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Summary: The Emperor's General changes a world
Review: I found myself rivetted, absorbed page after page, chapter after chapter of this deeply satisfying underbelly view of great men, great cultures, great deceit & gullibility. As a naive ADC, Jay Marsh basked in the reflected glory of MacArthur's return to the Philippines & his rule over Japan. Old Jay Marsh is back in Manila to remember & atone for his cowardice when that war-torn world of treachery & arrogance opened before his young eyes. An amazing vision of the Pacific Theater recoupment is this fictional memoir of America's advance on Japan & the ensuing peacetime transformation. Splendid read!...
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Summary: Webb's best yet.
Review: I have read all Webb's novels & liked them all, but this is by far his best. Protagonists in his previous books have been either stereotypes or mouthpieces for Webb himself, but in Capt Jay Marsh Webb has created an interesting, entertaining & likable, but flawed, character who is an original & speaks in his own voice. The other characters both fictional & real are deftly drawn, too. This is a terrific novel, well-researched & well-written, & raises some important issues.
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Summary: Excellent read and history lesson
Review: I lived in Japan in the late 80s. I found it remarkable to read in print in Webb's novel about historical episodes which were generally common knowledge to anyone who questioned the sanitised official line about the Occupation Period (put forward by both Americans and Japanese), but could not be written about by academics who valued their career prospects. Webb's book tallies precisely with David Bergamini's analysis. On top of that, an excellent read.
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Summary: A wonderful book
Review: I love it when everything else comes second and i do nothing but read to the end. This was a page turner, my attention never flagged, the characters were wonderful, the history marvelous, and I found it difficult to believe that such a sensitive man had been a military man most of his life. Great writer and story teller.
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Summary: Hard to put down
Review: I love this book genre....and The Emperor's General is one of the best books I have read of its type. I am a student of this period of history, and found it both exploring and accurate. To steal the words of Newsweek book reviewers: "a page turner"....
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Summary: Hard to put down
Review: I love this book genre....and The Emperor's General is one of the best books I have read of its type. I am a student of this period of history, and found it both exploring and accurate. To steal the words of Newsweek book reviewers: "a page turner"....
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Summary: As always, OUTSTANDING.
Review: I really enjoyed the read. Capt. Jay Marsh and I share a lot the same thoughts and feelings. Jim has once again put real flavor in this new work, you can almost smell the destruction of Tokyo. Thanks for taking the time to write it and share it with the world. Mac
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Summary: Impressive.
Review: I thought The Triumph and the Glory would be the best WWII novel of the summer, but it has been edged into 2nd place by Webb's outstanding The Emperor's General. Insightful, fascinating, revealing of a culture and time very alien to American experience, this book is a great read.
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Summary: The general who wished he were an emperor
Review: In the Emperor's General, James Webb proves that he is as good at bringing real historical figures to life as he is in portraying the harsh life of combat from the eyes of fictional soldiers. The general in question is Douglas McArthur, great man and great ego, and the emperor is the emperor of Japan following WWII. McArthur was the military governor for the period of occupation and the history books tell us mostly that he was loved by the Japanese and brought them order, a new constitution and rights for women. What the history books (at least in schools) don't dwell on is the cost of those reforms and how they were achieved. This book does, among other themes, concern itself with the settling of blame for the war and atrocities, the struggle of the emperor and his supporters to protect him from punishment or embarrassment, and the compromises tha McArthur made in order to achieve his ends - and his 'place in history'. The most startling premise of the book is that McArthur allowed the Japanese general who commaned the last troops to surrender in the Philipines, to become the scapegoat for the empreror's (and his friends and family's) sins. This figure, presented as a noble warrior who engaged in no atrocities and fought against all odds until ordered to surrender by the emperor, is tried and condemned to death - partly to satisfy McArthur's desire for someone to punish because of the rape of he Philipines and partly to shift blame from the emperial household. Whatever one believes about the actual history involved, the picture drawn of McArthur and the other characters, is so believable and detailed, that one cannot but be moved by the story. The reader's sympathies are, at book's end, with the Japanese general and not with McArthur. This is only scratching the surface of this book. There is much more to it. It is a full and rich experience that touches on many themes. It is a thought provoking novel that tells a complex story of interesting characters - some real and some fictional. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Magnificent!!!
Review: James Webb has outdone even himself on this book. My favorite Webb novel used to be "A Sense of Honor," but now it's been bumped aside. Webb is miles ahead of my second-favorite and third-favorite military novelists, Lucian K. Truscott IV and Ed Ruggero. This is no reflection on these other two superb writers; rather, it's simply that Webb has created a class of his own. If a "six-star" rating were possible, I'd give it to this book.
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