Our man in Tokyo : an American ambassador and the countdown to Pearl Harbor /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Gripping history, offering both drama and suspense." --Wall Street Journal

A riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war.

In 1932, Japan was in crisis. Naval officers had assassinated the prime minister and conspiracies flourished. The military had a stranglehold on the government. War with Russia loomed, and propaganda campaigns swept the country, urging schoolchildren to give money to procure planes and tanks.

Into this maelstrom stepped Joseph C. Grew, America's most experienced and talented diplomat. When Grew was appointed ambassador to Japan, not only was the country in turmoil, its relationship with America was rapidly deteriorating. For the next decade, Grew attempted to warn American leaders about the risks of Japan's raging nationalism and rising militarism, while also trying to stabilize Tokyo's increasingly erratic and volatile foreign policy. From domestic terrorism by Japanese extremists to the global rise of Hitler and the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, the events that unfolded during Grew's tenure proved to be pivotal for Japan, and for the world. His dispatches from the darkening heart of the Japanese empire would prove prescient--for his time, and for our own.

Drawing on Grew's diary of his time in Tokyo as well as U.S. embassy correspondence, diplomatic dispatches, and firsthand Japanese accounts, Our Man in Tokyo brings to life a man who risked everything to avert another world war, the country where he staked it all--and the abyss that swallowed it.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of Characters (p. xi)
• Prologue (p. 1)
• 1 The Mission Begins (p. 7)
• 2 Settling In (p. 17)
• 3 Temblors (p. 23)
• 4 A Rash of Espionage (p. 29)
• 5 A Year of Small Fires (p. 39)
• 6 Keeping His Shirt On (p. 45)
• 7 Lovers and Patriots (p. 51)
• 8 Bison and Nazis (p. 57)
• 9 A Deceptive Calm (p. 63)
• 10 A Cabinet Falls (p. 69)
• 11 A Swashbuckling Temper (p. 75)
• 12 Phobias (p. 83)
• 13 A Purge, an Organ, Another Assassination (p. 91)
• 14 Insurrection (p. 99)
• 15 A Lull (p. 105)
• 16 A Pact (p. 111)
• 17 Kokutai (p. 117)
• 18 Quagmire (p. 125)
• 19 Bombing, Regrets, Bombing, Regrets (p. 133)
• 20 The Panay Incident (p. 141)
• 21 Strenuous Stasis (p. 149)
• 22 Appeasement (p. 157)
• 23 A New Order (p. 163)
• 24 Maneuvers from All Directions (p. 171)
• 25 Abrogation (p. 179)
• 26 Gallons of Vinegar (p. 187)
• 27 The Horse's Mouth (p. 191)
• 28 Fire-Eaters on All Sides (p. 201)
• 29 A Golden Opportunity (p. 207)
• 30 Hell-Bent Toward the Axis (p. 217)
• 31 The Matsuoka Hurricane (p. 223)
• 32 Green Light (p. 231)
• 33 A Grim and Cruel Year (p. 241)
• 34 Darkening (p. 249)
• 35 A Rumor of Pearl (p. 257)
• 36 Negotiations (p. 265)
• 37 Bad Drafts (p. 275)
• 38 Too Much Matsuoka (p. 281)
• 39 A Betrayal and a Purge (p. 289)
• 40 The Freeze (p. 295)
• 41 The Crossroads of Peace and War (p. 301)
• 42 Rough Winds and Waves (p. 309)
• 43 Tense Silence (p. 317)
• 44 Kabuki (p. 323)
• 45 A Deadline for Diplomacy (p. 331)
• 46 Offerings (p. 339)
• 47 Decision for War (p. 345)
• 48 Infamy (p. 353)
• 49 Back Home (p. 361)
• Acknowledgments (p. 367)
• Notes (p. 369)
• Selected Bibliography (p. 405)
• Index (p. 409)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

