Shortly before noon on September 1, 1923, a massive earthquake and devastating fire destroyed Yokohama and parts of Tokyo, and killed over 140,000 people. Using vigorous prose, Newsweek
journalist Hammer (A Season in Bethlehem
) skillfully sets the sociopolitical stage for the catastrophe, drawing a picture of Japan's rapid economic growth, Westernization and integration into the world community. However, underneath this veneer of progress lurked a growing militaristic, xenophobic impulse. While the mass death that followed the quake is bad enough, Hammer describes in grisly detail the wanton killing of Korean immigrants by roving bands of sword-wielding Japanese. Following the chaos of the disaster, in Hammer's telling, the forces of imperialism took increasing control of the nation's agenda, and Japan began its march to war with the West. Too much of Hammer's recounting comes from the observations of outsiders: American and British diplomats, scientists and world travelers. One wishes there were a more nuanced treatment of the average Japanese who were crushed, burned or hacked to death as a result of this cataclysm. Instead they are swallowed up in Hammer's big-picture rendition. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Sept. 14)
