Month: October 2014
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Why the Japanese government surrendered
Why the Japanese government surrendered As with some aspects of science, many facets of history are not definitive. Over time, new evidence is discovered, reviewed and verified, altering past understandings in ways that seldom go so far as to disprove a detail, but rather result in a more nuanced appreciation. The surrender of Japan underscores the…
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Emperor Hirohito reigns over an inferno
Emperor Hirohito reigns over an inferno In Herbert Lord’s seminal study of the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember, White Star Line’s president, J. Bruce Ismay, is revealed alternating between distinguished passenger and company operative, at times questioning Captain Smith about estimated arrival times in New York, and at others, slipping into one of the…