“As an overview of 100 years of Japanese history, this is very strong. But Bix has a very clear agenda, and if he often seems to be drawing very specific conclusions out of think air -- or perhaps he thinks he's been very clear, when he details several points (all foot noted) and then wants to draw a specific conclusion of what Hirohito is thinking. Frankly, he's not that good writer. And didn't present enough of a clear picture of who Hirohito is to be able to discover along with Bix the development of Hirohito's thinking.
It's also frankly too long. There's a lot of new names and places and people and things are mentioned briefly 100 pages before they appear again. There should have been a chart or timeline to refer too at some point in the book.
OVerall, I'm glad I read it. It certainly helped me understand Japan in terms of modern literature and movies. But it was a slog that took me far too long to get through. And while parts some parts seemed overly detailed, he's practically breezy in the last 50 pages. And the war sections read very clearly too.
Like my review here, he needs editing. Perhaps there was a feeling that the book was such a revelation (only to American audiences, I think. It's clear the European, Asian and even Japanese press have an understanding of Hirohito that Americans do not) that they needed to rush it to press.
Still it's a good source book. And obviously important. But it good have been better written.”
