What do you think?
Rate this book
1945
America has dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But Japan has only begun to fight. . . .
In 1945, history has reached a turning point. A terrible new weapon has been unleashed. Japan has no choice but to surrender. But instead, the unthinkable occurs. With their nation burned and shattered, Japanese fanatics set in motion a horrifying endgame–their aim: to take America down with them.
In Robert Conroy’s brilliantly imagined epic tale of World War II, Emperor Hirohito’s capitulation is hijacked by extremists and a weary United States is forced to invade Japan as a last step in a war that has already cost so many lives. As the Japanese lash out with tactics that no one has ever faced before–from POWs used as human shields to a rain of kamikaze attacks that take out the highest-value target in the Pacific command–the invasion’s success is suddenly in doubt. As America’s streets erupt in rioting, history will turn on the acts of a few key players from the fiery front lines to the halls of Washington to the shadowy realm of espionage, while a mortally wounded enemy becomes the greatest danger of all.
Praise for Robert Conroy's 1901
"Likely to please both military history and alternative history buffs . . . The writing . . . keeps us turning the pages."
-Booklist
"Fascinating . . . skillfully crafted."
-Oakland Press
"Packed with action."
-Detroit News
432 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2007
About the author
Robert Conroy
26 books187 followersRobert Conroy was a best selling author of alternate history novels. His 1942, which is set within a Japanese conquest of Hawaii, won the prestigious Sidewise Award for alternate histories.
After taking early retirement from automotive management, Conroy decided to combine his loves of history and writing. After discovering that Kaiser Wilhelm had plans to invade the U.S., he wrote his first alternate history, 1901 in which the invasion took place. He found alternate history fascinating and the possibilities never-ending. He also wrote for Military History Magazine.
Conroy had a MBA, was a US Army Veteran and was a retired instructor at Macomb Community College. He had a married daughter and two grandsons. He lived in southeastern Michigan with his wife of forty-plus years. He passed away in December 2014 from Cancer.
After taking early retirement from automotive management, Conroy decided to combine his loves of history and writing. After discovering that Kaiser Wilhelm had plans to invade the U.S., he wrote his first alternate history, 1901 in which the invasion took place. He found alternate history fascinating and the possibilities never-ending. He also wrote for Military History Magazine.
Conroy had a MBA, was a US Army Veteran and was a retired instructor at Macomb Community College. He had a married daughter and two grandsons. He lived in southeastern Michigan with his wife of forty-plus years. He passed away in December 2014 from Cancer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
April 11, 2018
Conroy plays it tight: What happens in the year after Japan refuses to surrender after Nagasaki is not plausible but probable .
Love it or hate it, "Alternative history" usually cannot resist to range far and wide. As the butterfly effect of history rimples away from the turning point, plausibility is raised until the South rises again to fight on Germany's behalf in WWI.
By contrast, the invasion of Kyūshū is grounded in the projections of operations Downfall & Comet. Had these not been made public, the grinding reality of every Pacific island battle, accumulating in Iwo Jima & Okinawa, foretold the fanatical tenacity of a Japanese defence on home ground.
Secondary deviations are based on a clever mixture of precedents and future events in our timeline. The turning point is a military coup against Hirohito - it wouldn't have been the first time, cfr. the failed "February 26 Incident" in 1936. The defense is not entrusted solely to young IJA recruits, kamikazes or a citizen militia. The Kwantung Army is evacuated as much as possible with the silent consent of the Red Army, which is busy fighting Mao's communists and happy to let the Imperialists fight each other. It's consistent with Stalin's long-term calculation regarding the 1939 non-aggression pact & the Sino-Soviet split under his successors.
Politics are harder to judge on their fictional merits than battle. A bitter sideshow concerns the British plan for withdrawal from the war under the post-Churchill cabinet in an attempt to salvage part of their Empire. Would they have ? They were certainly exhausted enough for it.
The historical characters are spot on as well : I cannot speak for Truman and whether general Homma of the Bataan Death March is potrayed too humanely is a point of contention, but Douglas MacArthur reads as much as home invading the Home Islands as he was administering them. Where Bradley goes, Patton is missed. Fair enough: his virtual siege of Metz was his darkest hour; as the novel explains, positional warfare wasn't his forte so no Olympic for him. Not until they found themselves an armour-friendly plain, at least.
The fictional characters, as always, flavour history with human interest on both sides of the invasion. It subtly injects the feeling that the Pacific War represents an aberration in Japanese culture, something which Japanese historians have propagated as they embraced defeat under American occupation.
At the same time, one of the plot twist breathes the pathos of the historian:
For a nation that was still grieving the loss of FDR the announcement of the death of Mr. X. in a kamikaze attack was too much to bear... Ironically, more of the Jap pilot's body had been found in the cockpit of the wreckage of his plane. The Navy had even identified the Jap before burying him at sea. Sometime in the future, some scholar or military historian might want to find out more about the otherwise insignificant man who had struck..."
Love it or hate it, "Alternative history" usually cannot resist to range far and wide. As the butterfly effect of history rimples away from the turning point, plausibility is raised until the South rises again to fight on Germany's behalf in WWI.
By contrast, the invasion of Kyūshū is grounded in the projections of operations Downfall & Comet. Had these not been made public, the grinding reality of every Pacific island battle, accumulating in Iwo Jima & Okinawa, foretold the fanatical tenacity of a Japanese defence on home ground.
