Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent Into Total War

Review Quotes:
Superb... A well-documented, fact-filled, and fast-paced account of momentous events in world history.--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Review Quotes:
Empire of Ashes is based on an impressive blend of American and Japanese source material, much of it new, and written so skillfully that it reads like a great panoramic novel. . . . James M. Scott is a national treasure, and surely among the greatest of all World War II historians.--John C. McManus, author of To the End of the Earth

Review Quotes:
James M. Scott completes a trilogy of excellent books about the American aerial bombardment of Japan. This powerful new work resonantly captures the voices of ordinary Japanese people caught between American bombs and the obstinacy of their own government.--Gary Bass, author of Judgment at Tokyo

Review Quotes:
Meticulously researched, masterfully written and completely absorbing, Empire of Ashes chronicles the final months of World War II and the decisions that led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Brilliantly crafted in a way that is accessible to all, this gripping historical narrative belongs on the bookshelves of every American household and library. It is essential reading for every policy maker, military servicemember, intelligence professional and elected representative. James M. Scott once again exceeds expectations and proves that he is truly one of the preeminent historians of our time, capturing the detail, horror and lessons from the attacks that brought an end to the war and set the stage for Cold War and Nuclear Age. It stands as a reminder of the cost of victory in total war. A masterpiece!--Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Terminal List series

Review Quotes:
No one writes more compelling history than James M. Scott, who has become one of the indispensable historians of our generation. Empire of Ashes is a master class of narrative history. If you think you understand the end of World War II, think again.--Brian D. Laslie, author of The Sundowners, Pegasus, Little Butch

Review Quotes:
Engrossing. James M. Scott has done his usual superlative deep dive into American and Japanese sources to assemble a comprehensive yet human account of one of history's most pivotal episodes: the creation of the atomic bomb, and its impact on Japan's decision to surrender to the Allies. In the process, Scott demonstrates yet again why he is one of the finest storytellers in modern military history.--Jonathan Parshall, author of 1942: Crux of War

Publisher Marketing:

At 9:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, an American bomber pierced the skies over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The single bomb it dropped unleashed an atomic hurricane that toppled homes, vaporized birds in flight, and carbonized humans. Three days later, a second bomb flattened the port city of Nagasaki. In the span of a mere 75 hours, the United States--a nation once morally opposed to the bombing of civilians--killed 120,000 men, women, and children, dooming tens of thousands more to agonizing death in the weeks and months ahead.

Empire of Ashes explores the final brutal months of the war in the Pacific, featuring the voices of never-before-heard victims of the atomic bombs. Through interviews with survivors and accounts gleaned from Japanese sources, New York Times best-selling author James M. Scott combines the attacks' heart-wrenching details with their causes and consequences, from debates within the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, Oakridge, and Hanford to the fallout that would alter decades of life in Japan. Scott also delves into the political maneuvering in Washington and Tokyo between two seemingly unlikely leaders--President Harry S. Truman and Emperor Hirohito--that led to unprecedented violence and, eventually, surrender.

Scott grapples with questions that still haunt the detonation of the atomic bomb to this day: What justified the first and only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict? And how does a nation reconcile the pride of liberating millions, with its own unprecedented violence? With startling immediacy, Empire of Ashes illuminates the moral dilemma at the center of America's decision to inflict total war upon Japan.

Review Citations:

• Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2026 (EAN 9781324065487, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:Scott, James M
James M. Scott is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Black Snow, Rampage, Target Tokyo, The War Below, and The Attack on the Liberty, and coauthor with Jack Carr of Targeted: Beirut. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.