This is an Online Internet Book Club on Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
Embracing Defeat tells the story of the transformation of Japan under American occupation after World War II. When Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Forces in August 1945, it was exhausted; where America's Pacific combat lasted less than four years, Japan had been fighting for 15. Sixty percent of its urban area lay in ruins. The collapse of the authoritarian state enabled America's six-year occupation to set Japan in entirely new directions.
Because the victors had no linguistic or cultural access to the losers' society, they were obliged to govern indirectly. Gen. Douglas MacArthur decided at the outset to maintain the civil bureaucracy and the institution of the emperor: democracy would be imposed from above in what the author terms "Neocolonial Revolution." His description of the manipulation of public opinion, as a wedge was driven between the discredited militarists and Emperor Hirohito, is especially fascinating. Tojo, on trial for his life, was requested to take responsibility for the war and deflect it from the emperor; he did, and was hanged. Dower's analysis of popular Japanese culture of the period--songs, magazines, advertising, even jokes--is brilliant, and reflected in the book's 80 well-chosen photographs. With the same masterful control of voluminous material and clear writing that he gave us in War Without Mercy, the author paints a vivid picture of a society in extremis and reconstructs the extraordinary period during which America molded a traumatized country into a free-market democracy and bulwark against resurgent world communism. --John Stevenson
Book Club Questions for Embracing Defeat (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Embracing Defeat:
- Did John W. Dower emphasize any specific themes throughout Embracing Defeat? What do you think John W. Dower is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Embracing Defeat and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Embracing Defeat? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Embracing Defeat reveal John W. Dower's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think John W. Dower is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Embracing Defeat affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did John W. Dower's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Embracing Defeat (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Embracing Defeat:
- Did John W. Dower make persuasive arguments in Embracing Defeat? Did Embracing Defeat change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Embracing Defeat?
- How does John W. Dower present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is John W. Dower biased within Embracing Defeat? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Embracing Defeat make you want to read next? Why?
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