Secondary deviations are based on a clever mixture of precedents and future events in our timeline. The turning point is a military coup against Hirohito - it wouldn't have been the first time, cfr. the failed "February 26 Incident" in 1936. The defense is not entrusted solely to young IJA recruits, kamikazes or a citizen militia. The Kwantung Army is evacuated as much as possible with the silent consent of the Red Army, which is busy fighting Mao's communists and happy to let the Imperialists fight each other. It's consistent with Stalin's long-term calculation regarding the 1939 non-aggression pact & the Sino-Soviet split under his successors.
Politics are harder to judge on their fictional merits than battle. A bitter sideshow concerns the British plan for withdrawal from the war under the post-Churchill cabinet in an attempt to salvage part of their Empire. Would they have ? They were certainly exhausted enough for it.
The historical characters are spot on as well : I cannot speak for Truman and whether general Homma of the Bataan Death March is potrayed too humanely is a point of contention, but Douglas MacArthur reads as much as home invading the Home Islands as he was administering them. Where Bradley goes, Patton is missed. Fair enough: his virtual siege of Metz was his darkest hour; as the novel explains, positional warfare wasn't his forte so no Olympic for him. Not until they found themselves an armour-friendly plain, at least.
The fictional characters, as always, flavour history with human interest on both sides of the invasion. It subtly injects the feeling that the Pacific War represents an aberration in Japanese culture, something which Japanese historians have propagated as they embraced defeat under American occupation.
At the same time, one of the plot twist breathes the pathos of the historian:
For a nation that was still grieving the loss of FDR the announcement of the death of Mr. X. in a kamikaze attack was too much to bear... Ironically, more of the Jap pilot's body had been found in the cockpit of the wreckage of his plane. The Navy had even identified the Jap before burying him at sea. Sometime in the future, some scholar or military historian might want to find out more about the otherwise insignificant man who had struck..."
May 19, 2018
The history of WWII is so fascinating why would anyone want to read a "what if" book? Take a look at this book and you will know why. It is without a doubt a true gem and you begin to believe that you are reading actual history and not just "what if". The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has not had the result that America thought it would and the Japanese refuse to surrender. And that is where the story begins and will keep you turning pages far into the night.
There are several reasons why this is a 5 star read for me.....they are:
+the author cleverly melds actual military leaders with fictitious ones in a seamless manner even though some of the Japanese war criminals, such as Homma of the infamous Bataan Death March, are given a rather different role.
+the fact that Japan would not surrender in this book certainly has some basis in fact as the Japanese militarists, followed the code of Bushido in which surrender was not an option.
+the kidnapping of the Emperor Hirohito who was, as history tells us, ready to accept unconditional surrender could easily have happened since there was in reality a failed coup which is successful in the story.
+the fictitious Americans who are major players in the invasion of the Home Islands are depicted, not as super heroes but as regular people who vomit at some of the carnage and are often frightened out of their wits. They are not cowards, they are just men who never thought they would see such horror.
+there is one incident involving an American iconic military figure which may catch you by surprise but it seems perfectly reasonable in the flow of the plot.
This list could go on and on but that will give the prospective reader an idea as to why reading this "what if" book is a very satisfying, though disturbing, experience. Highly recommended.
There are several reasons why this is a 5 star read for me.....they are:
+the author cleverly melds actual military leaders with fictitious ones in a seamless manner even though some of the Japanese war criminals, such as Homma of the infamous Bataan Death March, are given a rather different role.
+the fact that Japan would not surrender in this book certainly has some basis in fact as the Japanese militarists, followed the code of Bushido in which surrender was not an option.
+the kidnapping of the Emperor Hirohito who was, as history tells us, ready to accept unconditional surrender could easily have happened since there was in reality a failed coup which is successful in the story.
+the fictitious Americans who are major players in the invasion of the Home Islands are depicted, not as super heroes but as regular people who vomit at some of the carnage and are often frightened out of their wits. They are not cowards, they are just men who never thought they would see such horror.
+there is one incident involving an American iconic military figure which may catch you by surprise but it seems perfectly reasonable in the flow of the plot.
This list could go on and on but that will give the prospective reader an idea as to why reading this "what if" book is a very satisfying, though disturbing, experience. Highly recommended.
April 6, 2009
*Sigh*
My wife mocks my reading of Harry Turtledove because it's so far from literature. To her, the flat characters and forced plots pull her out of the story to often to enjoy the ideas or just the ride. Conroy shows me much more of what that must feel like for her.
In a lot of ways, I don't blame the othor for most of the problems in this book - I blame the editor. It's the editor's job to point out when the author swaps point-of-view in the middle of a conversation. It's the editor's job to put in this extra line breaks between shifts of focus and to try and balance the chapters to some form of consistency. It's the editor's job to cut unneccassary referrence to future events (a bomber called "the Polish Pope"?). I really feel like the editor said "It's alt-history, who cares if it's badly edited, these morons will read anything."
So am I a moron for reading it?
The idea that Japan would fail to surrender after the triple-blow of two nuclear bombs and a declaration of war from the Soviet Union seemed like a stretch to me when I first picked up this book. I was not aware of the Kyujo Incident, an attempted coup to prevent Emperor Hirohito's surrender to the Allies. With a successful Kyujo Incident as his point of departure, Conroy spins a believeable history right up until his characters become a bit too involved. Then we get a deus ex-machina (or emperor ex-helicopter, as the case may be) ending that leaves reader scrathing their heads feeling a bit as if they've been robbed.
