Ronald H. Spector, "A Continent Erupts: Decolonization, Civil War, and Massacre in Postwar Asia, 1945-1955" (Norton, 2023)
On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered to the United States, ending the Second World War. Yet the Japanese invasion had upended the old geopolitical structures of European empires, leaving old imperial powers on the decline and new groups calling for independence on the rise.\nThat unsteady situation sparked a decade of conflict: in Indonesia, in Vietnam, in China and in Korea, as esteemed military historian Professor Ronald Spector writes about in his latest book,\xa0A Continent Erupts: Decolonization, Civil War, and Massacre in Postwar Asia, 1945\u20131955,\xa0published by W. W. Norton in 2023.\nIn this interview, Ronald and I talk about the decade of conflict following the Second World War\u2013and whether these conflicts were inevitable in the postcolonial, Cold War world.\nRonald H. Spector, professor emeritus of history and international relations at George Washington University, is the author of seven books, including\xa0Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan\xa0(Free Press: 1984) and\xa0In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia\xa0(Random House: 2008).\nYou can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at\xa0The Asian Review of Books, including its review of\xa0A Continent Erupts. Follow on Twitter at\xa0@BookReviewsAsia.\nNicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at\xa0@nickrigordon.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies