Keystone: The American Occupation of Okinawa and U.S.-Japanese Relations (Foreign Relations and the Presidency) [Hardcover]

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes is a professor at the U.S. Air Force’s Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890969698
• ISBN-13: 978-0890969694
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,639,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes is a historian, specializing in the World War II and Cold War eras. He is a professor in the strategy and policy department at the U.S. Naval War College. He grew up in various parts of the United States--and some foreign countries--courtesy of his father's military career.

While an undergraduate at the University of Texas, he worked for the school paper, "The Daily Texan," which at the time was the biggest college daily in the country. While there, he discovered that he had some talent at writing. Always a fan of history, the courses he took from Robert A. Divine inspired him to become a historian himself. Long story made short--he has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California.

Despite this academic training, Sarantakes thinks of himself primarily as a writer and is constantly trying to stretch as a professional. Most of his publications have come in history, but he occasionally works in journalism. He also reviews fiction and non-fiction for the "Sacramento Book Review" and the "San Francisco Book Review." He has written articles that have appeared in outlets such the "English Historical Review" (a British academic journal), "Joint Forces Quarterly" (a professional military magazine), and ESPN.com. He has won five writing awards: the H. Bailey Carroll Award from the Texas State Historical Association, the Kiley Prize from the National Defense University Foundation, and a Bronze Pen Award and two Silver Pen Awards from the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. Sarantakes is also the chair of a book prize committee for the American Historical Association, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

His first three books have focused on World War II in the Pacific and its aftermath. His fourth book will be on the 1980 Olympic boycott. Before arriving at the Naval War College, he taught at Texas A&M University--Commerce, the Air War College, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good look at Okinawa, September 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Keystone: The American Occupation of Okinawa and U.S.-Japanese Relations (Foreign Relations and the Presidency) (Hardcover)

In this thorough and well-written work, Professor Nicholas Sarantakes relates the story of how the United States occupied and controlled the strategically vital region of Okinawa after World War II, and held it until the early 1970s. No issue is ignored: Sarantakes combines politics, diplomacy, strategy, and even culture in this detailed look at a controversial American policy.

A number of general things make this book especially valuable. Sarantakes writes well, especially in his vivid description of the 1945 battle for Okinawa itself. His research is impressive, as he makes use of material from presidential archives, government repositories, and a good collection of oral histories. His argument that Okinawa was essentially an American colony is clear and convincing, even if policymakers would not have used the term. And, he does a nice job showing why American policymakers began to rethink this approach in the 1970s; not because of any ideals or principles, but because of Japanese resistance to the heavy-handed American presence.

A few things in particular deserve mention. Sarantakes does an excellent job explaining how American policy toward Okinawa evolved, showing that policymakers first wanted control of the area because of fears of a rearmed and aggressive Japan. Then, when it became clear that Japan was not moving toward militarism, American officials still refused to abandon Okinawa, afraid that doing so might encourage Japan to move toward a more neutral position in the Cold War. His account of the political infighting between State Department officials who saw withdrawal as a means to build up goodwill in Japan and elsewhere, and military leaders who clung to the base for its potential strategic value, is particularly insightful. He also does a nice job looking at the way that, especially in the early years, military officials were able to rule Okinawa with an almost iron fist. Finally, Dr. Sarantakes does a nice job putting the occupation in the context of the Cold War; its strategic location, for example, which allowed American planes to threaten targets in Asia and parts of Europe, made Okinawa especially valuable as American fears of Chinese and Soviet expansion grew.

Overall, this is convincing, thorough, and interesting book. I recommend it highly.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smashing Good Read, November 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Keystone: The American Occupation of Okinawa and U.S.-Japanese Relations (Foreign Relations and the Presidency) (Hardcover)

In a well-written first book, Nick Sarantakes gives us an impressive account of the years when Americans governed the island of Okinawa. If you lived or were stationed on "the rock" from 1945 to 1972 you will find this bringing back all sorts of memories. The argument Sarantakes makes about Okinawa being the center of a "double containment" aimed at protecting the U.S. and its allies from either the Communists or a resurgent and angry remilitarized Japan is thought provoking and well-supported. Sarantakes also does a good job of giving us perceptive character sketches of the major players that shaped U.S. foreign policy towards Japan during this period. My favorite was General Paul Caraway who wore his cover too tight on his head. This book would make a good Christmas gift for any Air Force or Marine Corps currently on the island.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited but useful, November 9, 2006

By 

Gerald Figal "goyaboy" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keystone: The American Occupation of Okinawa and U.S.-Japanese Relations (Foreign Relations and the Presidency) (Hardcover)

Sarantakes' book is useful as a study of the politics of occupation of Okinawa among the American constituencies involved, particularly the policy debates between the State and Defense Departments. It's of less use for a sense of the "U.S.-Japanese relations" part of the subtitle, principally because the author has no facility with Japanese sources. It's of even less use for a sense of the Okinawan side of things for the same reason. This is a very limited and one-sided study, but if you read it with that caveat, it contains a good deal of fascinating material on policy debates among Americans.