The Rising Sun

The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945

De: John Toland

Narrado por: Tom Weiner

This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."

In weaving together the historical facts and human drama leading up to and culminating in the war in the Pacific, Toland crafts a riveting and unbiased narrative history.

©1970 John Toland (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Fantastic book, I enjoyed it immensely.

Very well researched and presented. Strategic as well as personal accounts made this book riveting. Narration was very good and the narrator proved versatile.

Best survey work on WW2 in the Pacific

This was assigned reading in college. Toland' survey is a well researched narration of the war presenting both sides. It brilliantly washes away decades of American centric history of the war and balances it with the Japanese point of view. The narrator is a little stuffy, reminiscent of the stiff tweed coat with patches wearing professor.

It is long. Very long. It is engaging though and well worth the investment of time.
You will be a better person for listening to this.

Fills in the gaps

Despite that I am not a "detail" person, and Toland clearly is, I listened all the way through to this gripping book. I never really had a handle on why Japan got into the war. I now have a much greater understanding. The book Is well written and organized. I love the way much of it is told from the Japanese perspective. It really brings home the tragedy of war and war-like thinking on both sides rather than the rightness or wrongness of either side. The narration is perfect, with a bit of military stiltedness and precision appropriate to the story. A great book.

lengthy but great

This is WW2 primarily from the Japanese point of view. It is amazingly detailed. I learned an astonishing amount. Will have to listen to this again.

I read this 30 years ago.

I wanted to read it again but decided to go Audible. good choice but it took a month to finish.