Riveting ( )

Riveting ( )

Excellent book detailing the final days of WWII and the bombing of Japan. The history is presented very factually and interspersed with personal stories that give it depth and immediacy. I consider myself quite informed regarding the history of this period, and I was surprised at how many of the details were brand-new to me. The extent of the research is obvious.

There were so many egos operating in the political and military arenas. Perhaps it requires that sort of conceit to be effective in such a weighty time. Who could make those kinds of decisions, lives and deaths of so many hanging on your every move, without having an enormous sense of self-importance. I would never want the responsibility and yet we should all be so thankful for those who do not shy away from that responsibility when it is unavoidable.

It is always worthwhile to look at our past, to know our history, to examine our mistakes. It is important to remember how we came to be where we are and to contemplate where we might be had we made different decisions. I would like to think we profit from the exercise, although I admit that at times it seems there is no evidence that this is true.

I read Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy and found they added nothing significant to my understanding of those events. In contrast, I felt this book did add quite a lot to my knowledge of these events.

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The "killing" series is basically history for the public and it's pretty light. This book covers events leading up to the end of WWII with Japan and the reader experiences Los Alamos, Enola Gay, the Japanese Emperor and Prime Ministers, Japanese atrocities, war crimes trials, MacArthur and a whole raft of other things...all done without much detail. If you want full particulars, read Manchester. For me, it was enough and held my interest, despite some skipping around. ( )

Rated: B
Love Bill O'Reilly's "Killing" series. Always learn something more about the events than I previously knew. ( )