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    Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan
    Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan
    Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan
    Audiobook9 hours

    Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan

    Written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

    Narrated by Robert Petkoff

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The powerful and riveting new book in the multimillion-selling Killing series by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

    Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan.

    Across the globe in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. In Washington, DC, FDR dies in office and Harry Truman ascends to the presidency, only to face the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon. And in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito, who is considered a deity by his subjects, refuses to surrender, despite a massive and mounting death toll. Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and Killing Reagan, this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 13, 2016
    ISBN9781427275875
    Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan
    Author

    Bill O'Reilly

    Bill O'Reilly is the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor, the highest-rated news show in America. He also writes a syndicated newspaper column and is the author of several number-one bestselling books including Killing Kennedy and Killing Reagan. He is, perhaps, the most talked about political commentator in America.

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    Reviews for Killing the Rising Sun

    4/5

    166 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      For any history buff this is a most, from start to finish this book was amazing! Can’t wait to start the next one
    • 5/5
      Great book worth a re-read. It is always good to understand history even when America was the victors.
    • 5/5
      Great book! One of O'reillys best of the killing books
    • 5/5
      Well written book, provided here with and excellent audio-book reading that keeps one listening. The use of footnotes, which were added to the story as it is told, provided evidence of the books thorough research - while providing additional insight into this key moment of time in our World's history.
    • 3/5
      The "killing" series is basically history for the public and it's pretty light. This book covers events leading up to the end of WWII with Japan and the reader experiences Los Alamos, Enola Gay, the Japanese Emperor and Prime Ministers, Japanese atrocities, war crimes trials, MacArthur and a whole raft of other things...all done without much detail. If you want full particulars, read Manchester. For me, it was enough and held my interest, despite some skipping around.
    • 4/5
      Rated: BLove Bill O'Reilly's "Killing" series. Always learn something more about the events than I previously knew.
    • 2/5
      I had nothing else to read and I was stuck in a hospital bed. So I read this.
    • 4/5
      Brutally fascinating account of a terrible, albeit necessary, decision made in an attempt to end the War in the Pacific.

