Robert B Edgerton

Warriors of the Rising Sun: a History of the Japanese Military Robert B Edgerton

Brief Description: Traces the Japanese military's evolution from chivalrous soldiers to a brutal killers. Biographical Note: Robert B. Edgerton is the author of more than twenty other books on a variety of sociological, anthropological, and historical topics, most recently "Hidden Heroism" (Westview 2001). He also teaches anthropology at the UCLA School of Medicine. Publisher Marketing: Warriors of the Rising Sun chronicles the Japanese military's transformation from honorable "knights of Bushido" into men who massacred thousands during the Pacific War. Crucial in bringing about this change was Western rejection of Japan as an aspiring colonial power, as well as the West's racist, anti-Japanese immigration policies. Japan's leaders chose military brutality as a necessary means to achieve a rightful place in the world. Today, Japan has the second largest military budget in the world. What lessons have her leaders learned from the past wars?Publisher Marketing: This is an account of the Japanese military's transformation from honourable knights of Bushido into men who massacred thousands during the Pacific War. Crucial in bringing about this change, the author argues, was Western rejection of Japan as an aspiring colonial power, as well as the West's racist, anti-Japanese immigration policies. He discusses the view that Japan's leaders chose military brutality as a means of achieving what they considered to be a rightful place in the world. Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 06/23/1997 pg. 81 (EAN 9780393040852, Hardcover)

New York Times 09/28/1997 pg. 32 (EAN 9780393040852, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 06/01/1997 pg. 849 (EAN 9780393040852, Hardcover)

Booklist 07/01/1997 pg. 1780 (EAN 9780393040852, Hardcover)

Library Journal 08/01/1997 pg. 105 (EAN 9780393040852, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Edgerton, Robert B Robert Edgerton, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of the department of anthropology at the University of California Los Angeles and the author of several books, including "Like Lions They Fought", "Sick Societies", and "Warriors of the Rising Sun".