Paperback
Justice or vengeance? The untold story of Japan’s war crimes trial.

Judgement at Tokyo

World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia

$27.65

  • Paperback

    912 pages

  • Release Date

    1 July 2025

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Summary

‘Every so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well.’ - James Holland, The Sunday Telegraph

‘A work of singular importance … balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting’ - P…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781509812769
ISBN-10:1509812768
Author:Gary J. Bass
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Imprint:Picador
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:912
Release Date:1 July 2025
Weight:626g
Dimensions:41mm x 132mm x 199mm
Audience Age:18
A-Format
B-Format
Judgement at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass - ISBN: 9781509812769
132 × 199 mm
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A4
mm / in
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Critics Review

This important book … Magisterial – Max Hastings, The Sunday Times
Every so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well. – James Holland, The Sunday Telegraph
With impeccable scholarship and lucid writing, this is a magnificent book on an aspect of Asian history that has far-reaching repercussions today – The Judges of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
A work of singular importance – balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting. It is of huge relevance to our times. – Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street
Magisterial … A well-crafted, warts-and-all account from which almost no one emerges unscathed. * Financial Times *
A meticulously researched and authoritative account – The Economist, ‘The Best Books of 2023’
Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself. * Observer *
This magisterial account – long but never sprawling; thick with detail yet always engrossing … This is a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history. – Christopher Harding, History Today
Fascinating – The New Yorker, ‘Best Books of 2023’
Comprehensive, landmark and riveting … Bass employs the complexities of the trial as a fulcrum to sketch a wide canvas … Fascinating – The Washington Post, ‘The 10 Best Books of 2023’
Immersive – The New York Times, ‘Notable Books of 2023’
Magnificent … Vivid … Profound * Foreign Affairs *
Magisterial … Bass is a marvelous writer. * Air Mail *
In this superb work of transnational history, Gary Bass uses the Tokyo trial to illuminate the making of the modern world. – Ramachandra Guha, author of India After Gandhi
To understand the dynamics of post-World War II Asia, Gary Bass’s Judgement at Tokyo is fascinating, essential reading. – Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Gary Bass has written nothing less than a masterpiece. With epic research and mesmerizing narrative power, Judgement at Tokyo has the makings of an instant classic. – Evan Osnos, US National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China
A vivid and meticulously crafted account, rich in detail, fair-minded, superbly nuanced. – Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam
Destined to become a classic, Judgement at Tokyo is meticulously researched and elegantly written: it is also a necessary book. – Anna Sherman, author of The Bells of Old Tokyo

About The Author

Gary J. Bass

Gary J. Bass is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of The Blood Telegram, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction, Freedom’s Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention, and Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals. A former reporter for The Economist, Bass has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Washington Post amongst others. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

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