      Well researched, and very well written. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      This book is the third of the Killing series that I have read, and it did not disappoint. Once again, I discovered that I had much to learn about World War II in the Pacific and the fighting with Japan. Written in O'Reilly and Dugard's very readable format, this book is full of facts and details about battles that are barely covered in most history courses. I think the brutality of both sides left me feeling a bit stunned at times. Was the annihilation of innocent Japanese justified? I'm still not sure, but at least now I have more knowledge to consider that decision, and much of what happened makes more sense to me now. I highly recommend this book.
    • 2/5
      Full disclosure: I hate Bill O'Reilly's TV persona, and didn't really start this book with an open mind about him. But I was interested in reading some popular history about the WW II Pacific Theater after reading a few books about the European war, and this was available to me.The subtitle is "How America Vanquished World War II Japan", so I was expecting a somewhat comprehensive look. But the focus is really on the A-Bomb and the decision to drop it. There are lots of snippets of history of earlier conquests of various Pacific islands, but those seem intended mainly to make just enough of the case that Truman's decision was justified. And the case IS made I think- it's just that I wanted a little more information on the whole conflict, not just passing scenes from various islands.Maybe I was just looking for something that's not the purpose of this book. I also didn't like the style of the writing. It's easy reading, which is fine, but the authors seem to love the flourish of ending each chapter with a dramatic, TV-news-like sentence (one example: "Robert Oppenheimer's life is full of contradiction. But as his favorite selection from the Bhagavad Gita suggests, this man who chose to play a coprse onstage, and whose body now wastes away as he deprives it of simple nourishment, is a real-life Grim Reaper. [new paragraph] And he knows it" [end of chapter]It's a decent enough style flourish used occasionally, but used at the end of almost every chapter it starts to feel cheap, like a segment of tabloid news. I guess that's the style O'Reilly knows.Anyway, I won't be reading any more of this series.
    • 2/5
      History fascinates me; therefore, I usually enjoy books dedicating to exploring historic events. Bill O'Reilly loves to delve into the reasons behind tragic events, and he does an excellent job of presenting the facts. My problem is the presentation of these facts. O'Reilly jumps back and forth between events too often, that I become lost in what is happening and the sequence of the events. I understand the writers relish in holding the reader’s attention with this technique. But in relating history, this event detracts from the narrative. I lose interest as I lose my way in the smoky haze.
    • 4/5
      Found this book to be very interesting and quite informative.Was generally familiar with he the happenings in the Pacific during WWII was not aware of the Russian influence in Manchuria that resulted in the conclusion to the war along with other interesting historical tidbits along the way. Very easy to read. Sa
    • 4/5
      "Killing the Rising Sun" is a quick, easy, and informative read that maintained my interest throughout. It does not quite rise to the "can't put it down" level but it is close.The book does not follow developments through in an uninterrupted manner. For example, the two-page introduction describes a conversation between Alexander Sachs, an emissary from Albert Einstein, and President Franklin Roosevelt about the need to develop the atomic bomb. Chapter one then turns to the landing of the U. S. Marine's on Peleliu. Chapter two jumps to General MacArthur's return to the Philippine Islands. And so it goes, jumping from topic to topic: from Harry Truman's barnstorming for Roosevelt's reelection to the ritual suicide to Major General Kenjiro Murai and Colonel Kunio Nakagawa on Peleliu to a description of Emperor Hirohito and his place in Japanese culture. Each topic is treated in a brief chapter before moving on."Killing the Rising Sun" is best regarded as historical fiction rather than as a well documented historical accounting of the events covered. Numerous footnotes amplify points mentioned on the page, but no source is provided documenting the main text or the footnotes. Slightly more than four pages of sources are listed at the end of the book but these are merely the names of books and other documents. No attempt is made to tie this reading list to any of the claims made in the text.Instead, the authors take poetic license to describe what the characters saw and were thinking at the time. Joseph Stalin says, "I am glad to hear it," when President Truman informs him that the U. S. has developed the atomic bomb but Stalin is actually "panicked." Emperor Hirohito is "morose" as he walks in his garden, contemplating the destruction of Hiroshima. Douglas MacArthur is "appalled" when he hears the U. S. has bombed Hiroshima. His distress is not because of the significance of the event but because President Truman has not consulted him and because MacArthur wanted the honor of leading the largest invasion in history. He reasoned that his invasion of Japan would involve more troops and be more prestigious than the Normandy invasion in Europe. This approach and the relatively short chapters contribute to the readability of the book and keep the reader interested. I learned little of factual significance by reading, "Killing the Rising Sun." There are numerous historical treatments of the events covered in this book that are better documented and more complete in their coverage. Nevertheless, I found this book to be quite interesting and I had no difficulty maintaining my interest and enthusiasm throughout the book.
    • 3/5
      I think a more appropriate title for the book is Killing the Rising Sun: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb On Japan. I think the authors made a good case that the dropping of the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was regrettable but necessary. The Japanese Government through its Emperor showed very little inclination to surrender even when its occupied islands (Okinawa, Iwo Jima) were invaded and recovered by the Allies.

      The book also covers the atrocities committed by the Japanese on Chinese civilians and US prisoners of war. Documented are stories of heroism on both sides. The horrors inflicted on the citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are grimly told too.

