First volume in a future trilogy of the Asia-Pacific War (1937-1945) by Richard B. Frank, covering the history of the conflict from the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 1937 until just before the Battle of the Coral Sea, in early May 1942). In essence, this is a chronicle of the Japanese high tide until things started to get sour for the Empire of the Rising Sun.

Fantastic writing, as usual, and a very welcome addition to my increasing library on the Asia-Pacific Theatre of Operations. I particularly enjoyed the description of politics and operations in China, that great forgotten part of WWII.

The last few chapters cover minor operations like the early American carrier raids as well as the fall of Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines, and look like they have been added as an afterthought, but one must bear into account that they were not that important compared with the enormous scope of the fighting in China, Burma, Malay and the Dutch East Indies.

The next volume in the trilogy will surely come packed with codebreakers, carrier warfare, Solomons and New Guinea. ;-)