Judgement at Tokyo

World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia

Gary J. Bass

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English

Picador
25 March 2024

History; Asian history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Military history; Geopolitics; War crimes

'A work of singular importance . . . balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting' - Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street.

From the prizewinning author of the acclaimed The Blood Telegram, a landmark, magisterial history of the postwar trial of Japan's leaders as war criminals - and their impact on the modern history of Asia and the world.

In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the victorious powers turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. To them, it was clear that Japan's militaristic leaders needed to be tried and punished for their crimes.

For the Allied powers, the trials were an opportunity both to render judgment on their vanquished foes and to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was no more than victors' justice.

Gary J. Bass' Judgement at Tokyo is the product of a decade of research, a magnificent, riveting story of wartime action, dramatic courtroom battles, and the epic formative years that set the stage for the postwar era in the Asia-Pacific.

By: Gary J. Bass
Imprint: Picador
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 56mm
Weight: 1.004kg
ISBN: 9781509812752
ISBN 10: 150981275X
Pages: 912
Publication Date: 25 March 2024
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Gary J. Bass is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of The Blood Telegram, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction, Freedom's Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention, and Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals. A former reporter for The Economist, Bass has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Washington Post amongst others. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reviews for Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia

Judgment at Tokyo is a work of singular importance – one that manages to be balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting. It is of huge relevance to our times in the search for a decent place for ideas about justice and their delivery in a world that is infused with double standards and patent hypocrisies. -- Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street In this superb work of transnational history, Gary Bass uses the Tokyo trial to illuminate the making of the modern world. -- Ramachandra Guha, author of India After Gandhi To understand the dynamics of post-World War II Asia, Gary Bass’s Judgement at Tokyo is fascinating, essential reading. -- Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea Gary Bass has written nothing less than a masterpiece. With epic research and mesmerizing narrative power, Judgement at Tokyo has the makings of an instant classic in the literature on China, Japan, and beyond. -- Evan Osnos, US National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China A vivid and meticulously crafted account, rich in detail, fair-minded, superbly nuanced. -- Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam