Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book with great historical significance
Review: When I bought this book, I did not know what to expect. Perhaps just another adventure novel of WWII. What I got instead was a combination history lesson of great significance and a great love story. The protagonist of the story, Jay Marsh, relates the initial occupation of Japan by General Douglas McArthur. Marsh is McArthur's , " gofer", and is privy to much of the intrigue in McArthur's administration of Japan. The main crux of the story is the trial of General Yamashita, evidently railroaded to execution by General McArthur for the purpose of shielding the Emperor and the royal family from any culpability in the rapes of Nanking and Manila. Easily the best book I've read this year. I couldn't put it down. Five stars to be sure.
Rating:
Summary: Webb's Best Work Yet!
Review: Without a doubt, James Webb's best novel yet. Fast paced andthought provoking, I found The Emperor's General to be a fascinatinghistorical novel. Not only does the author present an insight intoMacArthur's world at the end of World War II, he examines the moralityof the events, from the rigged war crime trial of a Japanese generalto the personal troubles of a young junior officer. I was tornbetween not being able to put the book down and having to stop andexamine the issues brought to light by Webb.
Rating:
Summary: Must read for All DoD and DoS
Review: You know who you are. Probably a Marine officer possessing some seemingly-solid bond with the author. Maybe an Army officer or cadet, with a mild interest in MacArthur or WWII. An idealistic young History major from an above-average school thinking you could become a member of the Diplomatic Corps. Maybe an urbane young Asian-American with a yearn for deeper knowledge of your past. Regardless, this is a must read for all of you. Webb possesses the gift to create strong prose intertwined with reality. You will be saddened, intrigued, and confused. You realize first hand that simpler wars ended upon completion of WWII. Was Back Track Mac a genius? Was he complex? Yes. Douglas may have been our greatest military mind ever, but this novel tells you why he may have been our most misunderstood. Although Webb caveats this as a work of fiction, there are few historical errors in it. The beauty of the novel leaves you with your interest level to determine who really won. Honor, love, and diplomacy are weaved together to create a fine historical cloth. In typical Webb fashion, he begins and ends in the present, and the majority of the novel rests in the past. A somewhat tired format for him, but required nonetheless. This should be on every first-year law school, the Commandant's, the SecState's, and the Army's mandatory reading list. You will not be disappointed. You may even become an Ambassador or General someday.
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