History and the Culture of Nationalism in Algeria Colonialism, Historical Writing And Islami... Book

Battles, like history itself, often turn on the most innocuous pieces of luck. Japan's eventual defeat in World War II is just such an example of that, as this volume edited by Peter G. Tsouras shows. From a decision to attack the Soviet Union's Siberian holdings in 1941 to realizations of broken codes early enough in the war or even something as simple as a group of planes flying in a different direction at Midway, Tsouras and his fellow essayists demonstrate how changes big and small might have given the Imperial Japanese a taste of victory. Would it have been lasting, though? As essays examining Japanese invasions of Australia and India show, perhaps not. Perhaps the biggest surprise was discovering how, as late as Leyte Gulf and perhaps even the never realized invasion of the Japanese home islands across late 1945/early 1946, the war might have turned in their favor, even if not as unquestionable victories as earlier in the war.

History does indeed turn on innocuous events and, by the time you've finished reading it, you'll be glad it didn't in these cases.