Tower of Skulls

A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Vol. 1 (July 1937 - May 1942)

By: Richard B. Frank

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

An eye-opening, path-breaking account of the onset of the Asia-Pacific War, by the acclaimed author of Downfall and Guadalcanal.

In 1937, the swath of the globe east from India to the Pacific Ocean enclosed half the world’s population, all save a fraction enduring under some form of colonialism. Japan’s onslaught into China that year unleashed a tidal wave of events that fundamentally transformed this region and killed about 25 million people.

From just two nation states with real sovereignty, Thailand and Japan, and two with compromised sovereignty, China and Mongolia, the region today encompasses at least 19 major sovereign nations. This epic World War II narrative describes in exquisite detail the battles across this entire region and links those struggles on many levels with their profound 21st-century legacies.

Beginning with China’s long-neglected years of heroic, costly resistance, Tower of Skulls explodes outward to campaigns including Singapore, the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, India, and Burma, as well as across the Pacific to Pearl Harbor.

This story casts penetrating light on how struggles in Europe and Asia merged into a tightly entwined global war. It features not just battles, but also the sweeping political, economic, and social effects of the war, and are graced with a rich tapestry of individual characters from top-tier political and military figures down to ordinary servicemen, as well as the accounts of civilians of all races and ages.

Drawing on rich archival research and recently discovered documentary evidence, award-winning historian Richard B. Frank presents the first unified account of this titanic turmoil that gave birth to the world we live in now.

©2020 Richard B. Frank (P)2020 Recorded Books

Little known details and incisive analysis

Went deep into analysis of Japanese and Allied thinking. Not a rah-rah whitewash of early disasters

Highly recommended

I've listed to a vast amount of Pacific Theater books and I found Tower of Skulls to be incredibly well written, factual, and flawlessly narrated. Great work!

best book I've heard on Japan WW2

Broad and balanced perspective on early part of Japan WW2 war. Superb finish on day before coral sea.

When it rains it pours..,

I liked the history not involving US (China/Burma/Dutch/Indian) since I was not familiar with all those stories.

Unexpected treasure

A well balanced account of the early war years, telling Japan’s story as well as that of the Allies. I