Customer Reviews

Hirohito: Behind the Myth

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not exactly sure what Edward Behr is trying to say in this biography of Emperor Hirohito. From my perception, he seem to be saying that Hirohito is gulity of war crimes but not responsible for them. I think I get the feeling that Behr himself may not be sure. One of the earlier reviews which compared Hirohito with "Mr. Carlson from WKRP" seem to be a very good analogy. I don't think Hirohito was that clueless but his influence wasn't all that great. I would recommended that new Pulitzer prize winning biography that came out several years ago. It has a more balance view on the man.

I stumbled upon a hardcover of this book in a used bookstore and therefore did not know what to expect.

Behr writes well, no question. The book is an enjoyable read, but unfortunately the author does not let proof or substantiation get in the way of a good theory.

Behr's book is full of throw-away phrases (always without footnotes or any other form of academic proof) such as "Hirohito almost certainly studied this document" or "Hirohito was well aware..."

Unfortunately Behr's thesis is undermined by Japan's historical reality. Emperors have been the plaything of the Japanese warrior class since before the first Shogunate and remained so until Meiji. How Behr can assume that this situation changed within a few decades is beyond me. Behr falls into the trap of many 20th century journalists and political scientists--the assumption that the world began in 1905.

But for six bucks from a used book store...well, it was a fun read.

A great look into the mentality of the leaders of Japan before, during, and after WWII. This unbiased well written book shows the depth of Japanesse tradition and how it influenced the actions of an entire country. Behr gives enough information on supporting characters, but not enough to confuse the reader. An overall great book.

I must start off by saying that when I first read this book I had very little knowledge of Hirohito or his involvement in WWII. However, after reading Behind the Myth, as well as learning a bit more, I now feel safe saying that the book is quite good, if not a little flawed. In all fairness the author was doing what was unheard of at the time the book was written, and that call just dead emperor of Japan a criminal of war. He made some rather broad generalizations and assumptions, but he managed to plant the seed of doubt in my mind. Granted, if you want to convince someone that Hirohito was guilty of starting the war, or that he should have even been tried, this book won't provide you with that information, however it is a good start. He won't convince you, but he will numb your mind and make it ready to accept the possibility.

What bugs me about this Hirohito scum is that he was fully aware and in most cases authorized atrocities committed towards civilians. e.g. Rape of Nanking, comfort women, biological experiments. Oh...he also okayed the SNEAK attack on Pearl Harbour.

I feel this is a good and educational book, yet I consider it somewhat flawed. The entire theme of the book is the author's contention that Hirohito is a war criminal, but after reading the book I feel that Hirohito is NOT a war criminal. It is amazing that the author spent 400 pages with the biased intent to convince the reader of Hirohito's war criminality, yet I felt the polar opposite after finishing the book.

Basically what I took from the book was that Hirohito was a skinny, little man who was a powerless puppet of the pro-war military and political factions. Simply, Hirohito reminded me of the Mr. Carlson character on the sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati, a clueless figurehead who simply sat back a let others run the show.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the book and learned a great deal and I recommend it. I simply found that the author unwittingly disproved his initial contention by the time I finished the book.

Writing my term paper on Hirohito, I decided I wanted to have as many sources as possible to insure the validity of my work. Reading several books, I came to realise that although the supposed all-powerful leader of Japan, the military got out of Hirohito's power. A pacifist himself, he did not wish such war for Japan. Edward Behr would have us believe he was a conniving war-lord, hidden all this time by his 'image-makers'. There is one thing I'd like to see: what Behr, or any of us would have done in the same situation. A good book should give us a non-biased description of what happened, and help us to see what the situation was really like for those involved. It's frankly a waste of paper.