Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (2000. e2007)

Bix shows what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status. Influenced by an unusual combination of the Japanese imperial tradition and a modern scientific worldview, the young emperor gradually evolves into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing ultranationalist movement, perpetuating a cult of religious emperor worship, resisting attempts to curb his power, and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch. Here we see Hirohito as he truly was: a man of strong will and...

 “A startling work -- awesomely ambitious, faultlessly researched, daring in its thesis, and profound in its implications."  — Business Week

"Magnificent. . . . everything a political biography should be."  — Richmond Times-Dispatch