WE often throw around phrases like “those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it” and “to understand the present you must first understand the past.” I just finished a book that breathes life into those words.
Any student of Pacific history is likely to know the name Richard Frank. In addition to his excellent history of Guadalcanal, he wrote a masterpiece about the final months of the Pacific War called “Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire.” No one has surpassed it for thoroughness, accuracy, fairness and insight. Although it aroused copious discussion, there was little debate, largely because Frank backed up his conclusions with mountains of evidence so that the book was airtight. He left nothing to argue. Frank is back, with a much more ambitious project.
“Tower of Skulls” is the first of a three-part series on the history of the Asia-Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. Volume one begins when the conflict between China and Japan erupted into full-scale warfare and ends in May 1942, after the Japanese conquest of the Philippines and just before the battles of Coral Sea and Midway.
You may be thinking, there have been hundreds of books on this subject, so why do we need another one? For one thing, Frank is one of the best historians working in the field. As one observer put it, “Frank offers a rare combination of deep scholarship, thoughtful analysis, and compelling prose.” In short, he is an excellent storyteller who does his homework.
For another, you may have noticed the use of the term Asia-Pacific War. Most books produced by Western historians tend to focus on the war in the Pacific islands while giving short shrift to the conflict on the Asian mainland. Conversely, Asian historians tend to focus on the war in China, Burma, Malaysia and Thailand, ignoring the Pacific portion. Frank corrects this bias by combining all aspects of the war fairly and evenly.
Another strength of this book, and one that lends itself to a broad audience, is that he does not take a particular point of view. Often, when I read histories particularly of wars, it becomes clear on whose side the author stands. Sample most histories of the Pacific War written by American or Japanese authors and you would believe they are writing about different events. Refreshingly, that is not the case with Frank’s work. He genuinely sets aside his personal biases in the name of historical objectivity as he takes the reader from the Imperial Palace in Japan to Chiang Kai-shek’s Chungking war room, to the blood-soaked streets of Shanghai to the State Department in Washington D.C.
Objectivity does not prevent Frank from praising or condemning where deserved. He hails Chiang’s dogged defense of China while excoriating him for the Yellow River Floods which killed nearly a million of his own people. Likewise, the British feel both the author’s lash and his salve, as do the Japanese and the Filipinos.
Having read a number of books on the subject, I was particularly intrigued by the new material Frank presented. One might think that after all these years there was nothing new to say, just a rehashing of well-known material. But Frank gives one of the best accounts of the Yellow River Floods I have seen in English, and he openly criticizes American General Stilwell for abandoning the Chinese forces during his retreat from Burma. He praises Filipino Scouts units as some of the best soldiers in the Asia-Pacific theater but calls out the rest of the Filipino army as unreliable. These arguments merit consideration, even if the reader does not draw the same conclusions.
If you are interested in a fresh, balanced, thoroughly researched history of the Asia-Pacific War, pick up a copy of “Tower of Skulls” and keep an eye out for the two volumes to come.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for 20 years. He currently resides on the mainland U.S.
