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"...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period.... By situating his story of cultural diplomacy in the broader context of U.S.-Japanese interwar relations, Gripentrog shows how fundamental ideological differences made overcoming supposed misunderstandings on both sides impossible. The result is a useful synthesis of U.S.-Japanese relations, punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan. ...a cogent and timely study of how the United States and Japan came to blows in the Pacific. In examining the lead-up to the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Gripentrog argues that traditional explanations, which focus on Japan's desire to secure resources and markets as a factor catalyzing war in the Pacific, ignore the true fundamental cause: irreconcilable ideological views held in Washington, DC, and Tokyo regarding the principles of world order.... Well-written and succinctly argued.... Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond. John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Kōki, Matsuoka Yōsuke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read. John Gripentrog's Prelude to Pearl Harbor reminds us that we still have much to learn about the onset of the Pacific War. For those unfamiliar with the period, Gripentrog provides an exceptionally clear narrative of the unfolding war and the early American response. Drawing on Japanese- and English-language source material, the author successfully examines the clash between the American 'ideology of liberal internationalism' and Tokyo's 'exclusive regionalist arrangement.' While this clash has been studied before, Gripentrog's focus on Japanese soft power, specifically the Kokusai Bunka Shinkōkai [Society for International Cultural Relations], is new, and his conclusion that KBS initiatives backfired by ­feeding a prevailing American misperception of a Japan divided between peaceful moderates and fire-eating ­militarists is particularly compelling.... Coverage of KBS alone, which the author does better than anyone, is reason enough to read his latest work. Prelude to Pearl Harbor...will surely move even the most skeptical reader to appreciate the mammoth ideological divide separating the two combatants....and... the remarkably different world that each side fought to create. ""...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period...punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan."" ""...an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War....an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War."" ""...an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word."" ""...possibly the best account to date of the 1930s divide between the United States and Japan as reflected in both sides' official diplomacy.... gripping in its telling.""""...a masterful work... one of the most highly researched and documented accounts of the Pacific War.""""...an invaluable addition to the historiography of US-Japan relations...written in lucid and compelling prose."" ""A welcome addition to the literature on the origins of the Pacific War and a provocative reassessment of the legacy of liberal internationalism."""

In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond.--Frank Ninkovich, emeritus, St. John's University John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Ko ki, Matsuoka Yo suke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read.--Thomas W. Burkman, emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo Prelude to Pearl Harbor is a synthesis in the best sense of the word. John Gripentrog highlights the dynamic, shifting conditions in Asia over a twenty-year period. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. Gripentrog's examination of the relationship between Pan-Asianism and Japan's cultural diplomacy in the United States makes an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s and adds a new dimension to our understanding of US-Japan relations.--Marc Gallicchio, Villanova University This book offers an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japanese relations in the aftermath of the Great War. Initially accepting the ideology as a basis for its policy toward China, Japan steadily retreated from it during the 1930s as it expanded its power on the Asian continent. The result was an inevitable collision between 'Japanese regionalism and liberal internationalism, ' as the author notes. Prelude to Pearl Harbor makes an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War.--Akira Iriye, emeritus, Harvard University

...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period...punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yosuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan. -- Journal of Military History ...an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War....an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War. --Akira Iriye, emeritus, Harvard University ...an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word. --Marc Gallicchio, Villanova University ...possibly the best account to date of the 1930s divide between the United States and Japan as reflected in both sides' official diplomacy.... gripping in its telling. ...a masterful work... one of the most highly researched and documented accounts of the Pacific War. ...an invaluable addition to the historiography of US-Japan relations...written in lucid and compelling prose. -- H-Diplo A welcome addition to the literature on the origins of the Pacific War and a provocative reassessment of the legacy of liberal internationalism. -- Diplomatic History In examining the lead-up to the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Gripentrog argues that traditional explanations, which focus on Japan's desire to secure resources and markets as a factor catalyzing war in the Pacific, ignore the true fundamental cause: irreconcilable ideological views held in Washington, DC, and Tokyo regarding the principles of world order.... Well-written and succinctly argued.... Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.-- Choice Reviews John Gripentrog's Prelude to Pearl Harbor reminds us that we still have much to learn about the onset of the Pacific War. For those unfamiliar with the period, Gripentrog provides an exceptionally clear narrative of the unfolding war and the early American response. Drawing on Japanese- and English-language source material, the author successfully examines the clash between the American 'ideology of liberal internationalism' and Tokyo's 'exclusive regionalist arrangement.' While this clash has been studied before, Gripentrog's focus on Japanese soft power, specifically the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai [Society for International Cultural Relations], is new, and his conclusion that KBS initiatives backfired by feeding a prevailing American misperception of a Japan divided between peaceful moderates and fire-eating militarists is particularly compelling.... Coverage of KBS alone, which the author does better than anyone, is reason enough to read his latest work. Prelude to Pearl Harbor...will surely move even the most skeptical reader to appreciate the mammoth ideological divide separating the two combatants....and... the remarkably different world that each side fought to create.-- American Historical Review ...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period.... By situating his story of cultural diplomacy in the broader context of U.S.-Japanese interwar relations, Gripentrog shows how fundamental ideological differences made overcoming supposed misunderstandings on both sides impossible. The result is a useful synthesis of U.S.-Japanese relations, punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yosuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan.--Journal of Military History ...a cogent and timely study of how the United States and Japan came to blows in the Pacific.--Japan Times In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond.--Frank Ninkovich, emeritus, St. John's University John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Ko ki, Matsuoka Yo suke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read.--Thomas W. Burkman, emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