An at-once depressing and instructive chronicle of Japan's descent from a democracy with free press and civilian rule (albeit represented by a deified and remote emperor) into a fascist society in which the military's wishes trumped social and political norms by Kemper (A Splendid Savage: The Restless Life of Frederick Russell Burnham). Joseph Grew was ambassador to Japan for 10 years, until Japan declared war on the U.S. in 1941. Based largely on Grew's detailed diaries and extensive communications with Cordell Hull's State Department, President Franklin Roosevelt, and his wide range of influential friends, the book is more in the category of annals. Grew's intimate knowledge is vital to any study of World War II. His attempts to modify the bloody Japanese invasion of China and the increasingly anti-Western focus of economic relations speaks to both the effects of untrammeled propaganda and the impotence of American diplomacy in the run-up to a global war. Although it may be difficult to follow for those new to the subject, the book presents an important view of the interwar relationship between the Japanese and the Americans. VERDICT Highly recommended for World War II and diplomatic collections at the undergraduate level and above.--Edwin Burgess

Publishers Weekly Review

The high stakes of international diplomacy are revealed in this captivating history from journalist Kemper (A Splendid Savage). Appointed U.S. ambassador to Japan in 1932, Joseph Grew spent nearly a decade in a doomed effort to maintain peace between the two nations. Following the invasion of China in 1931, the hard-right tilt of Japanese politics urging military conquest became relentless, Kemper explains, infecting all levels of government and insinuating itself into Emperor Hirohito's court. Though he never learned to speak Japanese, Grew was popular in Japan, and grasped that neither the moderate, pro-Western politicians with whom he forged close relationships, nor the vast majority of Japanese people, desired the cataclysmic endgame promised by the country's rabid militarists. His diplomatic efforts were hamstrung, however, by U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull's "foreordained certainty that the Japanese were incapable of anything except treachery." Despite the tumult of Japanese politics, which included coup attempts, assassinations, and increasingly repressive domestic laws, Grew refused to give up on the idea that war could be averted, and made a "last-minute appeal" to the Japanese foreign minister just hours before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Expertly marshaled from Grew's diaries and reports, this is a poignant and profound look at diplomacy in action. (Nov.)

Kirkus Book Review

How a skilled ambassador tried to rein in a wildly dysfunctional nation. Historian Kemper speeds over the early life of Joseph Grew (1880-1965), who preferred travel to the lucrative family business. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1904 and rose steadily. Appointed ambassador to Japan in 1932, he served until World War II broke out. Japan had a constitution and elected parliament but also a godlike emperor. "To ensure this infallibility," writes the author, "he wasn't allowed to make any decisions, nor could he be held responsible for decisions made by others." The military swore loyalty to the emperor, not the constitution, so it was largely uncontrollable. Young, jingoistic officers regularly murdered their superiors or civilian officials who seemed insufficiently bellicose, proclaimed that they acted out of love for the emperor, and were treated with kid gloves. In this richly detailed narrative, Kemper emphasizes that Japan had genuine grievances against the West. The U.S. prohibited many Asian immigrants, and many states forbade Japanese from becoming citizens or owning property. Japanese leaders denounced Western imperialism--not because it was unjust but because they believed that Japan, not the West, deserved to rule the Asian world. Grew arrived after Japan had annexed Manchuria and would later invade China. This produced outrage in America, including among his superiors. Although equally unsympathetic, Grew explained that since America had no intention of using force, outrage alone produced irritation without accomplishing anything. His goal as a diplomat was to win respect from the Japanese and encourage more enlightened behavior. Grew himself did not rate his chances highly, and readers know how matters turned out, but Kemper's compelling history gives him high marks for winning popularity among the people and trust from Japanese leaders--far more than other Western diplomats. He accomplished this despite understanding that he was dealing with a deeply flawed government willing to commit hara-kiri in pursuit of its goals, which it proceeded to do. A fine account of an American diplomat who did his best to contain Japanese ambitions in the run-up to World War II. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.