Rotem Kowner is Professor of Japanese Studies and Naval History at the University of Haifa and a leading expert on the Russo-Japanese War. A founder and first chair of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Haifa, his research interests include wartime behaviour in modern Japan, questions of race and racism in East Asia, and modern naval history. During the last two decades, Professor Kowner has written extensively and led joint research projects on the Russo-Japanese War, and in so doing played a major role in bringing this conflict and its global repercussions back into historical consideration.
Rotem Kowner's Tsushima constitutes a tour de force treatment of this epic battle and its multiple legacies. He establishes remote and immediate contexts, provides accurate description and informed analysis, and delves deeply into aftermath. * Bruce W. Menning, Professor of Strategy (ret.), U. S. Army Command and General Staff College * A book of remarkable originality, daring, and openness of mind. Professor Kowner presents a skilful account of Tsushima which for the first time equally embraces Japanese and Russian sides of the battle and its consequences. * Dmitrii V. Likharev, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia * A penetrating and comprehensive study of the most consequential naval battle fought between Trafalgar (1805) and Pearl Harbor (1941). Where Kowner's work shines brightest is his insightful analysis of this battle's military, political, and cultural legacy for both participants and the wider world. Tsushima is masterful. * J. Charles Schencking, Author of Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, and the Emergence of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1969-1922 * Rotem Kowner's Tsushima presents a comprehensive account of the Battle of Tsushima Strait in 1905. It skilfully describes how and why it occurred and ended with a decisive and one-sided victory by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Among other things, this book is about the big battleships and guns. Well prepared and trained, the IJN made the best use of them against the Baltic Fleet and earned well-deserving glory and acclaim. However, the memory of decisive victory at Tsushima also planted in the minds of generations of IJN's leaders hubris, arrogance, and inflexibility to adjust and change IJN's naval doctrine until its last days in 1945. Kowner, as a true historian, re-enacts the days of the big battleships and guns, and beckons us all to return to the seas again. * Naoyuki Agawa, Author of Friendship Across the Seas: The US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force *