Warlord: Tojo against the World
Vilified in the West as the Japanese equivalent of Hitler, Hideki Tojo (1884-1948) was in fact cut from very different cloth. Lacking the skills and charisma of a statesman, fueled by no apocalyptic visions, Tojo was an unimaginative soldier whose primary goals were to establish Japan's military strength and serve his emperor. Yet his determination and ambition caused him to participate in the seizure of power when the military took over the government. WWII scholar Hoyt, a resident of Japan,...
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This biography of Japanese army general and dictatorial prime minister Hideki Tojo covers his early, easy World War II victories, his subsequent crushing defeats, and his trial and execution as a war criminal. Publishers Weekly An all but forgotten figure even in Japan, Hideki Tojo was second only to Adolf Hitler as a symbol of Axis villainy during WW II. Hoyt ( Japan's War ) describes Tojo's ascendancy to power in the Japanese army, and his roles as prime minister and minister of War, Armaments and Education, in which he led Japan into the war that devastated the country. As Hoyt points out, Tojo's fall in 1944 (immediately after the U.S. victory on Saipan and just before a failed attempt on his life) came about because he had assumed so many responsibilities that he was blamed for Japan's failures in the war. Hoyt concludes with a straightforward account of Tojo's arrest by U.S. military authorities, his trial in Japan for war crimes (which included the charge that he approved mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war) and his execution. Though Tojo emerges here as a colorless person, this account of his career increases our knowledge of the relationship between the Imperial Army, Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese government. Illustrations. (Apr.)
Tojo: How He Was: An IntroductionDecember 22, 194811Soldier to Politician52Politician-Soldier213War Minister334The ABCD of Paranoia435The Decline and Fall of Prince Konoye556The Rise of Tojo657Easy Victories798The Limits of Power899The Imperial Way9710The Dream: United Asia11111Tojo Deals Out One Enemy12312The Changing Dream13113The Collapse of High Hopes14114The War Turns Around15115"The enemy will grow hasty..."16116The Thrust for Power17117Tojo's Last Chance18318The Fall of Saipan (and Tojo)18919End of the Line19520The War Nears Its End20321Ordeal21122The Last Battle217Epilogue223Appendix A. Imperial Rescript of December 8, 1941225Appendix B. Imperial Rescript of August 14, 1945227Appendix C. Tojo Statement of September 10, 1945229Notes and Acknowledgments231Bibliography241Index243
\ BooklistHoyt fills a longstanding gap in the popular history of the Pacific theater with this biography.\ \ \ \ \ World War II HistoryThe life, career, and fall of Japan's leading warlord of World War II unfolds at a brisk pace in Edwin Hoyt's succinct yet detailed biography. He has been a longtime resident of Japan and is one of the most prolific and engaging historians writing today. This revealing book is highly relevant to any study of the 1939-1945 global holocaust because it opens a clear window on what led Japan to war and Tojo's role in it.\ \ \ Publishers WeeklyAn all but forgotten figure even in Japan, Hideki Tojo was second only to Adolf Hitler as a symbol of Axis villainy during WW II. Hoyt ( Japan's War ) describes Tojo's ascendancy to power in the Japanese army, and his roles as prime minister and minister of War, Armaments and Education, in which he led Japan into the war that devastated the country. As Hoyt points out, Tojo's fall in 1944 (immediately after the U.S. victory on Saipan and just before a failed attempt on his life) came about because he had assumed so many responsibilities that he was blamed for Japan's failures in the war. Hoyt concludes with a straightforward account of Tojo's arrest by U.S. military authorities, his trial in Japan for war crimes (which included the charge that he approved mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war) and his execution. Though Tojo emerges here as a colorless person, this account of his career increases our knowledge of the relationship between the Imperial Army, Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese government. Illustrations. (Apr.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIn this first English-language biography of Tojo in almost 30 years, Hoyt, best-selling popularizer of history, now writes a succinct biography of Japan's war and prime minister who is generally held responsible for the country's involvement in World War II. Using diaries, archival materials, and family interviews, Hoyt places Tojo and his actions within the context of Japan's peculiar political situation. According to Hoyt, the military controlled the government, and Tojo was merely one of the cabal that pushed Japan into war. The Tojo revealed here is a master manipulator who let himself be misled by junior officers, a ruthless plotter, a man loyal to the emperor who almost betrayed him in the end. Readers will get a clear picture of what led Japan into war and of Tojo's place in it. A valuable purchase for public and academic libraries. For another view of Hoyt's work, see The Last Kamikaze , p. 91.--Ed.-- Katharine L. Kan, Aiea P.L., Hawaii\ \
