Tojo and the Coming of the War
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1969. Reprint. Trade paperback. Format is approximately 5.5 inches and 8.5 inches. [8], 584 pages. Decorative cover. Cover has some wear and soiling. Some edge soiling. Foreword by Frederick S. Dunn. A Note to the Reader. Illustrations. Footnotes. Abbreviations Used in the Footnotes. Bibliography. Index. Robert Joseph Charles Butow (March 19, 1924 – October 17, 2017) was a professor emeritus of Japanese history at the University of Washington in Seattle. An author of several books, he was a leading authority on Japan during World War II. Robert Butow was born in San Mateo, California. He attended Stanford University, where he was a member of the Army Reserve, and a student of the Japanese language. When his unit was activated, he was selected to attend the Army Japanese Language School. Butow served in the United States Army during the early months of the occupation of Japan in 1945 and 1946, and became interested in Japanese history and culture. He returned to Stanford. His doctoral thesis on the Japanese surrender (titled Japan's Decision to Surrender) was subsequently published as his first book. His next book, Tojo and the Coming of the War, was in part a biography of Hideki T j , the prime minister of Japan during most of World War II, in part an account of the political events in Japan that led to Japan's attack on the U.S., Britain, and Netherlands, and in part an account of the consequences of the War for Japan. His third book (The John Doe Associates) was about a group of Americans who tried to promote peace with Japan before 1941, but only ended up worsening relations between the two nations. More