Tojo

Name: Tojo
Price: 57.95 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780674495197

The Rise and Fall of Japan's Most Controversial World War II General

Peter Mauch

$57.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Belknap Press
18 May 2026

Biography: historical, political & military; History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War; Political leaders & leadership

The definitive biography of Hideki Tojo, the controversial general who redefined military leadership in Showa-era Japan before his downfall during World War II.

The military general who became Emperor Hirohito's prime minister, Hideki Tojo is most often remembered as an iron-fisted leader who dragged Japan into World War II and—after spectacular losses—was eventually executed as a war criminal. Yet Tojo was far more than his ignominious end. In fact, as Peter Mauch argues, he was one of the twentieth century's most accomplished military statesmen.

Over a career of some forty years, Tojo successfully launched himself into the highest echelons of political power. He was not only a tactical genius, Mauch shows, but also a savvy administrator, a fierce imperialist, and a deeply loyal advisor to the emperor. Tojo's career took off with the notorious Kwantung Army in Manchuria, where he played a key role in escalating the Sino-Japanese War during the 1930s. As he rose through the ranks, becoming minister of war and then army chief of staff, he honed the efficiency of the Imperial Army and enhanced its influence within the emperor's court. All the while, he deftly negotiated the fractious military rivalries that arose wherever he went. Brilliant, ambitious, and often ruthless, Tojo reached political heights that were perhaps matched only by his precipitous fall in the final months of World War II.

Layered and evocative, Tojo is at once a riveting military history of Showa-era Japan and a nuanced portrait of the relentless personality at its center.

By: Peter Mauch
Imprint: Belknap Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 37mm
Weight: 949g
ISBN: 9780674495197
ISBN 10: 0674495195
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 18 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Peter Mauch lectures in Asian History at Western Sydney University in Australia. He is the author of Sailor Diplomat: Nomura Kichisaburo and the Japanese-American War.

Reviews for Tojo: The Rise and Fall of Japan's Most Controversial World War II General

An invaluable book on one of modern Japan's most infamous and least understood men. As Peter Mauch shows, Tojo was neither hero nor villain, but a conflicted product of his time and place. -- Eri Hotta, author of <i>Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy</i> An essential biography for anyone who wants to understand the military and political history of World War II. Peter Mauch has brought Hideki Tojo vividly to life by digging deeply into his context and his times. The result is a portrait of a canny and utterly recognizable political operator, as well as a nuanced account of a period too often burdened by legend, cliché, and inherited truths. Tojo is a must read, ranking among the best of the current generation of books to revisit the global political crisis that was the Second World War. -- Michel Paradis, author of <i>The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower</i>