Title Writing war : soldiers record the Japanese Empire / Aaron William Moore

Edition 1st ed Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, [2013]

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Description 1 online resource Contents Introduction: World War, diary writing, and the self -- Talk about heroes: military diaries in the modern world -- Self-mobilization and the discipline of the battlefield: the battle for Shanghai and northern China -- Assembling the "new order": reconstitution of self through diary writing -- The unbearable likeness of being: the transnational phenomenon of self-discipline during the Pacific War -- The physics of writing war: recording the destruction of the Japanese Empire -- The consequences of self-discipline: postwar historical memory and veterans' narratives -- Conclusion: the peril of self-discipline Summary Historians have made widespread use of diaries to tell the story of the Second World War in Europe but have paid little attention to personal accounts from the Asia-Pacific Theater. Writing War seeks to remedy this imbalance by examining over two hundred diaries, and many more letters, postcards, and memoirs, written by Chinese, Japanese, and American servicemen from 1937 to 1945, the period of total war in Asia and the Pacific. As he describes conflicts that have often been overlooked in the history of World War II, Aaron William Moore reflects on diaries as tools in the construction of modern identity, which is important to our understanding of history. Any discussion of war responsibility, Moore contends, requires us first to establish individuals as reasonably responsible for their actions. Diaries, in which men develop and assert their identities, prove immensely useful for this task. Tracing the evolution of diarists' personal identities in conjunction with their battlefield experience, Moore explores how the language of the state, mass media, and military affected attitudes toward war, without determining them entirely. He looks at how propaganda worked to mobilize soldiers, and where it failed. And his comparison of the diaries of Japanese and American servicemen allows him to challenge the assumption that East Asian societies of this era were especially prone to totalitarianism. Moore follows the experience of soldiering into the postwar period as well, and considers how the continuing use of wartime language among veterans made their reintegration into society more difficult Writing War examines over two hundred diaries, and many more letters, postcards, and memoirs, written by Chinese, Japanese, and American servicemen in the Pacific from 1937 to 1945. As he describes conflicts that have often been overlooked by historians, Aaron William Moore reflects on diaries as tools in the construction of modern identity Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes English Print version record Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Pacific Area -- Diaries World War, 1939-1945 -- Japan -- Diaries World War, 1939-1945 -- China -- Diaries Soldiers' writings, American -- History and criticism Soldiers' writings, Chinese -- History and criticism Soldiers' writings, Japanese -- History and criticism HISTORY -- Military -- World War II. HISTORY -- Social History. Soldiers' writings, American Soldiers' writings, Chinese Soldiers' writings, Japanese China Japan Pacific Area Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. Diaries Form Electronic book LC no. 2012041384 ISBN 9780674075399 0674075390 0674075412 9780674075412

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