Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944-45 - Max Hastings

During 1944-45, the war against Japan embraced the most remarkable cast of statesmen and commanders the world has ever seen: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin; Nimitz, MacArthur, Mountbatten, Slim, LeMay; Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong.

Ending in Japan’s utter defeat, it was acted out across the vast stage of Asia. Battles by land, sea and air extended over millions of miles: Imphal and Kohima, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the great Soviet assault on Manchuria.

Hastings matches the story of command decisions, rivalries and follies with the experiences of British, American, Russian, Chinese and Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen. Nemesis weaves together the complex strands at the climax of an epic war stretched across a continent and many nations, exploring some of the most horrific experiences of the twentieth century.