Nope, Conroy is not my new Turtledove. More's the pity.
My wife mocks my reading of Harry Turtledove because it's so far from literature. To her, the flat characters and forced plots pull her out of the story to often to enjoy the ideas or just the ride. Conroy shows me much more of what that must feel like for her.
In a lot of ways, I don't blame the othor for most of the problems in this book - I blame the editor. It's the editor's job to point out when the author swaps point-of-view in the middle of a conversation. It's the editor's job to put in this extra line breaks between shifts of focus and to try and balance the chapters to some form of consistency. It's the editor's job to cut unneccassary referrence to future events (a bomber called "the Polish Pope"?). I really feel like the editor said "It's alt-history, who cares if it's badly edited, these morons will read anything."
So am I a moron for reading it?
The idea that Japan would fail to surrender after the triple-blow of two nuclear bombs and a declaration of war from the Soviet Union seemed like a stretch to me when I first picked up this book. I was not aware of the Kyujo Incident, an attempted coup to prevent Emperor Hirohito's surrender to the Allies. With a successful Kyujo Incident as his point of departure, Conroy spins a believeable history right up until his characters become a bit too involved. Then we get a deus ex-machina (or emperor ex-helicopter, as the case may be) ending that leaves reader scrathing their heads feeling a bit as if they've been robbed.
Nope, Conroy is not my new Turtledove. More's the pity.
February 26, 2011
I must say I did not know what I was getting myself into when I picked up this book. Spending nights on end to just finish the last pages, this is one novel that is hard to put down. The main story line would make any alternative history bluff leap with joy. Not only did he think of what would happen he made it work with real history, Robert Conroy is an impressive author who has shown that with this novel. Not only was the story line impressive but the characters as well, they seemed to lift right off the page and come to life right before my very eyes.
Not only was Robert Conroy able to convey the characters into real people but the emotion of the characters is easily felt through the sentency fluency. I had felt as if I was one of the soldiers in the trenches waiting for the next command to come in and protect America. I speak for myself when I say I felt this way, I found myself cheering when a battle was won, greiving when a fellow comrade dies. All great novels are able to make the reader feel this way, 1945 is one of those great novels.
Not only was Robert Conroy able to convey the characters into real people but the emotion of the characters is easily felt through the sentency fluency. I had felt as if I was one of the soldiers in the trenches waiting for the next command to come in and protect America. I speak for myself when I say I felt this way, I found myself cheering when a battle was won, greiving when a fellow comrade dies. All great novels are able to make the reader feel this way, 1945 is one of those great novels.
November 21, 2011
While the premise was promising, '1945' was OK at best, and really fell short of my expectations. Conroy demonstrates a solid grasp on history and can relate a bigger picture, but in the smaller scope the book is much less compelling.
Most of the characters are two-dimensional products of that dated Hollywood school of "aw shucks, I'm no hero, I'm just doing my job". The interactions between characters are shallow, predictable and slathered with macho-sappy self-deprecating dialogue. However Conroy is more deft when he looks into the private and personal lives and motivations of the historical characters; MacArthur's reflections are particularly intriguing and I chuckled a couple of times at the insight into Truman's sensible and homey incredulity about the personalities and machinations he inherited from FDR.
Unfortunately, an unrelenting barrage of cliches undermine the larger work. Remember that brief scene in the movie 'Midway' where there's an American soldier in a very carefully and perfectly shredded uniform furiously shooting in vain at incoming Zeroes? That's what this whole book smacked of for me. Arguably, the smaller stories and lesser characters feel too one-dimensional for even a comic book. And with the exception of the final one at Round Top, the battles were virtually without tension and punctuated with a little 'hooray!' at the end.
I really wanted to quit reading it but was too invested 2/3 of the way through to stop. Plus, as I said, the premise was just enough for me to soldier on (sorry) and finish. I wanted to like it, but ultimately, just couldn't.
November 2, 2011
What if Japan hadn't surrendered in World War II? Japanese fanatics take control of the government when Emperor Hirohito tries to surrender after the two atomic bombs are dropped. The United States is forced to invade Japan resulting in one of the bloodiest campaigns in its history. As additional atomic bombs are used and deadly kamikaze attacks take a heavy toll success is far from certain. Victory will depend upon the most unlikely of people. Conroy tells his story through an interesting cast of characters - ranging from common soldiers to the decision makers. Many are actual historical characters, their personalities and behaviors are completely believable. The events depicted show the gritty and realistic brutality of the war. I liked the into and postcript that explained how events diverged from "real" history. An action-filled fast paced and thought provoking novel that would be enjoyed by alternate history and WW II fans - highly recommended.
February 18, 2012
A thought-provoking look at what might have happened if the Japanese hadn't surrendered after Hiroshima & Nagasaki. I had not realized how tenuous the Emperor's decision to surrender was in the 24 hours after he informed his military leadership. According to Conroy's book, had a key general -- General Anami-- decided to oppose the Emperor's decision & support a coup against him, Japan would have fought on with horrific results. Conroy paints a clear picture of how difficult an invasion of the home islands of Japan would have been, & hints at some interesting alternate history that would have resulted from an extended WWII. The characters used to convey the story are fairly superficial, & some elements of the plot are predictable; however, the subject matter makes this a worthwhile read.
