War in the Far East: Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931–1941

 

War in the Far East: Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931–1941 by Peter Harmsen

This book is volume 1 of (what I think is to be) a 3-part series. From what I can gather from reading this first volume is this 3-part series is meant to highlight the role of Japan in the second world war.  This first book was rather short – less than 300 pages, but it is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand the nation of Japan; it’s history, it’s conquest of China during the 1930s, and it’s goal to quickly wipe out the United States as an adversary so they can continue their rapacious goal of dominating the Far East.

Most of this book details Japan’s surge into China during the 1930s.  History tells us that World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland, but upon closer examination, you could make the argument that Japan was the real instigator of the crisis even though there really wasn’t any alliance or connection between Japan and Germany at the time. 

In addition to reading about Japan, we also read a lot about the inner turmoil within China as well; specifically the rivalry between Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalists and Mao Zedong’s Communists. The main drive of this book though is that none of this internal conflict would have been so turbulent had it not been for neighboring Japan. So although we do read snippets of Russia, Thailand, and Indochina, the whole narrative is dependent on the Japanese goal of ruthless expansion.

Although this book is somewhat brief, it’s also very well detailed.  This, for me, is a sign of an excellent book.  I don’t like a book that is too thick with irrelevant details, but I never like it when the author cuts corners just to make the book concise.  In other words, I’m fine with a long book as long as I can stay interested, but a shorter well-thought out narrative is good as well.  This book seemed the perfect length. I was never bored.  As stated though, there are more volumes to follow. So Peter Harmsen could have easily trebled the length of this book had he compiled all three of his narratives into one volume. 

If one is unfamiliar with the events in the Far East during the 1930s, it should be pointed out that entire books have been written about events that this author quickly summarizes in a few pages.  The Rape of Nanking is a great example.  When one quickly reads of the events within the pages of this book, one really can’t begin to understand the true horrors.  But again, the goal of this book is not to dive too deep into particular events.  It must be said, though, that there are much more detailed (and horrific) accounts out there about such events. (I should also add that this author has a standalone book about the Rape of Nanking.)

As a native of the United States, the most interesting part of this book is when the U.S. gets “involved” in the business between Japan and China.  This essentially led to the United States’ engagement in World War II.  As time progresses, I’m betting fewer and fewer Americans truly understand the reason why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7^th, 1941.  If you want to understand without getting bogged down with particulars, this book is an excellent place to start. In fact, this book ends directly after the Pearl Harbor attack (the same day when Japan also attacked the Philippines, Guam, and Malaya among other places).

What’s also nice is that the first chapter of this book gives a very nice brief history of Japan and China starting over one-thousand years ago.  So not only does this book do a great job of telling you the “what”, but it also succeeds in explaining “why” Japan was such a torrid hawkish country for so many centuries.

As I write this review, the second book of the series has now been released.  I’m eagerly awaiting to read the follow up to this book; as I am any future additions to this narrative.