Embracing Defeat

De: John W. Dower

Narrado por: Edward Lewis

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 2000

National Book Award, Nonfiction, 1999

In this illuminating study, Dower explores the ways in which the shattering defeat of the Japanese in World War II, followed by over six years of American military occupation, affected every level of Japanese society. He describes the countless ways in which the Japanese met the challenge of "starting over", from top-level manipulations concerning the fate of Emperor Hirohito to the hopes, fears, and activities of ordinary men and women in every walk of life. He shows us the intense and turbulent interplay of conqueror and conquered, West and East, in a way no Western historian has done before.

This is a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary moment in history, when new values warred with the old, and early ideals of demilitarization and radical reform were soon challenged by the United States' decision to incorporate Japan into the Cold War Pax Americana.

©1999 John W. Dower (P)1999 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

• Winner of the 1999 National Book Award for Non-Fiction

"A magisterial and beautifully written book....A pleasure to read." (New York Times)
"An extraordinarily illuminating book....Surely the most significant work to date on the postwar era in Japan." (Wall Street Journal)
"The writing of history doesn't get much better than this....[Dower] deftly situates the political story within a rich cultural context....The book is most remarkable, however, for the way Dower judiciously explores the complex moral and political issues....Dazzling." (Publishers Weekly)

Informative and interesting

Pro:
As and American who studies much of the second world war, I find it very interesting and refreshing to hear and read information from other perspectives, especially the Japanese. this title delves into the social and economic changes and challenges that Japan faced after the war, during occupation. Truly fascinating.

Con:
The narration is okay, but just okay.
There is no delay between chapters, so the start and finish of each one becomes a run-on sentence. It is quite disorientating.
The author likes to frequently and frustratingly use many French descriptors in this English title. I like using such terms when necessary, but the frequency and need is questionable at best. I feel using an English term would be more descriptive and understandable to the audience in a historical title.

Conflicted Story

The performance was mediocre with an almost constant drone. The spoken English was good but the delivery not so good.
The initial chapters contained much detail of the years after the war ended. The later chapters seemed like a patchwork of scattered facts.
This may be a case where reading the book might be a better alternative. The period of time discussed covered stretched roughly 70 years and may have contributed to the unequal treatment of topics.
However in spite of these shortcomings there was much I learned about the Japanese culture.

A great comprehensive account of occupied Japan.

It's has rather long winded feel to it in some chapters, but one can certainly not accuse this book of not being thorough. Often times the "extra info" provided, like accounts or quotes from people... poets and the like... give an amazingly enlightening perspective to the events of the given chapter and enhance the experience of learning/listening. I just had to binge listen to this for finals week. Thanks Audible, for making my life easier.

Very poor narration

The material is extremely interesting. In fact, fascinating. The level of detail and research is commendable. However, the narration leaves a lot to be desired. If I could I would return the audio book and purchase a hard copy instead.

Superb and detailed study

This is a great deep dive into Japan’s emergence after the war. It’s objective, interesting and very readable. Highly recommended.