Brilliant as usual

Nemesis follows Hastings' usual approach of bringing together first-hand accounts by combatants with highly informed analysis of why the politicians and generals chose the strategic options they did. Having listened to this I felt a little ashamed of quite how little I knew about the Pacific campaign despite having relatives who fought in it but of course all of those surprising details only serve to make this a more interesting listen.

In brief, Nemesis offers a large canvas picture which begins by showing how the Japanese military became dominant in domestic policy and the extent to which it fostered a culture of pitiless brutality to those it conquered. We then move on to a slightly revisionist take on the military significance of Pearl Harbour and the Allied response which went from shambolic to under-powered on the part of the British while the Americans did the majority of the heavy lifting through the mobilisation of awesome naval forces and the bravery of infantry who had to battle insanely committed Japanese soldiers across a sequence of inhospitable pacific islands. Finally of course the USAF settled things by dropping the atomic bomb.

Hastings manages to cram in first hand details of ground fighting; thoughtful analyses of the planning and execution of the dropping of the atomic bomb; a fascinating picture of the way Chinese resistance fighters under leaders like Mao played off allied and Japanese forces as they sought the best position for post-war dominance in China and an interesting summary of the way in which victory distorted the US military's view of how it should fight wars in the future. That's a lot of ground to cover but Hastings is such a talented writer that Nemesis rattles along.

Highly recommended.

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15 people found this helpful

Well read out .

very interesting, well narrated, brutal account of the Japanese in ww2.nine out of ten for this title.

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Formidable array of facts, well presented.

Very well researched with the use of individual and personal contributions from individuals involved with the conflict providing vivid description.
A wonderful marshalling of facts the book provides a comprehensive study of the Pacific theatre.

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Excellent

Exhaustive and detailed but consistently interesting. The subject matter can be grim at times but there are also a lot of human stories here from interviews with survivors.

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Phenomenal.

I never understood my grandparents animosity to Japan nor my boomer parents lofty association to WW2 and the Pacific campaigns until reading this book. Thank you for enlightening me.

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Great, detailed account of the war in the Pacific

Superlative account of the Japanese involvement in WW2, providing a detailed account of individual leaders, strategic decision making, operational plans and key tactical battles. I only wish the narrator would not attempt to adopt foreign accents when quoting protagonists.

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Hastings at his best

Outstanding book made me rethink my views on many issue's and helped me to understand the complexity of 20th Century warfare

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comprehensive, compelling, and excellently told

an excellent survey of the Pacific War, from every angle, which honestly and objectively details the good, bad, and ugly, along with the pain and suffering, of all those involved. Very highly recommended

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A rare look into dark corners of WW2

Superbly read , and referencing well researched primary sources, this book fills out aspects of the Pacific war that are unfamiliar . Amongst other things It strips away any illusions about benign British ( or any Western) colonialism and puts our limited contribution to the Japanese war in stark contrast to the US effort . Not very complimentary about Australians or Russians either . Excellent and informative listening all round

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An excellent,illuminating and well balanced accoun

A well written study of a neglected part of the second world war.The constant futility of the Japanese belief in Bushido is a eye-opening warning on how misplaced ideals can become normal behaviour.

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