- Paperback: 306 pages
- Publisher: Rowman Littlefield Publishers (July 31 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0742511162
- ISBN-13: 978-0742511163
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,507,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
The seven-year U.S. occupation of Japan beginning in 1945 liberated the Japanese people from the repressive militarist regime that had held them in its grip for nearly two decades. As the improbable agent of Japan's circumscribed democratization, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), became the focus of the hopes and fears of numerous Japanese. Rinjiro (emeritus, Hosei Univ., Tokyo), MacArthur's Japanese biographer, selected over 100 letters from the estimated 500,000 the general received from the Japanese people. They reveal the fascinating diversity of opinion among Japanese, who showered MacArthur with adulation, political advice, complaints, gifts, and urgent personal pleas. Through their letters, ordinary Japanese citizens spoke in vibrant and varied voices on a wide range of topics. Unfortunately, instead of letting the letters speak for themselves, Rinjiro intrudes with his own, often banal, commentary, which detracts from the value of a book that is otherwise a pleasure to read. For academic and larger public libraries. Steven I. Levine, Univ. of Montana, Missoula
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Most Americans associate MacArthur's greatness with his military exploits. Yet, as the "proconsul" who organized and administered the post-World War II occupation of Japan, MacArthur proved himself as a brilliant, flexible, and farsighted ruler who understood the uses and limits of political power. Rinjiro is professor emeritus at Hosei University, Tokyo, and Japan's foremost biographer of MacArthur. He has compiled an eclectic mix of letters from Japanese citizens to MacArthur over the six-year span of his rule there. The subject matter ranges from the frivolous to the profound. Taken as a whole, the letters offer a very interesting portrait of an insular people striving to cope with an alien occupying power. Given the savagery of the war in the Pacific, the respectful, occasionally worshipful tone of many of these letters has an eerie quality. This collection is a valuable asset for those who wish to understand the American occupation and Japanese attitudes toward foreigners. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rich and Illuminating!,
By "timmytackytoey" (Nagano-Ken Japan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dear General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese during the American Occupation (Hardcover)
"Dear General MacArthur" is a wonderful and very illuminating compilation of letters written by the Japanese to Gen. MacArthur during the American Occupation (1945-1952). Sodei's running commentary alongside the letters is full of powerful insight and helpful explanations which allow the reader to genuinely understand how, and why the Japanese wrote the General with their praise, adoration, pleas, and criticism regarding him and the occupation. It is a "must" read for any who are interested in, or are students of Japanese culture. The letters are moving, incredible, sad, and hilarious. Never in world history did a country ever "love" MacArthur as much as the Japanese did after WWII. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning and illustrious historian of Japan, John W. Dower notes in his foreword, "This is a rare gem of a book. We have nothing else like it concerning Japan." Compiled and expounded by the foremost authority on, and biographer of MacArthur, it is a book that all should enjoy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rich and Illuminating!,
By "timmytackytoey" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Dear General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese during the American Occupation (Hardcover)
"Dear General MacArthur" is a wonderful and very illuminating compilation of letters written by the Japanese to Gen. MacArthur during the American Occupation (1945-1952). Sodei's running commentary alongside the letters is full of powerful insight and helpful explanations which allow the reader to genuinely understand how, and why the Japanese wrote the General with their praise, adoration, pleas, and criticism regarding him and the occupation. It is a "must" read for any who are interested in, or are students of Japanese culture. The letters are moving, incredible, sad, and hilarious. Never in world history did a country ever "love" MacArthur as much as the Japanese did after WWII. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning and illustrious historian of Japan, John W. Dower notes in his foreword, "This is a rare gem of a book. We have nothing else like it concerning Japan." Compiled and expounded by the foremost authority on, and biographer of MacArthur, it is a book that all should enjoy.
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