Peter Mauch Tojo review, recensie en informatie biografie en boek over de opkomst en ondergang van Japans meest controversiële generaal uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Op 3 maart 2026 verschijnt bij Belknap Press de biografie van de berucht Japanse generaal Tojo, geschreven door Peter Mauch de Australische historicus. Een Nederlandse vertaling van het boek is niet verkrijgbaar.
Peter Mauch Tojo review en recensie
- “A vital, brilliant book. This is sure to be seen as the definitive account of Hideki Tojo, the general who became an archenemy of the Allied forces and was eventually prosecuted as a war criminal on the world stage. Tojo is essential reading for all WWII history buffs, as well as anyone who wants to understand the role of politics and state violence in wartime Japan.” (Alex Kershaw, author of Patton’s Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in World War II)
Tojo
The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Most Controversial World War II General
- Auteur: Peter Rauch (Australië)
- Soort boek: biografie, oorlogsgeschiedenis
- Taal: Engels
- Uitgever: Belknap Press
- Verschijnt: 3 maart 2026
- Omvang: 496 pagina’s
- Uitgave: gebonden boek
- Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol
Flaptekst van de biografie van de Japanse oorlogsgeneraal Tojo
The definitive biography of Hideki Tojo, the controversial general who redefined military leadership in Showa-era Japan before his downfall during World War II.
The military general who became Emperor Hirohito’s prime minister, Hideki Tojo is most often remembered as an iron-fisted leader who dragged Japan into World War II and—after spectacular losses—was eventually executed as a war criminal. Yet Tojo was far more than his ignominious end. In fact, as Peter Mauch argues, he was one of the twentieth century’s most accomplished military statesmen.
Over a career of some forty years, Tojo successfully launched himself into the highest echelons of political power. He was not only a tactical genius, Mauch shows, but also a savvy administrator, a fierce imperialist, and a deeply loyal advisor to the emperor. Tojo’s career took off with the notorious Kwantung Army in Manchuria, where he played a key role in escalating the Sino-Japanese War during the 1930s. As he rose through the ranks, becoming minister of war and then army chief of staff, he honed the efficiency of the Imperial Army and enhanced its influence within the emperor’s court. All the while, he deftly negotiated the fractious military rivalries that arose wherever he went. Brilliant, ambitious, and often ruthless, Tojo reached political heights that were perhaps matched only by his precipitous fall in the final months of World War II.
Layered and evocative, Tojo is at once a riveting military history of Showa-era Japan and a nuanced portrait of the relentless personality at its center.
Peter Mauch lectures in Asian History at Western Sydney University in Australia. He is the author of Sailor Diplomat: Nomura Kichisaburō and the Japanese-American War.