The Japanese merchant marine in World War II /

In this scintillating study, Parillo explores the Japanese navy's attitude toward the country's merchant marine during the critical years of WW II. He postulates that the Imperial government and its naval officers misinterpreted the writings of Alfred Thayer Mahan and also allowed Bushido principles to cloud their assessment of the importance of the Japanese merchant marine. As a result, the navy failed to adequately safeguard the merchant marine from enemy attack. Protecting merchant shipping was considered defensive warfare and, therefore, unworthy of the Imperial navy's attention. Not until late in the conflict did the navy experiment with convoy escorts. Even then, the efforts appeared halfhearted. The Japanese never visualized convoys of the size of those the allies used in the Atlantic. The Japanese erred badly by not protecting their cargo and tanker fleet. This blunder enabled the allies to sever more easily Japanese supply lines and appreciably shorten the Asian phase of WW II. Both general readers and specialists should enjoy this well-written and well-researched book. R. H. Detrick; University of North Texas