Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II | 
Probably my second most favorite work of popular history. I bought it at Narita airport on my way home after my first visit to Japan (where I later moved and still live) and couldn't put it down. Dower mixes social and famous-people history so well. The part about Hirohito's deep, deep bow to McArthur; the frenzy with which the government arranged brothels for the Americans in the weeks between the defeat and the occupation: unforgettable!
shawnmooney #nonfictionlove 8y