Age of Hirohito: In Search of Modern Japan

Hirohito has always been a mystery to me. Neither in high school or in college was there anything taught about this man. The entire life of Hitler and his henchmen is an open book including the Nurenburg trials. The blame of the war in Europe is not in question and had Hitler been taken alive I am positive he would have been tried as a war criminal and would have met the same fate as the boys in Nurenburg. The conduct of Japan in the war was just as vicious and barbaric as Germany. However, Hirohito got to remain on his throne and continue to live a privledged life for himself and his family. This book tries to explain how this all happened. It also comes close to holding the Emperor totally responsible and accountable for what took place. I have read other books on the war with Japan and they have been so distorted and biased that one would be led to believe that the United States bombed Pearl Harbor and blamed Japan. This book takes an objective approach to analyzing the many issues contributing to the war and allows the readers to decide for themselves as to cause and blame. The author does not hold back from criticizing the Emperor or their system which I had not experienced in my past readings. He both crticizes and praises both McCarthur and the United States. I really felt that I learned some history by reading this.