Author Description

This book deals with a vital period in the history of the modern world as the Second World War spread into the Pacific, engulfing the European empires and dragging the United States into the war. The present political geography of the Pacific was established during these years as the Allies fought Japan. The Allies also were busy keeping a wary eye on each other as they jostled for post-war dominance. Despite repeated assurances by Churchill, Britain fought a limited war in the Pacific. Britain was seeking a limit to the political fall-out from the Singapore disaster of 1942 and and had a interest in recovering the Far East empire. In the final analysis, England chose to maximize reconstruction effort at home rather than to fulfil commitments to the war against Japan. Australia had imperial dreams of its own. Based on the strength of a new munitions industry and greatly expanded armed forces, Australia's dream depended on guarantees of Anglo-American support that were never forthcoming. Australia soon found that grandiose ambitions outran the limited capacity to achieve them. As with Britain, the political attractions of domestic reconstruction overshadowed territorial ambitions. Even the United States, the new power-broker in the Pacific, found its ability to shape the region was limited. Based on extensive use of private diaries and confidential papers, Day has written a wide-ranging reinterpretation of the Pacific War that deserves to be read by all those seeking to understand these explosive events.