As Allan Ryan convincingly demonstrates, the trial was a travesty of justice in which the rules of evidence were flouted, the defendant was denied due process, and normal courtroom procedures were ignored in the rush to convict him. Ryan does this by a careful examination and analysis of the trial record and other basic sources.”—Army
“An impressive contribution to the literature of military justice and command. . . . His final chapter on the law of war and command accountability is an especially brilliant discussion of legal and moral responsibility.”—Journal of Interdisciplinary History
“Ryan’s book is a tour de force. Using his personal experience as a U.S. Department of Justice war crimes prosecutor and scholar with a deep knowledge of and appreciation for military law, Ryan takes the reader on what amounts to a graduate level seminar worth of insights and understanding.”—Journal of Military History
“Impressive and important. . . . A brilliant book.”—History News Network
“Ryan’s portrayal has the pace and energy of a true-crime drama, which keeps one turning the page even though we know how the story ends.”—Law and Politics Book Review
“Really excellent . . . constructive and perceptive.”—Justice John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court of the United States (retired)
“A winner! A superb work that’s highly readable, very timely, and based solidly on good evidence and sources. Ryan really covers a lot of ground here, and his balance is especially impressive, for it is clear that this case was rigged from the start.”—Thomas W. Zeiler, author of Unconditional Defeat: Japan, America, and the End of World War II
“The subjects and issues Ryan illuminates so incisively here still haunt us today. His judicious treatment belongs on any short list of incisive trial-based studies of war crimes and war responsibility.”—John W. Dower, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
“The most penetrating and disturbing analysis yet written of the most important war crimes trial to emerge from the U.S. war with Japan. It’s impossible to read this gripping historical account without reflecting on how the United States has pursued the current war on terror.”—Michael Schaller, author of Douglas MacArthur: Far Eastern General
“A very clear analysis that dispassionately and thoroughly explores the issues involved from a variety of perspectives.”—Ronald Spector, author of In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia
“Should be required reading for every military officer, every Senator and member of Congress, and every American who wishes to understand the imperfect but critical interaction between law and military operations.”—Eugene R. Fidell, Senior Research Scholar in Law and Florence Rogatz Visiting Lecturer in Law, Yale Law School