August 4, 2013
What if? What if after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese did not surrender? What if a coalition of followers of Samurai beliefs kidnapped Emperor Hirohito and took control of Japan's military vowing to fight to the last man?
This is the question posed by Robert Conroy in his book 1945. This is the second of Mr. Conroy's books that I've read, and I have to say they are thoroughly enjoyable. His knowledge of the time and the players is so good that he paints a pretty good picture of a world where things could have been different.
I enjoyed this so much that I have already started to read another one of his books, Red Inferno: 1945 - another what if asking the question, what if Stalin attacked the Allied armies after the fall of Berlin.
This is the question posed by Robert Conroy in his book 1945. This is the second of Mr. Conroy's books that I've read, and I have to say they are thoroughly enjoyable. His knowledge of the time and the players is so good that he paints a pretty good picture of a world where things could have been different.
I enjoyed this so much that I have already started to read another one of his books, Red Inferno: 1945 - another what if asking the question, what if Stalin attacked the Allied armies after the fall of Berlin.
January 11, 2020
very good book . portrays life in Japan and the United States in a wonderful and true to life manner if the Events Portrayed where to actually of happened on our world
April 13, 2020
One of the most hotly debated topics in recent American history was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although many within his administration resisted the action, Truman defended it on the grounds that the bomb would force Japan’s surrender. The likelihood, his military advisers asserted, is that he would save as many as a million US lives that would be lost in an otherwise necessary invasion of the Japanese home islands. Moral qualms aside, Truman proved to have been right. But what if he hadn’t? What if a military coup inside the Japanese leadership had pushed aside Emperor Hirohito and led the country’s already shattered army and navy in a doomed effort to continue the war? What if Japan hadn’t surrendered? That’s the premise of the late Robert Conroy‘s superb alternate WWII history, 1945.
A plausible story
In outline, Conroy’s story is straightforward. Military fanatics kidnap Hirohito and bundle him off to a secret location on the southern island of Kyushu. Meanwhile, the American people, having been promised that Japan would surrender, begin going sour on the war as the draft continues and soldiers are moved from Europe to the Pacific. At the White House, the untested new President finds his advisers divided about manufacturing and dropping more atomic bombs but consents to releasing one on the small city of Kokura. (In fact, the town had been the primary target for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. There were nearly no sizable targets left after four years of intensive strategic bombing.) And the American military gears up for a two-phase invasion of Japan: first, in November 1945, on the southern island of Kyushu, and then months later on the larger island of Honshu, moving across the Kanto Plain toward Tokyo. The Japanese military government sets out to mobilize resistance that, they hope, will cause the Americans so much pain that they will negotiate something less than unconditional surrender.
An alternate WWII history that abounds with boldface names
Conroy is not shy putting words into the mouths of famous people, and as best I can tell he does a skillful job of mimicry. If you’re at all familiar with American history of the era, you’re likely to recognize the key players in the wartime White House, including President Harry Truman, Secretary of State James Byrnes, Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, and Chief of Staff Admiral William Leahy. You’ll also find familiar the senior military leaders running the war in the field: Generals Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley and Admirals Chester Nimitz and “Bull” Halsey. Similarly, Conroy imagines the inner workings of the Japanese military establishment, introducing us to Emperor Hirohito, General Korechika Anami, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama, and submarine Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto. Presumably, though, Conroy was on less solid ground in reproducing their patterns of speech.
Rapidly shifting scenes from the front lines to the halls of power
Much of the drama in this alternate WWII history unfolds in the corridors of power and involves these well-known figures. However, Conroy brings the tale down to the ground with incisive portrayals of lesser mortals, all of them fictional. They include an American infantry lieutenant, a former Army Air Force captain who escapes from captivity in Japan, and a down-to-earth American brigadier general. His picture is especially convincing of the man who proves to be the central figure in the tale: a Japanese-American soldier who lost an arm in fighting with the much-decorated 442 in Italy and joins the OSS to spy for the US in Japan. Conroy alternates brief chapters about the evolving roles of these men with vignettes staged in Tokyo and Washington, DC. All together, this is a very satisfying thought experiment about what might well have happened if circumstances in Tokyo in August 1945 had been only slightly different.
About the author
Robert Conroy (1938-2014) wrote sixteen alternate history novels between 1995 and his death in 2014. Four were published posthumously. He had been a community college professor who taught economic and business history.
A plausible story
In outline, Conroy’s story is straightforward. Military fanatics kidnap Hirohito and bundle him off to a secret location on the southern island of Kyushu. Meanwhile, the American people, having been promised that Japan would surrender, begin going sour on the war as the draft continues and soldiers are moved from Europe to the Pacific. At the White House, the untested new President finds his advisers divided about manufacturing and dropping more atomic bombs but consents to releasing one on the small city of Kokura. (In fact, the town had been the primary target for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. There were nearly no sizable targets left after four years of intensive strategic bombing.) And the American military gears up for a two-phase invasion of Japan: first, in November 1945, on the southern island of Kyushu, and then months later on the larger island of Honshu, moving across the Kanto Plain toward Tokyo. The Japanese military government sets out to mobilize resistance that, they hope, will cause the Americans so much pain that they will negotiate something less than unconditional surrender.