This book offers an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War. Initially accepting the ideology as a basis for its policy toward China, Japan steadily retreated from it during the 1930s as it expanded its power on the Asian continent. The result was an inevitable collision between 'Japanese regionalism and liberal internationalism, ' as the author notes. Prelude to Pearl Harbor makes an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War.--Akira Iriye, emeritus, Harvard University In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond.--Frank Ninkovich, emeritus, St. John's University John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Ko ki, Matsuoka Yo suke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read.--Thomas W. Burkman, emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo Prelude to Pearl Harbor is a synthesis in the best sense of the word. John Gripentrog highlights the dynamic, shifting conditions in Asia over a twenty-year period. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. Gripentrog's examination of the relationship between Pan-Asianism and Japan's cultural diplomacy in the United States makes an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s and adds a new dimension to our understanding of US-Japan relations.--Marc Gallicchio, Villanova University

"...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period.... By situating his story of cultural diplomacy in the broader context of U.S.-Japanese interwar relations, Gripentrog shows how fundamental ideological differences made overcoming supposed misunderstandings on both sides impossible. The result is a useful synthesis of U.S.-Japanese relations, punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan. ...a cogent and timely study of how the United States and Japan came to blows in the Pacific. ...an important work on a major topic in the international history of the interwar era.... a fascinating narrative in lucid prose that brings to life key figures in U.S.-Japan relations and casts new light on the relationship between hard and soft power, official and cultural diplomacy, and ideology and strategic calculations. ""...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period...punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan."" ""...an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War....an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War."" ""...an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word."" ""...possibly the best account to date of the 1930s divide between the United States and Japan as reflected in both sides' official diplomacy.... gripping in its telling."" ""...a masterful work... one of the most highly researched and documented accounts of the Pacific War."" ""...an invaluable addition to the historiography of US-Japan relations...written in lucid and compelling prose."" ""A welcome addition to the literature on the origins of the Pacific War and a provocative reassessment of the legacy of liberal internationalism."" In examining the lead-up to the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Gripentrog argues that traditional explanations, which focus on Japan's desire to secure resources and markets as a factor catalyzing war in the Pacific, ignore the true fundamental cause: irreconcilable ideological views held in Washington, DC, and Tokyo regarding the principles of world order.... Well-written and succinctly argued.... Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond. John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Kōki, Matsuoka Yōsuke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read. John Gripentrog's Prelude to Pearl Harbor reminds us that we still have much to learn about the onset of the Pacific War. For those unfamiliar with the period, Gripentrog provides an exceptionally clear narrative of the unfolding war and the early American response. Drawing on Japanese- and English-language source material, the author successfully examines the clash between the American 'ideology of liberal internationalism' and Tokyo's 'exclusive regionalist arrangement.' While this clash has been studied before, Gripentrog's focus on Japanese soft power, specifically the Kokusai Bunka Shinkōkai [Society for International Cultural Relations], is new, and his conclusion that KBS initiatives backfired by ­feeding a prevailing American misperception of a Japan divided between peaceful moderates and fire-eating ­militarists is particularly compelling.... Coverage of KBS alone, which the author does better than anyone, is reason enough to read his latest work. Prelude to Pearl Harbor...will surely move even the most skeptical reader to appreciate the mammoth ideological divide separating the two combatants....and... the remarkably different world that each side fought to create."

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John Gripentrog is professor of history at Mars Hill University.

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