      There are far better history books about the end of the war against Japan but this is very readable and well written.
    • 4/5
      This book is about the end of World War II (WWII) and mostly about the Pacific Theater portion involving the US and Japan. Because the book starts so late into the war, I wish the authors had provided a prologue or preface that outlined pertinent parts of the war up until this time. For example: how did Japan and Germany align on the same side of the war?, When did Pearl Harbor happen? How Pearl Harbor signaled the U.S.'s entry into the war. I also wish there had been a bit more focus on the Japanese mindset: "saving face", Bushido, Samurai history etc. that would shed some light on why the Japanese would probably not surrender easily.Overall, I liked the book and found it moved along quickly. I learned much about WWII that I did not already know.
    • 5/5
      In another of O'Reilly's "Killing Series," the subject he writes is certainly complicated as he covers the last 2 years of America's war with Japan in World War 2. He opens with FDR's executive order to open the Manhattan Project that led to the development of the atom bomb. As the Manhattan project proceeds, the race between the Germans & the Americans to develop the bomb ends with the German defeat but it is the Pacific theater that is proving difficult as the Japanese army make the Americans pay for every island they take. The Japanese strategy beginning with the battle on Peleliu island to demonstrate the horror & brutality inflicted on the American invaders, costing lives at a horrific rate, would prove effective & yet would prove fatal for the Japanese themselves. He takes the reader through the growing rift between General MacArthur & the President in his obsession with the Philippines & Japan & the President's refusal to include the General in the final planning of the invasion of Japan. As the story unfolds, the reader sees the Japanese government's desperation increase as losses mount & the American's inching toward Japan itself & finally with the atom bomb's successful detonation test, President Truman weighing the cost of invasion as opposed to dropping the atom bomb. With unflinching detail, O'Reilly describes the horror of the witnesses' description from the moment Hiroshima & Nagasaki were hit & the aftermath & the ensuing days toward surrender as the Japanese government's attempt to survive a coup & surrender to the Americans. The author adds a personal touch with his father's involvement as an ensign near the end of World War 2 as a reminder if the President had chosen not to use the bomb that an estimated 500,000 American soldiers & sailors would have been killed invading Japan. Another interesting note are the personal letters of former Presidents Carter, Bush 41 & 43 advocating acceptance of Truman's decision to use the bomb.
    • 5/5
      I had been looking forward to reading Killing the Rising Sun ever since I learned that Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard wrote it because my father served in the Army during World War II in the Pacific. He was a man that didn't share too many details about the war, but through my mother, I was aware of the nightmares he had until his death. O'Reilly and Dugard leave no detail out telling of the barbaric ways the Japanese treated their enemies during the war. And I now can understand the hell that was the war in the Pacific. In my opinion, this is the best book ever written on the war in the Pacific and found it very informative and intriguing to learn about the personalities of the leaders of that time. I couldn't put this book down and read and finished it within hours of receiving it in the mail.
    • 5/5
      Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O’Reilly, Martin Dugard, authors; Robert Petkoff, narratorOn December 7, 1941, the United States was caught unawares and unprepared by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of victims were sent to a watery grave, to remain there, buried at sea in their ships. At the time of the attack, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the President. His health was failing, but the world was largely unaware of that, as well. After his death, it fell to the new President Harry S. Truman, to make a monumental decision that would ultimately cost many lives, but also would finally end the war that had claimed millions and millions of lives. It would also save countless American lives.This book is about the events surrounding the development and eventual unleashing of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing massive destruction and an enormous loss of lives coupled with thousands of horrific injuries. Many believed then and many believe now (one in that corner was Douglas MacArthur), that it was unnecessary to drop the bombs to end the war. They believe that somehow either diplomacy or an invasion would have been a better avenue to follow, would have resulted in fewer civilian casualties and deaths; however, that would have continued the loss of American lives and of other allied troops since the Emperor of Japan refused to surrender unconditionally and refused to end hostilities. His soldiers would fight to the death to avoid facing the humiliation of returning home as cowards and failures.As the reader learns of the heinous tactics and behavior of the Japanese during WWII, it will be difficult not to agree with President Truman’s decision. Many will find it difficult to feel that the dropping of the bombs was unjustified. The Japanese were often more brutal and barbaric than the Germans, though I must admit I was stunned to believe that even more despicable behavior was possible than that of the Germans. They were extremely vicious and evil in their treatment of the Jews and others they deemed to be of a lesser race. However, more POW’s survived as German captives than as Japanese captives. The Japanese government did not follow the Geneva Conventions, they tortured and murdered their POW’s, they captured women who came to be known as “comfort women” who were forcibly raped by their troops; they sanctioned murder and pillage when they conquered a territory; they even engaged in cannibalism. They were responsible for the “rape of Nanking” and were utterly barbaric in the way they behaved and in the choices they made when it came to those dwelling in the lands they conquered. They were expected to fall on their swords rather than return home alive which would mean they were cowards, traitors who failed their Emperor and the Land of the Rising Sun. The book describes the situation in graphic and descriptive terms, making it clear that it might have been impossible to end World War II utterly, in any other way. Accurately following the history of events, the authors bring the story behind the bombings to light for all to see. It is a well-written and well-narrated history of the events of that time. I would highly recommend it to those who might still question the judgment of President Truman and to those who want to learn more about the reason it was necessary or even considered. Often, hindsight is 20/20, but it doesn’t take into account the emotional stress or physical danger that America was confronted with at the time.
    • 5/5
      Read aloud with my hubby on a road trip. We've read all the "Klling" books by O'Reilly and this it the best one yet. A straightforward primer on the final days of WWII, Killing the Rising Sun is easy to read, fast paced and interesting. Even though we are well versed in military history, there were still a few things to learn. We both enjoyed it very much.