An alternate WWII history that abounds with boldface names
Conroy is not shy putting words into the mouths of famous people, and as best I can tell he does a skillful job of mimicry. If you’re at all familiar with American history of the era, you’re likely to recognize the key players in the wartime White House, including President Harry Truman, Secretary of State James Byrnes, Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, and Chief of Staff Admiral William Leahy. You’ll also find familiar the senior military leaders running the war in the field: Generals Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley and Admirals Chester Nimitz and “Bull” Halsey. Similarly, Conroy imagines the inner workings of the Japanese military establishment, introducing us to Emperor Hirohito, General Korechika Anami, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama, and submarine Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto. Presumably, though, Conroy was on less solid ground in reproducing their patterns of speech.
Rapidly shifting scenes from the front lines to the halls of power
Much of the drama in this alternate WWII history unfolds in the corridors of power and involves these well-known figures. However, Conroy brings the tale down to the ground with incisive portrayals of lesser mortals, all of them fictional. They include an American infantry lieutenant, a former Army Air Force captain who escapes from captivity in Japan, and a down-to-earth American brigadier general. His picture is especially convincing of the man who proves to be the central figure in the tale: a Japanese-American soldier who lost an arm in fighting with the much-decorated 442 in Italy and joins the OSS to spy for the US in Japan. Conroy alternates brief chapters about the evolving roles of these men with vignettes staged in Tokyo and Washington, DC. All together, this is a very satisfying thought experiment about what might well have happened if circumstances in Tokyo in August 1945 had been only slightly different.
About the author
Robert Conroy (1938-2014) wrote sixteen alternate history novels between 1995 and his death in 2014. Four were published posthumously. He had been a community college professor who taught economic and business history.
September 25, 2022
Robert Conroy has a tried and trusted formula for his Alternate History novels; take a military event from history, ask "What if?", and leave it to a mixture of genuine historical figures and fictional characters to describe how events unfold. In 1945, he imagines what would have happened if a military coup had prevented Japan from surrendering at the end of World War II. There are a few issues that may deter some readers; the characters are pretty wooden, the writing style is quite corny, and let's face it - the outcome is a given. But 4 stars? I've read several of these now, and they're always a fun ride. When you want to switch off for a while, leave your expectations behind and enjoy.
April 17, 2022
This was a slow read/mood read for me but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. Something different as I’ve never read alternative history before and found it really intriguing. The author clearly has a strong knowledge of history and that showed throughout the novel. I got truly invested in several of the characters and found the last one quarter of this book to be particularly good.
August 20, 2014
I recently read the book, "1945," by Robert Conroy. I've always been a reader of military history, particularly that pertaining to the second world war. Another genre that I enjoy is "alternative history," probably made most popular by Harry Turtledove, with his "The Guns of the South," and "World at War."
Many of you may know that, by the summer of 1945, the war in Europe was over, and the war in the Pacific Theater was drawing closer to its inevitable conclusion. The military might of the Empire of Japan, particularly its navy, had been mostly depleted. Yet still, as the armed forces of the United States and her allies won victory after bloody victory, the forces of Japan continued to furiously fight back, using suicide attacks with aircraft, submarines, and surface vessels. Plans were being made in Washington DC to implement "Operation Coronet," the invasion of the Japanese home islands. By most accounts, such an operation would have cost the lives of as many as a half million additional American lives, and even more Japanese lives, including civilians. In August of that year, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led Japan's Emperor Hirohito to persuade his military leaders to accept surrender. Many reports indicate that there were some in Japan's military who would have preferred to continue fighting, regardless of the cost. There are accounts of an attempted coup, which would have involved kidnapping Hirohito, and continuing the war.
Robert Conroy's "1945," is an alternative history novel that speculates what might have happened had this attempted coup succeeded only hours after Japan had already announced her surrender. Conroy switches his point of view from chapter to chapter, so the reader can see the thought processes of Japanese and American generals, admirals, statesmen and political leaders, as well as those who were fighting on the front lines. He describes the difficulties faced by an American public exhilerated by the end of a terrible war, only to be suddenly faced with the harsh reality of its continuation, even escalation. American servicemen in Europe, preparing to leave that continent and return home, are suddenly ordered to cross the world and fight yet another fierce enemy.
An unexpected side effect of the war's continuation was the dynamic concerning the Soviet Union, which declared war on Japan day's before her unconditional surrender. In Conroy's story, the Soviets see this as an opportunity to witness the weakening of the U.S. military, which they perceived as a threat to their expansion efforts. The Soviets also use the invasion as a chance to intervene in China, which was fractured between the Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai Shek, and the communist revolutionaries, led by Mao Tse Tung.
I found "1945" to be an enjoyable read. I appreciated the changing viewpoints, which were easy to follow, although I felt the chapters were a bit short. The book is interlaced with fictional characters and historical figures, such as President Truman, Emperor Hirohito, and military leaders such as Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, Chester Nimitz and Anami. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I have now started reading Conroy's "1942," which postulates what could have happened if the Japanese navy had launched another follow up attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, further crippling America's armed forces in the Pacific. So far, I'm finding it to be every bit as thought provoking as "1945."
"1945" was shelved in the science fiction/fantasy section of the Barnes & Noble that I frequent.
Happy slappy reading!
