Retribution

Max Hastings

Mar 2008 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan's defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained unclear. The ensuing drama—that ended in Japan's utter devastation—was acted out across the vast theater of Asia in massive clashes between army, air, and naval forces.

In recounting these extraordinary events, Max Hastings draws incisive portraits of MacArthur, Mao, Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and other key figures of the war in the East. But he is equally adept in his portrayals of the ordinary soldiers and sailors caught in the bloodiest of campaigns.

With its piercing and convincing analysis, Retribution is a brilliant telling of an epic conflict from a master military historian at the height of his powers.

Ratings and reviews

Hastings' political bigotry renders his scholarship moot. Page 42: "His [egotistical General Douglas McArthur's] policy reflected pervididly right wing political convictions." Page 45: McArthur "occasionally talk baseball with his men, in an attempt to deceive them that he was human."

Excellent overview of the final year of the war in the pacific told in chilling detail and with unbiased professionalism. Talks about the major battles as well as to lesser covered topics like Maos China, MacArthur's Phillipines campaign, POWs on Hellships, the firebombing of Tokyo, and the Japanese governments surrender

Formidable work that is filled with harrowing accounts from all people who experienced the war . Magnificent and a glorious companion to the author's Armageddon about the end of WW II.

About the author

Sir Max Hastings was a foreign correspondent for many years, reporting from more than 60 countries for BBC TV and the London Evening Standard. He reported conflict in the Middle East, Indochina, Angola, India, Zimbabwe and finally the 1982 Falklands War. He has presented historical documentaries for television, including series on the Korean War and on Churchill and his generals. He is the recipient of numerous British awards for his books and journalism, including Journalist of the Year (1982), and Editor of the Year (1988). He has written 18 books on military history and current events. Some notables are Bomber Command, which earned the Somerset Maugham Prize for nonfiction, The Battle for the Falklands, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy, both of which also received awards. For 16 years, he was successively editor-in-chief of the British Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, from which he retired in 2002. He has published two memoirs, Going To The Wars (2000) about his experiences as a war correspondent, and Editor (2003) about his time running newspapers. He lives outside London.