Following the defeat of the Japanese Empire there seemed to be only one choice to head up the occupation of the Home Islands: General MacArthur. And not only did he take charge he succeeded where many thought the occupation would wind up with die-hard militarists fighting from the mountains or the Communists coming above ground to claim Japan for their own... with a little help from the Russians. Instead, MacArthur not only took control of Japan but reformed it and rapidly put its economy back on its feet. The things MacArthur thought were important, such as women's rights, land reform and labor unions, were important to the transformation of Japan from a defeated enemy to a vigorous friend.
Mr. Morris's writing does a good job of telling this story, although it is a little redundant in a couple of places. One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was that the book acknowledged that MacArthur was a bit of a megalomaniac but it also points out that he was a very CAPABLE megalomaniac. Also, Morris discusses the organization of the SCAP and took note of how important MacArthur's staff was, both those at the highest levels of the the organization and those junior officers who occasionally had brilliant flashes of insight or accepted positions far above their pay grade because they were at the right time at the right place doing a job that had to be done. An excellent book.
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