Alan Andrews
Basso for hire
Many of you may know that, by the summer of 1945, the war in Europe was over, and the war in the Pacific Theater was drawing closer to its inevitable conclusion. The military might of the Empire of Japan, particularly its navy, had been mostly depleted. Yet still, as the armed forces of the United States and her allies won victory after bloody victory, the forces of Japan continued to furiously fight back, using suicide attacks with aircraft, submarines, and surface vessels. Plans were being made in Washington DC to implement "Operation Coronet," the invasion of the Japanese home islands. By most accounts, such an operation would have cost the lives of as many as a half million additional American lives, and even more Japanese lives, including civilians. In August of that year, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led Japan's Emperor Hirohito to persuade his military leaders to accept surrender. Many reports indicate that there were some in Japan's military who would have preferred to continue fighting, regardless of the cost. There are accounts of an attempted coup, which would have involved kidnapping Hirohito, and continuing the war.
Robert Conroy's "1945," is an alternative history novel that speculates what might have happened had this attempted coup succeeded only hours after Japan had already announced her surrender. Conroy switches his point of view from chapter to chapter, so the reader can see the thought processes of Japanese and American generals, admirals, statesmen and political leaders, as well as those who were fighting on the front lines. He describes the difficulties faced by an American public exhilerated by the end of a terrible war, only to be suddenly faced with the harsh reality of its continuation, even escalation. American servicemen in Europe, preparing to leave that continent and return home, are suddenly ordered to cross the world and fight yet another fierce enemy.
An unexpected side effect of the war's continuation was the dynamic concerning the Soviet Union, which declared war on Japan day's before her unconditional surrender. In Conroy's story, the Soviets see this as an opportunity to witness the weakening of the U.S. military, which they perceived as a threat to their expansion efforts. The Soviets also use the invasion as a chance to intervene in China, which was fractured between the Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai Shek, and the communist revolutionaries, led by Mao Tse Tung.
I found "1945" to be an enjoyable read. I appreciated the changing viewpoints, which were easy to follow, although I felt the chapters were a bit short. The book is interlaced with fictional characters and historical figures, such as President Truman, Emperor Hirohito, and military leaders such as Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, Chester Nimitz and Anami. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I have now started reading Conroy's "1942," which postulates what could have happened if the Japanese navy had launched another follow up attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, further crippling America's armed forces in the Pacific. So far, I'm finding it to be every bit as thought provoking as "1945."
"1945" was shelved in the science fiction/fantasy section of the Barnes & Noble that I frequent.
Happy slappy reading!
Alan Andrews
Basso for hire
October 7, 2017
This was the first Robert Conroy book I read, and I still find it an enjoyable re-read. Conroy's strengthes were (he's passed away) interesting characters, action, and intriguing twists. And this book perhaps more than any sticks closer to hard reality than his more improbable ones.
But the book has one flaw that grates on me: the portrayal of Hirohito. By the time Conroy wrote this book, the myth of Hirohito as a peace-loving puppet of the Imperial Army had already been pretty decisively debunked. By the end of the war it was certainly in his interest and ours to portray him so, Hirohito to save his Imperial neck, and a war-weary United States to facilitate the capitulation of the remainder of the Japanese armed forces. Conroy could have done better by not making his Hirohito one of the viewpoint characters and adding a little doubt about his real character among the people who ultimately rescue him.
But the book has one flaw that grates on me: the portrayal of Hirohito. By the time Conroy wrote this book, the myth of Hirohito as a peace-loving puppet of the Imperial Army had already been pretty decisively debunked. By the end of the war it was certainly in his interest and ours to portray him so, Hirohito to save his Imperial neck, and a war-weary United States to facilitate the capitulation of the remainder of the Japanese armed forces. Conroy could have done better by not making his Hirohito one of the viewpoint characters and adding a little doubt about his real character among the people who ultimately rescue him.
June 14, 2020
A highly engrossing, fast-paced, and eminently readable alternate history novel about a nightmarish scenario in which Imperial Japan does *not* surrender subsequent to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thanks to a successful coup against Emperor Hirohito by obstinate Bushido-obsessed Japanese military officers.....thus necessitating an extremely bloody (for both sides) American land invasion of the Japanese home islands (starting at Kyushu).
Author Robert Conroy skillfully blends real-world historical figures (Hirohito, MacArthur, Truman, Bradley, Halsey, Nimitz.) with fictitious ones (babyface 2LT Paul Morrell, one-armed Japanese-American and former Army SGT turned OSS spy Joe Nomura).
My only nitpick (besides the ones noted in my stream-of-consciousness notes below) is that while Conroy does the battle scenes quite well, his writing style doesn't quite convey the horrors of war in as horrific or nightmarish a fashion as that of a more well-known alternate history author, that being Harry Turtledove.
RANDOM STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES:
--p. 32: "On his way he saw the shattered hulk of the Catholic cathedral of Nagasaki. However small the numbers of worshipers might have been, the only center of Christianity in Japan had been destroyed by an allegedly Christian United States." Irony indeed. (But what about St. Francis Xavier in Tokyo?)
--p. 111: Kadena Airbase!
--pp. 138-39: "7mm Nambu?" Shouldn't that be 8mm Nambu?
--p. 146: According to Merriam-Webster's, "motherfuckers" didn't officially enter the lexicon 'til 1954 (as opposed to '45).
pp. 251-252: the non-firing rate that LTC Rex Grossman talked about?
--p. 252: "hours of boredom had been followed by seconds of sheer terror."
General comment: since when did the Japanese use feet instead of meters as a measurement system?
--p. 263: Nimitz's reception for Omar Bradley-- I thought "Brad" was a teetotaler?
--p. 274: Medevac choppers and helicopter gunships!
--p. 279: "and for God's sake, smoke that darn cigar."
