Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Judgment at Tokyo:
Less of a trial and more like a clown show.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the Tokyo Trial to prosecute Japanese leadership after World War II.
Fact for Non-History People:
On a mission to bomb Chichi Jima, 9 U.S. pilots needed to bail out during the bombing run. 8 pilots were captured and killed. The ninth, who escaped, was George H.W. Bush.
Fact for History Nerds:
In 82 days of fighting at Okinawa, 12,510 Americans died, 70,000 Japanese, and about 100,000 Okinawan civilians.
My Take on Judgment at Tokyo:
Did you ever wonder why the Nuremberg trials are well-known, but the Tokyo Trial is treated like it never happened? Well, Gary Bass is here to tell you why in Judgment at Tokyo. In a word, the trial was a mess. It was a mess for so many reasons including judges who didn’t want to be there, lack of documentation because the Japanese were so effective at destroying evidence, and bad lawyering. It was a complex story which needed someone like Bass to make sense out of it.
While this topic would be interesting no matter who wrote it, Bass puts on a masterclass presenting the material. He will call out characters when they are clearly lying or in over their head. He doesn’t do it often and I sometimes disagreed with him. However, his willingness to interject allows the reader to stop processing facts for a moment and ask themselves what they believe. It makes the book a conversation between the author and a reader. I don’t vote for Pulitzer Prizes (because of course no one asked me to), but I know this book deserves one.
It needs to be said before you dive in that this is a very long book. No, that isn’t me being squeamish. Bass says it himself in the preface. While I often find narratives can be cut down if you really try, I completely agree with Bass that the length is necessary in this case. There is so much ground to cover and complex characters ranging from dedicated defense lawyers who did not give up on lost causes to a judge who wins my vote as the biggest clown in this whole sordid episode. Most importantly, Bass answers the big question. Why don’t we know more about the Tokyo Trial?
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor Books.)
Verdict:
One of the best books I have read. Buy it here!
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