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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: They Got away With It!
Review: James Webb's novel is based on the fictional story of one of General Mac Arthur's aids. One Captian Jay Marsh.Based immediatly after the liberation of the Phillipines and then the defeat of Japan. Webb takes us on a journey of mystery and intruge that still surrounds the favourable peace terms offered to Japan. It is known that Mac Arthur favoured a hurriedly established democratic government in Japan, mainly to stave off the threat of Communisim that was slowly overhauling the Asian mainland. Webb deals with this issue in the dramatic style he is known for. I could continue but that would spoil the story.
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Summary: Well-written historical fiction
Review: Jay Marsh is a young, idealistic, Army Captain who has been assigned to Douglas McArthur's staff. We follow him from the time of McArthur's return to liberate the Phillipines in early 1945 and through the beginning of the peacetime Japanese occupation. Jay is privy to all of McArthur's inside politics and in-fighting, and in the beginning he finds it heady stuff. However Jay finds that the power he weilds in McArthur's name soon disillusion him and threaten to ruin his future with his beautiful Filipina fiancee. Mr. Webb is an excellent writer. His sense of place is very strong and he easily convinces us we're right there as the battle for Leyte is being fought. It's also obvious he knows Japanese culture. The historical background seems to be very well done. If he's taken liberties with history I'm not aware of it. If you like historical fiction, especially as it applies to WWII I'd recommend this book. It will give you insights into an era that's usually not covered in great detail. It's also an entertaining story.
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Summary: Honor and intrique, a fascinating look at Japan & MacArthur
Review: Jim Webb has weaved a fascinating novel around the real history of the Japanese occupation, MacArthur's brilliance, his vanity, weaknesses, palace intrigues, and within it all gives us a love story that deals with ethics and morals and touches the heart. But the greatest gift that Webb delivers in this book is to return honor to Japannese General Yamishita, The Tiger of Malaya, whose "murder" by a MacArthur controlled kangaroo court has laid in the backwash of American history for 50 years. This story alone is worth the price and the time to read it. The Emperor's General should be required reading in every high school in America and in every law school ethics course. The story told is outstanding. And Jim Webb's Marine's sense of Honor is at the root. Ray L. Walker
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Summary: Another outstanding book from James Webb.
Review: Terrific character development and story telling about the end of World War II. Buy it and enjoy a great book.
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Summary: Superb - One of my all-time favourites.
Review: The Emperor's General is set at the end of World War 2 in the Pacific and centres around the American occupation of Japan following the surrender of the Japanese. It tells of the political chess game played out between the Japanese Emperor and General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the allies in Asia. The story is told through the eyes of Captain Jay Marsh, an aide to General MacArthur. The three main characters in the story are Jay Marsh, General MacArthur and number one advisor to the Emperor, Lord Privy Seal Koichi Kido. Although the surrounding events to the story are based on historical facts and the major historical figures did exist, the author James Webb tells us the story is otherwise one of fiction, and the interplay of the characters is drawn from his surmise and deduction. Nonetheless, one can't help but ponder how much Webb has accurately deducted from his research. I thoroughly enjoy historical novels, but tend to lean towards ones that have a deal of action in them. The Emperor's General has no battlefield fighting and no action in the normal sense of the word contained within the story, so it was going to be a test for me and I think a test for the book to see if it could hold my interest. I wasn't disappointed. This is a beautifully written book. It draws you into the story in such a subtle way that it has a mystical quality to it. Webb has masterfully created the atmosphere of the Asian cities where the story unfolds. Reading about the Philippines, one can feel the prickly heat and the rain soaked roads leading from the capital Manila. The destruction of Tokyo is contrasted vividly with the elegance of the few remaining buildings deliberately left untouched by allied bombing. Webb has portrayed Japanese culture and tradition in a very convincing manner and has woven it into the story intricately. This aspect plays a lead part in the crafting of this story and from this perspective the book will appeal to those with an interest in Asian cultures and is a wonderful introduction to those interested in knowing something about the Japanese psyche. Running parallel to the political mind game being played out in Tokyo, where Captain Jay Marsh is stationed for most of the story, is the romance between Marsh and his Philippine lover Divina Clara. Marsh is torn between his love for Divina and his love for the diplomatic role he plays in the shaping of Japan. The relationship between the young American Captain and the beautiful Philippine woman is a swirling mix of romance, clash of cultures and a surreal Asian atmosphere which is all marvellously rendered by Webb. The unfolding relationship between Marsh, MacArthur and the Lord Privy Seal Koichi Kido is where the obvious drama in this story takes place, but always hauntingly in the background is this yearning romance which culminates the book. My hat is off to the author. This is an engrossing and stunning stage-show penned in the highest calibre. I know these words have been used before to describe this book, but they are so appropriate I feel obliged to reiterate them. The Emperor's General is "sublime, romantic" and utterly mesmerising. "An unforgettable read".
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Summary: I want to contact the Author! I am visiting the Philippines
Review: This book was great! I was rivited through the entire story line. This book offers great insight into MacArthur, the Philippines, and the Second World War. This book convinced me to study the Philippines in a class at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business titled "The Politics and Economics of Development". Soon I will travel to the Philippines to complete this class. I desperately want to talk to the author! Can anyone help me contact the author of this book? Thanks, Scott
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Summary: A Treat for the Ears
Review: This is a fantastic book to listen to on tape. David Dukes, a fine actor, is also a gifted reader. He masters the many voices of the book with believable accents and affectations. He does great justice to the broad range of emotions Capt. Jay Marsh experiences. The reading of the abridged edition by Mr. Dukes has inspired me to buy the book to read for myself.
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Summary: Historical Masterpiece
Review: This is a masterfully written historical novel that I would place in the same category as "Gone With the Wind" and "The Far Pavilions."
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Summary: A rivetting historical novel of MacArthur in postwar Japan.
Review: This is a ripping good historical novel about General MacArthur's leadership of the American occupation of Japan--the first time in over a thousand years that the "nation family" of Japan suffered defeat and conquest. The author tells the story from the perspective of one Jay Marsh, a young Japanese-speaking American captain and aide-de-camp to General MacArthur. Seen from Marsh's perspective, we see MacArthur from what seemed to me to be an authentic portrayal of a complicated man who was vain, brilliant, ambitious, and charismatic. The essential theme of the novel (no spoilers here) is that in 1945 although MacArthur represented the victor and the Japanese were in fact utterly beaten and indeed devestated by war, the interaction between occupier and the Japanese power structure was complex. The Japanese ruling class, although forced to endure American-inspired democratic reforms, remained the ruling class, at least for a time. In particular, the novel shows how, in exchange for the Japanese establishment's cooperation for a remarkably tranquil and calm occupation, most of the truly culpable Japanese war criminals escaped prosecution. The infamous Rape of Nanking, in particular, largely went unpunished. Although the novel is wonderful history, it never loses sight of its first mission--to entertain. The story is beautifully told, with compassion and humor, as we follow Captain Marsh through his love affairs with beautiful Phillipine and Japanese girls, and his interaction, friendships, and ultimately his outmaneuverings of key Japanese government figures. The most rivetting part of the novel, and its central story, is the trial and hanging of Japanese General Yamashita. Author Webb does an excellent job persuading the reader that this was in fact a travesty of justice in which MacArthur essentially made Yamashita a scapegoat for war crimes committed by others--others in the Japanese power establishment whom MacArthur was shielding from prosecution in exchange for the establishment's cooperation in the occupation and democratic reform process. An unforgettable novel that I have read more than once, each time with added insight and enjoyment.
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