--p. 298: "'The Arabs can keep their damned oil. We have more than enough for our needs.'" Wow, HST was no BHO sort of Democrat!
--p. 330: "Young pups" David Brinkley and Andy Rooney!
--p. 340: Paul Morrel's first kill? But didn't he shoot an enemy soldier through the heart earlier in the novel already?
--p. 344: Sgt Tom Franks....father or grandfather of future Gen. Tommy Franks?
--p. 346: "There had never been a Polish pope, Kutchinski was told, and there never would be." Ha!
Author Robert Conroy skillfully blends real-world historical figures (Hirohito, MacArthur, Truman, Bradley, Halsey, Nimitz.) with fictitious ones (babyface 2LT Paul Morrell, one-armed Japanese-American and former Army SGT turned OSS spy Joe Nomura).
My only nitpick (besides the ones noted in my stream-of-consciousness notes below) is that while Conroy does the battle scenes quite well, his writing style doesn't quite convey the horrors of war in as horrific or nightmarish a fashion as that of a more well-known alternate history author, that being Harry Turtledove.
RANDOM STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES:
--p. 32: "On his way he saw the shattered hulk of the Catholic cathedral of Nagasaki. However small the numbers of worshipers might have been, the only center of Christianity in Japan had been destroyed by an allegedly Christian United States." Irony indeed. (But what about St. Francis Xavier in Tokyo?)
--p. 111: Kadena Airbase!
--pp. 138-39: "7mm Nambu?" Shouldn't that be 8mm Nambu?
--p. 146: According to Merriam-Webster's, "motherfuckers" didn't officially enter the lexicon 'til 1954 (as opposed to '45).
pp. 251-252: the non-firing rate that LTC Rex Grossman talked about?
--p. 252: "hours of boredom had been followed by seconds of sheer terror."
General comment: since when did the Japanese use feet instead of meters as a measurement system?
--p. 263: Nimitz's reception for Omar Bradley-- I thought "Brad" was a teetotaler?
--p. 274: Medevac choppers and helicopter gunships!
--p. 279: "and for God's sake, smoke that darn cigar."
--p. 298: "'The Arabs can keep their damned oil. We have more than enough for our needs.'" Wow, HST was no BHO sort of Democrat!
--p. 330: "Young pups" David Brinkley and Andy Rooney!
--p. 340: Paul Morrel's first kill? But didn't he shoot an enemy soldier through the heart earlier in the novel already?
--p. 344: Sgt Tom Franks....father or grandfather of future Gen. Tommy Franks?
--p. 346: "There had never been a Polish pope, Kutchinski was told, and there never would be." Ha!
March 28, 2018
Robert Conroy premises his most recent alternate history novel, about an American invasion of Japan during World War II, on the success of a real-life group of hard-core militarists who attempted to thwart Japan’s surrender in the Second World War. With the emperor now in custody and the impending surrender suddenly called off, American forces now have little option but to carry out Operation Downfall, the invasion of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. As is typical of many alternate history novels, Conroy’s narrative unfolds through the experiences of a mixture of historical and devised characters, and it is through their eyes that we witness the consequences of the prolonged scenario.
Conroy’s scenario benefits from a degree of verisimilitude lacking from the similarly premised but much inferior novel MacArthur's War: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan. His writing is also much improved from his imaginatively-plotted but poorly characterized first novel 1901, as his characters and their attitudes seem more plausible for their historical setting than they did in his earlier work. While not as evocative as David Westheimer’s classic Death is Lighter than a Feather, it is nonetheless an enjoyable novel of the genre, one that entertains its readers with an engaging picture of “what might have been.”
Conroy’s scenario benefits from a degree of verisimilitude lacking from the similarly premised but much inferior novel MacArthur's War: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan. His writing is also much improved from his imaginatively-plotted but poorly characterized first novel 1901, as his characters and their attitudes seem more plausible for their historical setting than they did in his earlier work. While not as evocative as David Westheimer’s classic Death is Lighter than a Feather, it is nonetheless an enjoyable novel of the genre, one that entertains its readers with an engaging picture of “what might have been.”
December 30, 2017
An interesting take on a well known period of history. Conroy presents and interesting take on what he thinks could of happened in 1945 had World War II not ended following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1945 does include the perceptions from a number of characters from both sides of the conflict, and this did make it difficult for me to keep up with the actions of some of the characters (I would call them minor characters from a novel perspective, but as Conroy does draw on figures from history you can hardly call them minor compared to the grand scheme of things). Despite this, once I could follow the characters and their place in the ongoing conflict, I did find the story to be engaging and relatively fast-paced.
For anyone with an interest in World War II history, especially the events in the Pacific, this may be a book of interest to you.
1945 does include the perceptions from a number of characters from both sides of the conflict, and this did make it difficult for me to keep up with the actions of some of the characters (I would call them minor characters from a novel perspective, but as Conroy does draw on figures from history you can hardly call them minor compared to the grand scheme of things). Despite this, once I could follow the characters and their place in the ongoing conflict, I did find the story to be engaging and relatively fast-paced.
For anyone with an interest in World War II history, especially the events in the Pacific, this may be a book of interest to you.
November 23, 2016
1945. An alternative history where the Japanese continue to fight even after the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Much of the the narrative is necessarily violent, considering the viciousness for which the theater was renowned, but the book also explores the political and human ramifications had the conflict not ended when it did.
