Historian Richard B. Frank On The Asia-Pacific War
Historian Richard B. Frank has written many books about what he now calls “The Asia-Pacific War.” I have read his books, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, and his biography of General MacArthur, MacArthur (Great General Series). Sitting in my “To Be Read” stack is his book, Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle.
For someone, growing up reading and studying “the Pacific War,” as opposed to the “Asia-Pacific War,” his book, Tower of Skulls was an eye-opener. I had little knowledge of the epic war that occurred in China. Nor did I have knowledge of how many people, mostly civilians, died from 1937 to 1945 there.
I’ve heard Frank speak many times at the Museum of the Pacific War and I’ve watched interviews with him on YouTube. Several days ago, I ran across his presentation on the WW2TV channel there.
The presentation below will give you a better context for that part of World War II as well as more understanding of the price millions of Asians paid because of Japanese aggression. (There is math, but don’t worry, he does it so you don’t have to.)
The statistics he provides were, to me, staggering. And later in the presentation, he revealed what Chairman Mao Zedong told a visiting Japanese Prime Minister back in the 1970s.
Excellent presentation. Well worth the time.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book, Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will be writing about the lessons we can learn in leadership and crisis management. I’ll also write about the changes the US Navy made as a result of those lessons learned.
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