Customer Reviews

1945: A Novel

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As a retired history teacher I love alternate histories. That is when the author shows scholarship and an understanding of his subject. This is more than just a "what if" story about the Japanese not surrendering after the dropping of the first two atomic bombs. It is an analysis of both American and Japanese society and philosphy and so much better than other authors have done in the past. Newt Gincgrich's understanding of the Japanese in his recent book on Pearl Harbor was well done, but not as good as Robert Conroy's 1945: A Novel. Harry Turtledove, the master of such tales was awful in his portrayal of Japanese in his own version of Pearl Harbor. This is not my opinion alone. I have had Japanese friends read those very same books and one is a recent immigrant from Japan. In 1945 the author looks at an attempt to subjugate the emperor who is about to agree to surrender. The revolt was attempted and failed in real time, but in this book it succeeds. That means a bloody invasion by American forces is required, one that divides the nation much as Iraq divides many Americans today. We actually had such plans in place had the Japanese not surrendered. The major players are well portrayed and there are fictional ones that make the reading especially enjoyable. My personal favorite is a Japanese American who works as a lone wolf for the OSS. His story alone would make a fantastic movie.

I am concerned about only one thing. A reviewer before me wrote what seemed like a standard review. I seldom read what others have said before I review a book as afterall, our views are personal. I only read that review because there were over fifty comments about the reviewer, not the book, and there was an attack on the honesty of the reviewer. I trust that any comments made here will be based upon the merits of the book and the reader may of course agree or disagree with me. There's one area I confess that I don't know enough about. That is in regard to weaponry so I cannot evaluate the accuracy used by Robert Conroy in those descriptions. I just know when I enjoy a good story and I do write book reviews for a local newspaper. I know how to give my personal opinion without trying to force others to agree with me. I am no better and no worse than any other book lover. I can only bring my own past experiences and studies to the fore when reading and reviewing a book.

"1945" is the best of the recent spate of alternate history novels on the market. I personally think that it's great to see this genre gaining ground and look forward to even more in the future.

It is interesting to compare "1945" with "MacArthur's War." "1945" is far more entertaining and readable. This is not great literature, but it is great storytelling. The major characters have some shortcomings; some are very well-done and multi-dimensional (Truman and Hirohito for example), while others lack depth and a sense of realism (Patton and MacArthur). The real strength in Conroy's novel are the "grunts" who have to carry out the war in Japan and the war at home. This book is the classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. If you analyzed this book in pieces (plot, character, dialogue, plausibility, etc) I doubt that any one part would garner five stars. Put it all together, though, and it works wonderfully.

I have not previously read Conroy's other works, but based on "1945," I will. I highly recommend this book.

But Japan refuses to give up. The fanatics have taken over, bullying the military into going for one last great try. As the Americans prepare for an invasion that the Japanese know is coming, they also prepare for defending their homeland. The scary part is how realistic and gritty the alternate events are. Could it have gone this way? Maybe. Japan had the resources and men left to make a last stand. From Washington to Tokyo, from the blood soaked beaches to the thick jungles, we'll follow not just the combat action but the brilliant acts of the key characters as each side fights for victory.

A neighbor loaned me his copy of 1945 when he noticed that I had Conroy's "1901" book on my shelf. I think I liked this one even better. It lays out a plausible alternative sequence of events in a convincing manner. But it has all the literary pleasures of a good novel, with some moments of high emotion and dramatic tension. Sure it's pretty much the stock image of the supreme statesman George Marshall and the egotistical Douglas MacArthur, and nice guys Nimitz and Bradley and pugnacious Bull Halsey, and the no-nonense Missourian Harry Truman - pretty much two-dimensional character portraits of these guys. But alternative history doesn't lend itself to complex revisionist reimaginings of these icons; the whole thing depends on all of them acting in character. Conroy also has some fun along the way, putting statements in characters' mouths like how we'll never be dependent on Arabian oil, or how there will never be a Polish Pope, etc. Hey why not? That's part of what makes alternative history engaging. The sex scene of General Homma and his wife seemed like it was gratuitiously thrown in so there would be at least some sex in the book, and it seemed a little bit out of place in this work. And it's hard to imagine the Japanese submarine I-58 actually doing all the things it does in this book. But overall excellent, a fun and fasinating read. Hope Mr. Conroy writes more.