If you are into military fiction, this is one for you. Good read.
If you are into military fiction, this is one for you. Good read.
January 19, 2011
A good read, an alternate history of the end of World War II in the Pacific. As such it requires multiple story lines to capture the big picture, and this takes you from the trenches to the White House and behind enemy lines to flesh out the plot.
More plot driven than character study, focus is on the action rather than analysis.
More plot driven than character study, focus is on the action rather than analysis.
September 6, 2016
A view of what might have happened if the two atom bombs dropped on Japan did not convince them to end the war. This uses real events and people and projects out a different scenario. It is a good read.
September 2, 2008
- Liked it. Altho it is revisionism history, I thought it was well researched. Characters were rounded albeit I had trouble keeping them seperate in the beginning.
October 18, 2010
Good read. My first venture into historical fiction, and it wasn't bad. Some of the dialog was weak, but the premise was strong and the action/intrigue seemed believable.
March 2, 2010
OMG - what a great story.
Details are so believable.
Details are so believable.
April 10, 2011
I wouldn't call this great literature, but as a fan of alternate history, it was a fun read. It was good enough that I'm planning on checking out some of the author's other books.
December 8, 2022
I generally enjoy Conroy's alternate history stories more than I did this one. I think it is the fact that the point where his story diverges from history is less believable to me than in the other books I've read. Once I get past that, the characters are engaging if not extremely deeply drawn. But their stories are interesting to observe, and the book was a nice diversion, which is mainly what I was looking for. As the title suggests, it is set in 1945 as the Second World War is drawing to a close. The U.S. has dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, the Soviet Union has launched its attack on Japanese troops in Manchuria and the Japanese government is preparing to accept terms of surrender. That is when a military coup by extremists occurs. It failed in real life. It succeeds in this alternate telling, and the war goes on and on, eventually leading to an invasion of the Japanese home islands by American troops. We see this invasion from several points of view, And if you are, or aren't a fan of Douglas McArthur - well, best to leave no spoilers here.
September 19, 2018
Robert Conroy is a mediocre writer who cranks out some occasionally interesting AltHistory books, unfortunately in a Readers Digest version of the Harry Turtledove method. In this AltHistory of the invasion of Japan, the historical figures are badly realized (especially Harry Truman) and the fictional heroes are so generic and cardboard it was difficult to tell them apart. Worse yet, the Japanese-American soldier turned spy is presented as the kind of bizarre personality who cracks jokes about rape but can kill a guy with one hand (which is all he has left) because he took “some Karate lessons as a kid.” It was interesting to read a WW2 AltHistory that wasn’t just another boring “what if the Nazis won?” trope, but between the endless exposition (mostly through dreary meetings and briefings) and the random insertion of facts for no apparent reason (like the dimensions, displacement, and armament of a submarine that appears for all of two paragraphs), it was hard to stay interested.
November 23, 2019
Without adding spoilers, the main premise of the book is that the Kyūjō Incident was successful in putting the Emperor of Japan under house arrest. Historically, it failed. Thus, Japan did not surrender and instead the war continued on, forcing the U.S. to initiate Operation Olympic (the invasion of Kyūshū) and prepare for Operation Coronet (the invasion of the Kantō Plain). The author tries to keep the alternate historical events within reason and this adds a good layer of authenticity to the work. Conroy's writing style is swift and the reader doesn't get bogged down so the novel is a page turner. Those looking for detailed descriptions of specific weapons of war and their use will be disappointed. Only where it mattered were specific names given to vehicles (such as tanks), ship names, and weapons. Conroy also did not burden the reader with heavy handed doses of history and instead, kept it brief, concise, and contained in pertinent chapters of the book. All in all, worth the read.
January 19, 2022
This was supposed to be an alternate history novel, and it is, but it is only based on the idea that the military in Japan succeeded in its coup this time in 1945. Japan now carried on with the war and forced the US to invade Japan in late 1945, which was the plan originally. Japan does surrender six months later. The entire novel is about the six months of the invasion of the southern island of Japan. Now there is so very little spent on the actual battles, but on sub plots about some very small skirmishes. General Macarthur is killed in a freak attack just as the invasion is progressing, and there is quite a bit of words spent on his replacement, Bradley, but by the time Bradley actually gets there the war ends so what's the point? For me it was a lot of smoke, but just a tiny fire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2019
New theater
I have many "what-if" stories about WWII. All of them usually concerned the European or Middle East. This the first that concerns the Pacific. It is also one of the best. It not only includes reconvened at the highest level but also the first details of the men in the ground. The war against the Japanese was far different than against the Germans and this story describes this difference.
I have already downloaded this author's stories and look forward to reading them.
I have many "what-if" stories about WWII. All of them usually concerned the European or Middle East. This the first that concerns the Pacific. It is also one of the best. It not only includes reconvened at the highest level but also the first details of the men in the ground. The war against the Japanese was far different than against the Germans and this story describes this difference.
I have already downloaded this author's stories and look forward to reading them.
December 26, 2020
The book cover asks "What if Japan hadn't surrendered in World War II?" Well, this novel is the answer. Absorbing novel of Operation Olympic with characters who make it seem like you are there. Well done war novel that portrays people and events like reality. Robert Conroy know's his history and does the fiction right. This is also the last book of Robert Conroy that I had to find and read. Unfortunately Mr. Conroy died from cancer in 2014. If you find any of his books, buy them and read them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews