The Rising Sun

The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945

By: John Toland

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."

In weaving together the historical facts and human drama leading up to and culminating in the war in the Pacific, Toland crafts a riveting and unbiased narrative history.

©1970 John Toland (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Fantastic book, I enjoyed it immensely.

Very well researched and presented. Strategic as well as personal accounts made this book riveting. Narration was very good and the narrator proved versatile.

Fills in the gaps

Despite that I am not a "detail" person, and Toland clearly is, I listened all the way through to this gripping book. I never really had a handle on why Japan got into the war. I now have a much greater understanding. The book Is well written and organized. I love the way much of it is told from the Japanese perspective. It really brings home the tragedy of war and war-like thinking on both sides rather than the rightness or wrongness of either side. The narration is perfect, with a bit of military stiltedness and precision appropriate to the story. A great book.

Best survey work on WW2 in the Pacific

This was assigned reading in college. Toland' survey is a well researched narration of the war presenting both sides. It brilliantly washes away decades of American centric history of the war and balances it with the Japanese point of view. The narrator is a little stuffy, reminiscent of the stiff tweed coat with patches wearing professor.

It is long. Very long. It is engaging though and well worth the investment of time.
You will be a better person for listening to this.

lengthy but great

This is WW2 primarily from the Japanese point of view. It is amazingly detailed. I learned an astonishing amount. Will have to listen to this again.

I read this 30 years ago.

I wanted to read it again but decided to go Audible. good choice but it took a month to finish.

Long, detailed but very informative

very detailed blow by blow history. very long but worth listening to if you want to really learn about the Japanese side of the war

Must read for any historians.

As a history buff, this comprehensive historical book is second to non added to my library. One of the few that I ordered the hardback addition.

starts slow but wow does it get good

read this book after I read Rise and Fall of the third Reich to hear the other part of ww2. i was blown away by some of the details mentioned in the book. the honor of the Japanese as well as their stubbornness to surrender was intriguing. I highly recommend this book. by the end I was disappointed that it had ended!

Fascinating book. Great reading.

Very thorough and painted a picture of a part of the war that gets too little coverage in European literature.

An Epic Volume

I read this book in high school, and it sparked a lifetime interest in history and the relations between countries and peoples. Now, some forty years later, the depth and compassion of John Roland’s writing is no less inspiring. Audible has done a terrific job with this lengthy tome, and we are all the better for it.