A chronicle of the horrific final year of the Pacific war. By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan's defeat was inevitable, but how the victory would be achieved remained to be seen. Hastings gives us incisive portraits of the key figures--MacArthur, Nimitz, Mountbatten, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. But he is equally adept in his portrayals of the ordinary soldiers and sailors--American, British, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese--caught in some of the war's bloodiest campaigns. Hastings discusses Japan's war against China--now all but forgotten in the West, MacArthur's follies in the Philippines, the Marines at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and the Soviet blitzkrieg in Manchuria. He analyzes the decision-making process that led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki--which, he convincingly argues, ultimately saved lives. Finally, he delves into the Japanese wartime mind-set, which caused an otherwise civilized society to carry out atrocities that haunt the nation to this day.--From publisher description.

"Originally published in Great Britain as Nemesis: the battle for Japan, 1944-45 by HarperPress, ... London in 2007"--T.p. verso.

Dilemmas and decisions -- Japan: defying gravity -- The British in Burma -- Titans at sea -- America's return to the Philippines -- "Flowers of death" : Leyte Gulf -- Ashore: battle for the mountains -- China: dragon by the tail -- MacArthur on Luzon -- Bloody miniature: Iwo Jima -- Blockade: war underwater -- Burning a nation: Lemay -- The road past Mandalay -- Australians: "Bludging" and "Mopping up" -- Captivity and slavery -- Okinawa -- Mao's war -- Eclipse of empires -- The bombs -- Fantasy in Tokyo -- Reality at Hiroshima -- Manchuria: the Bear's claws -- The last act -- Legacies.