Tojo [Paperback]

Courtney Browne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1998

General, minister of war, prime minister, and unrepentant ultranationalist, Hideki Tojo (1884–1948) was the most powerful leader in the Japanese government during World War II. From October 1941 to July 1944 he held unquestioned control, advocating and setting in motion the attack on Pearl Harbor as well as pushing forward the Japanese offensives in China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The author examines Tojo's life against the backdrop of increasing Japanese militarism—Civil war, political assassinations, and coup d'états—and uses exclusive interviews with Tojo's wife to illuminate the spartan, single-minded, incorruptible personality of the man who chose war rather than succumb to U.S.–induced economic strangulation. From the initial victories, through the later severe defeats and Tojo's resignation, to his thwarted suicide attempt, trial as a war criminal, and execution, no other book offers such a clear and compelling portrait.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In addition to having served as a British major in India, Burma, and China during World War II, Courtney Browne (1915–1994) had a deep knowledge of, and many personal encounters with, Japan. He was a member of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force; a witness to the War Crimes Trials; one of the few foreigners to win the confidence of Tojo's wife; and a resident of Japan for a decade.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808447
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808449
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,151,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More About Tojo's Times Than Tojo, April 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tojo (Paperback)

Browne has written an excellent summary of Japanese governmental history during the first half of the twentieth century rather than a biography of Tojo. Pages go by with no mention of the biography's purported subject. When Tojo does receive attention, it is usually a bare summary of his actions. There is little attempt to get inside his mind or to provide personal context. Similarly, the photos section has relatively few photos of Tojo. The book is very good but its title ought to be "Japan: Government 1900-1945."

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tojo lost his mojo and his yo-yo playing the banjo!, February 27, 2008

By 

S. A. Kuipers (Groningen, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tojo (Paperback)

A poem called: the last Samurai:

Tojo he was warlord,
He say: If Japan-Kwo wants war, Japan-Kwo will have war!
In the end the the Fat Man and the Thin Man fell on Japan-Kwo...
and Tojo swung in autumn breeze,
wearing a hemp necktie
While cherry trees blossomed......
Confucius he say: Tojo was velly honollabre ah so.............

Bit long for a haiku, but it pretty much sums up Tojo's life and achievements. A horrible and destructive nihilist, at least Hitler had some (albeit sick and twisted and detestable) ideals....Tojo,like militant Islamists today, had nothing to offer but death... Apart from that there was nothing, only a void filled with pure hatred.
He succeeded in turning many, many other Japanese into fanatical automatons, bent on killing and being killed.

Be very afraid, peoples of the Western World: Tojo's ghost and "ideas" live on and manifested itself most spectacularly on the 11th of september 2001. Since then, whether we choose to ignore it or not (and most prefer to do so) we are at war with a bigger threat than the nazis...
To think that Iran and Pakistan (where the mullahs soon will rule) control significant nuclear capabilities is a shocking realisation...
May God defend the right, which is us, so in your fr*gging faces, bearded, suicide-bombing, wife-beating creeps!! And Tojo, if I ever get to Japan, I'll go to your grave or shrine or whatever the hell it is and p*ss all over it, hell, I might even take a cr*p on it while I'm at it!

Two world wars and one world cup, mate, remember that!