: Well-written historical fiction
Review: Jay Marsh is a young, idealistic, Army Captain who has been assigned to Douglas McArthur's staff. We follow him from the time of McArthur's return to liberate the Phillipines in early 1945 and through the beginning of the peacetime Japanese occupation. Jay is privy to all of McArthur's inside politics and in-fighting, and in the beginning he finds it heady stuff. However Jay finds that the power he weilds in McArthur's name soon disillusion him and threaten to ruin his future with his beautiful Filipina fiancee.

Mr. Webb is an excellent writer. His sense of place is very strong and he easily convinces us we're right there as the battle for Leyte is being fought. It's also obvious he knows Japanese culture. The historical background seems to be very well done. If he's taken liberties with history I'm not aware of it. If you like historical fiction, especially as it applies to WWII I'd recommend this book. It will give you insights into an era that's usually not covered in great detail. It's also an entertaining story.

Rating:
Summary: A rivetting historical novel of MacArthur in postwar Japan.
Review: This is a ripping good historical novel about General MacArthur's leadership of the American occupation of Japan--the first time in over a thousand years that the "nation family" of Japan suffered defeat and conquest. The author tells the story from the perspective of one Jay Marsh, a young Japanese-speaking American captain and aide-de-camp to General MacArthur. Seen from Marsh's perspective, we see MacArthur from what seemed to me to be an authentic portrayal of a complicated man who was vain, brilliant, ambitious, and charismatic.

The essential theme of the novel (no spoilers here) is that in 1945 although MacArthur represented the victor and the Japanese were in fact utterly beaten and indeed devestated by war, the interaction between occupier and the Japanese power structure was complex. The Japanese ruling class, although forced to endure American-inspired democratic reforms, remained the ruling class, at least for a time. In particular, the novel shows how, in exchange for the Japanese establishment's cooperation for a remarkably tranquil and calm occupation, most of the truly culpable Japanese war criminals escaped prosecution. The infamous Rape of Nanking, in particular, largely went unpunished.

Although the novel is wonderful history, it never loses sight of its first mission--to entertain. The story is beautifully told, with compassion and humor, as we follow Captain Marsh through his love affairs with beautiful Phillipine and Japanese girls, and his interaction, friendships, and ultimately his outmaneuverings of key Japanese government figures. The most rivetting part of the novel, and its central story, is the trial and hanging of Japanese General Yamashita. Author Webb does an excellent job persuading the reader that this was in fact a travesty of justice in which MacArthur essentially made Yamashita a scapegoat for war crimes committed by others--others in the Japanese power establishment whom MacArthur was shielding from prosecution in exchange for the establishment's cooperation in the occupation and democratic reform process.

An unforgettable novel that I have read more than once, each time with added insight and enjoyment.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book with great historical significance
Review: When I bought this book, I did not know what to expect. Perhaps just another adventure novel of WWII. What I got instead was a combination history lesson of great significance and a great love story. The protagonist of the story, Jay Marsh, relates the initial occupation of Japan by General Douglas McArthur. Marsh is McArthur's , " gofer", and is privy to much of the intrigue in McArthur's administration of Japan. The main crux of the story is the trial of General Yamashita, evidently railroaded to execution by General McArthur for the purpose of shielding the Emperor and the royal family from any culpability in the rapes of Nanking and Manila. Easily the best book I've read this year. I couldn't put it down. Five stars to be sure.