The Rising Sun

World War II #4

by Arthur Zich

Book 4 of the TIme-Life World War II series.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, War, World War II, Military Fiction, Asia

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1977

Reviews

[Dipanjan]

This book is written from the western point of view and the European and American colonialism has been glorified in this book. But still it is quite informative.

[James Varney]

These old books - thank God for the scattered used books stores and eBay - are remarkable. Of course the famous photographs taken by Life photographers are a treat, but the text is very good, too. It’s unusual in a book like this “for the masses,” so to speak, to be so solid on the history. But these are. For example, “The Rising Sun” accurately captures the ambivalent (at best) attitude Tojo had toward was with the U.S. Much more common to see him portrayed as a slavering dog of war.

This whole series is excellent, I’d wager, but on the Pacific War volumes I got they are highly recommended.

[D-day]

This volume of the Time-Life WW2 series concerns the first 6 months of the War in the Pacific. A good overview although it has been superseded in recent years.
Chapter 1 the build up to war
Chapter 2- the attack on Pearl Harbor
Chapter 3- the invasions of the Philippines
Chapter 4- the invasions of Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and Burma
Chapter 5- the Japanese occupation of SE Asia
Chapter 6 the Battle of Midway

[spike marlin]

These are good books. The photos are amazing and they always have little anecdotes that you don’t find in other military histories. This one a bit more USA, with the attack on Pearl Harbour and Midway. However, it also delves into the Japanese preparation for war the midst of the Japanese military and the home front. Also it is one of the few general histories of the Pacific war that explains how the Japanese took the Dutch East Indies. I like them and will read them all.

[Travis]

Most interesting book in the series so far. Not sure if it's because this was the first book to involve the U.S. or because it focused on the Pacific front. Either way, learned a lot again and looking forward to book #5.

[Nicholas Legue]

Awesome! Tells you all that you need to know about the rise and fall of Imperial Japan!

[Erika Ammons]

The first generation Japanese in the usa

[Manish]

The Time Life series on the Second World War comprises 39 volumes, each devoted to a major subject of that senseless war. I stumbled across 14 of them from a pavement seller in Delhi and am now hunting for the remaining. The Rising Sun was delivered by a bookseller in the UK discovered through AbeBooks.

The 'Rising Sun' published in 1977 chronicles the war preparations in Japan, their conquests across South East Asia, Pearl Harbor, their thrust towards India through Burma and the legendary Battle of Midway. With lavish full page photographs (the highlight of this series), the entire Japanese onslaught comes alive in this moderately detailed work. The naval and military maneuverings could have been strengthened with more detailed and representative maps. A brief profile of the legendary Yamamoto was also informative. Thanks to this book, I also discovered a few clips in Youtube from a Japanese movie made a few years back on his life - some amazing sound score in the scenes depicting the Battle of Midway.

Though the narratives are from the American perspective, they still make for some fascinating reading. Next on the reading list is the volume titled 'China-Burma-India'. :)

[Magnús]

Fín bók og vel þýdd. Textinn er lipur og bókin fróðleg í heildina. Hún er eins og aðrar bækur í þessum flokki, fyrst og fremst yfirlitsrit (og ber þess reyndar merki að vera skrifuð af Bandaríkjamönnum). Þeir sem vilja kafa dýpra geta síðan gert það með því að leita í aðrar bækur. Hér er margt sem kveikir forvitni til að gera einmitt það. Þessar bækur sem voru gefnar út á Íslandi upp úr 1980 - fyrir næstum 40 árum síðan þegar þetta er skrifað [sic!] - eldast ekkert illa.

[Robert Snow]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Anne]

I was very disappointed with this book. It's disorganized and jumps around. While there were plenty of photos, maps were sorely lacking. For example, a map of the Pearl Harbor attack would have made that chapter so much better.

[Jerome Otte]

Excellent account of Japanese imperialism and how it led to the outbreak of war in the Pacific.

[Valerie Sherman]

I was fascinated by the character study of General Yamamoto; very thorough view of the Japanese attack on U.S. strongholds, leading up to their defeat at Midway.