Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire

In a riveting narrative that includes information from newly declassified documents, acclaimed historian Richard B. Frank gives a scrupulously detailed explanation of the critical months leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb. Frank explains how American leaders learned in the summer of 1945 that their alternate strategy to end the war by invasion had been shattered by the massive Japanese buildup on Kyushu, and that intercepted diplomatic documents also revealed the dismal prospects of negotiation. Here also, for the first time, is a comprehensive account of how Japan's leaders were willing to risk complete annihilation to preserve the nation's existing order. Frank's comprehensive account demolishes long-standing myths with the stark realities of this great historical controversy.

Author: Richard B. Frank
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 05/01/2001
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.02lbs
Size: 8.43h x 5.50w x 1.14d
ISBN13: 9780141001463
ISBN10: 0141001461
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia | Japan
- History | Wars & Conflicts | World War II | General
- History | Modern | 20th Century | General

About the Author
Richard B. Frank was born in Kansas in 1947. He served for almost four years in the United States Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam as an aerorifle platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. He is the author of Guadalcanal.