An excellent alternate history of the end of WW2 in the Pacific. The key to any alternate history is plausibility. Not just "could" it happen but could it have happened in this way? Mr. Conroy does a wonderful job of making the case in this "what if" scenario about the end of WW2 in the Pacific. He takes the real players, their strengths, weaknesses, and foibles, and weaves a very realistic story about what could have happened if Japan had not surrendered after the dropping of the second Atomic Bomb. To this mix of dynamic personalities he added several hypothetical lower ranking characters to flesh out the story. He combined fact and fiction, added a dash of heroism and a pinch of intrigue, to write a most entertaining story. Most alternated histories of WW2 are rather dry and filled with arcane facts and suppositions that may or may not be applicable. Mr. Conroy weaves fact with fiction to present a most plausible case for this alternate ending of WW2 in the Pacific.
The battle scenes are realistic as are the soldiers who fight them; courage was a common virtue, death a constant companion. The strategies and tactics Mr. Conroy lays out are very believable. All in all an excellent historical novel.
Character development was average for a novel of this scope. It is assumed that the reader is acquainted with the historical figures presented. If not, it could be a bit of a slog. The minor characters were adequately developed.
No gratuitous violence, sex, or language. The battle narratives were graphic but led credence to this book about war.
Highly recommended for the alternate history buff. Good fun. Have an atlas handy if you are not familiar with Japan it will help understand the overall strategy and tactics employed by Mr. Conroy. Enjoy.

Having read several of Robert Conroy's alternate history novels, I expected an excellent, believable, well written book and I was not disappointed. The premise was believable, the characters were well developed and you ended up really caring about what happened to them. World War 2 was an ugly chapter in human history and, had Hirohito NOT been able to surrender in August of 1945, the end would have been bloodier still. To see a likely outcome, read this book. You won't regret it!

1945 is an alternate history novel that deals with the story of what might have happened if Japanese militarists had success with their coup on the night before Emperor Hirohito's surrender declaration was broadcast. This is an interesting, unique point of divergence from our history that results in an amphibious invasion of Japan without involving something happening to the Manhattan Project -- which was far too large an undertaking to be derailed by something like lightning prematurely detonating the Trinity device or that device simply failing to detonate, as is the case for at least two other "Invasion of Japan" alternate histories that I know of.

In any event, with the Japanese surrender called off, the United States prepares Operation Olympic -- the invasion of the southern home island of Kyushu -- and Operation Coronet -- the invasion of the Kanto Plain. We're introduced to the two "main" characters in succession: An infantry lieutenant transferred to the Pacific theatre from occupied Germany and a one-armed Japanese-American (Nisei), veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, who volunteers to be dropped into Kyushu on an OSS mission.

Though the story is interesting, Conroy does an overall poor job of developing his "main" characters. I put the word main in quotes, because although we do get to see them more than any other characters in the book, they're never developed much beyond what we're given in the first few paragraphs of their introductions and there's so many other secondary and tertiary characters used to show how the invasion is progressing that none of them are ever fleshed out either. Instead, we're left with a stream of characters who do little more than illustrate what's going on. A reader can easily understand what someone's doing and how, but will never understand why they're doing it or what's going on in their heads beyond the standard cardboard characterizations of "a family back home," "duty to country," and "just wanting to get home."

At times, Conroy seems to want to go into a historical viewpoint, showing what's happening and why, but because of the way he tells the story, he uses a cardboard character to demonstrate. It's not ineffective, but it's not as effective as it otherwise might have been, either. Because Conroy takes this approach, he has characters knowing things and sharing information that they would have no way of knowing in the first place. There are two glaring instances of this: One, when an American infantry captain shares news about a Japanese balloon bomb that knocked out power to "some super-secret military facility in Hanford, Washington," (something few people know even today, and if it's so super-secret -- why are you talking about it?)and when a Japanese officer bemoans the ineffectiveness of kamikazes by pointing out the plight of the Laffey, an American destroyer that was struck by several Kamikazes during the battle for Okinawa.

The most intriguing character is the Nisei, and I have to give credit to Conroy for writing about a character with a physical disability, which he does very well. Small mentions about his difficulty wheeling a bicycle along really sell that characteristic for me. But I don't get to know as much about the character as I'd like to, which is a real bummer. There's also a completely random romance thrown in at the end of his story, which simply reeked of fanservice and a desire to have things go well for the man.

