Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
by Richard B. Frank
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 describes how American leaders learned in the summer of 1945 that their alternate strategy to end the war by invasion had been shattered by a massive Japanese buildup on the island if Kyushu. Meanwhile, intercepted diplomatic documents revealed the dismal prospect of negotiation. Here also, for the first time, is a comprehensive narrative of how Japan’s leaders were willing to risk complete annihilation to preserve the nation’s existing order. Frank’s definitive account demolishes long-standing myths with stark realities of this great historical controversy.
Soft cover. 364 pages