Despite his weaknesses characterizing things, the story progresses logically. Though a major plot point is telegraphed early on when we're told that the Nisei has been ordered to investigate happenings around Nagasaki, most of the rest of the story unfolds with a minimum of heavy-handed foreshadowing, a major problem with many alternate history writers. Each character does a great job of speaking from their own point of view, even going as far as to express wrong information -- something difficult to have your characters do without confusing the reader -- but which Conroy pulls off very well.

Factual and historical matters are on target, as far as I can tell, and although I thought he stretched things early on with civilian protests in the United States, he provides an excellent reason for them and they never factor into the story as I had feared they would. (That's a personal peeve of mine with most AH invasions of Japan -- it doesn't jibe with the time period and the fact that returning soldiers from Europe and the end of rationing would defuse most homefront tensions.) Conroy doesn't bring too much in the way of historical grudges to bear -- he doesn't wholly indulge in historical wankery by having a mass replacement of Pacific Theater generals by their contemporaries from Europe. There is one replacement, and it's foreshadowed fairly heavy-handedly, but it wasn't as jarring as I feared it would be.

Overall, it's better than most alternate history novels out there today.

On August 8, 1945, Emperor Hirohito, the divine earthly presence of Imperial Japan, issued a recorded statement instructing Imperial Japanese Armed Forces to lay down their arms in formal surrender to Allied Forces in the Pacific Theater of Operations-thus bringing to an end the final conflicts of World War Two.

In Robert Conroy's latest novel 1945, the attempted coup to prevent this broadcast is in fact successful. Japanese do not surrender. Instead, coup planners kidnap Hirohito and replace him with a military government that vows to fight to the death for an honorable peace with the Allies.

Japan, having floated the possibility of peace, takes advantage of the lull in fighting, watching American veterans rotate home and US Military operations wind down. The result is worldwide chaos. European economies are bankrupt, world society is war weary, and America is at the end of its tether. Another year of war could conceivably cause enough irreparable damage so that the world will be ripe for the Soviet Union to coerce tired countries into is sphere of influence, with little military or economic pressure.

The world is destined for another six months of war in which a shattered Japan will pull out all the stops to defend the homeland. A brutal confrontation ensues. America uses overwhelming firepower against the withered Japanese army's banzai charges in their last-ditch efforts to make us pay so dearly for victory that America sues for peace!

1945 uses all of the war's pivotal America figures. Harry Truman, George Marshall, Douglas Macarthur and Chester Nimitz all play starring roles in this fictionalized account. Conroy has also expertly added fictional personalities to bring you right down to the trench-level brutality of what may have happened in these additional six months.

In 1945, Conroy has crafted yet another masterpiece of military fiction that will enthrall lovers of this genre, proving yet again that there is one more book on WWII worth the price or purchase.

Armchair Interviews says: A spectacular "what if" scenario. Conroy is proven the master of extending history to a chilling degree.

This is the first book written by this author that I have read - this book has made me want to read more of his books however. Mr. Conroy's look at how WW II would have played out had the Japanese not surrendered after the dropping of the atomic bombs is enjoyable and interesting. His writing style causes you to become attached to each of the characters of the book. I especially enjoyed: the author's opionion of how the leaders of both the United States and Japan would have acted and what their decisions would have been as the war continued; his portrayal of the reactions of the citizens of both the U.S. and Japan to the continuing war; and the actions that other countries, especially the Soviet Union, China, and England would have taken as the war wore on.

I've read a number of non-fiction WWII books and have often thought about "what if scenarios" in regards to Hitler not creating the 2nd front so early in the war, our aircraft carriers being at Pearl Harbor as opposed to being out to sea, Rommel and ample forces being slipped into Normandy in time to thwart the D-Day advance, etc. I'm certainly not rooting for an alternate ending to what our greatest generation provided, but rather find it rather scary to think of different decisions being made and what the end result may have been.

My Dad fought in the Phillipines and believed that he was likely going to Japan if invasion was required and he spoke of the dread that the troops had in that concept. This book is one that speaks to what may have been had the Japanese not invaded by applying the what if scenario that the emperor was prevented from surrendering following the A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the Russian advance.

I'm not a historical expert, but I certainly take great interest in history and this provides an extremely interesting and realistic perspective on what may have been.

Broad scope and personal experiences are shared from both sides and it provides good balance between what is considered radical beliefs of Bushido as well as humanizing persons as well.

I encourage you to give this book a try if you have interest in WWII.