World War Two: Against The Rising Sun (Campfire Graphic Novels)

One of the problems one faces when trying to get American students to understand the enormity of the Second World War is that so much of the materials to which they are exposed is so focused on the war only when the United States entered the war; materials on the European Front and especially the Pacific Front give the slightest of glosses of the history before then. Accordingly, a book that gives equal coverage to all situations is most welcome. And World War Two: Against the Rising Sun is that book. Starting with events in the 1930s with various Japanese aggressions in China, this 164 page graphic history moves succinctly though the Japanese spread down eastern Asia, the invasion of Burma, the rise and fall of Bose's Indian collaborators with the Japanese, and the naval and amphibious fighting through the Pacific. People profiled come from Japanese, Chinese, Malayan, English, Burmese, Indian, and, yes, American backgrounds. For a student truly interested in the totality of the War against Japan, this book can not be recommended enough. (Note: This book for a student of the Second World War would be nicely paired with Wayne Vansant's Days of Darkness , which covers Pearl Harbor to Midway from the perspective of an American family.) Of the graphic portion of World War Two: Against the Rising Sun, the art is a bit muddy but does the job just fine for giving a student a quick but fairly detailed overview of the Asian and Pacific fighting. Well worth the read!

My 11 and 13 year old love these. I was afraid it could be too graphic for them but thankfully it wasn't.

I'll be brutally honest; this is not a page-turner nor is it exciting or entertaining. However, it is the best book for teens I've read on the Pacific War & the Asian Holocaust. It is informative, interesting and intense. Compellingly unbiased this graphic novel tells the soldier's story of the Pacific War from every angle: the Japanese, the British the Burmese, the Thai, the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians (those fighting for each side), Malaysians, Australians and the Americans. While not being terribly graphic in either pictures or words, the author & illustrator pull no punches in showing the atrocities of the Japanese and their cultural mindset at this time. It also explores the plight of many countries trying to choose between their British Empirical oppressors or the tyrant Japanese who falsely promise an "Asia for Asians". Fantastic piece of work on this subject that every library with teen readers should have on the shelves.

Excellent educational novel

I know a lot about WWll in the pacific, but this gave me a new insite into some of the facts I never knew about, such as the role of the Indian fighters, and the two competitng Chinese leaders, each vying for the allegience of the military.

Excellent text and artwork

My son hates reading. But getting these books are amazing. He comes out interested and has knowledge of history

Good effort

Really nice book with pictures as well, cool read

Second World War has been one of the devastating period in human history; still it has lot of enthralling stories of heroism & courage from every nation. My acquaintance to that period happened during my school days when I came in touch with ‘Commando Series’ graphic novels; they were fascinating & gripping with out of the world art, it’s good to see such trend is catching up in India. Recently came across these publications from Kalyani Navyug Media accentuating on both the world wars, the art work is very impressive, the story line is fluid keeping very tight reference to all the major historical events which shaped our present world. Happy to see reference of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, but I still see some reference within the book which indicates that Japanese had their own schema over INA’s main intent on India’s war for independence. It does give a notion where our generation still dwells in divided perception, it’s a colossal challenge to bring everyone on same page, may be several more decades to articulate everyone’s thought process to one single platform.

While it reinforced my somber undercurrent about WWII and the role Japan played in it, this is so educational and informative that I think it should be on the bookshelf of every elementary school library in Japan.

I bought this for a ww2 mad reluctant reader Because it’s more pictures less words, he’s happy to engage in it where he’s really not keen to read books with just writing. This is more advanced than others with much more writing and history - so phase 2 of the crack reading plan He’s 11 so it’s not too childish - really pleased with it

Another thriller of a story that sums up WWII in a mere 120 pages or so. The graphics make this a good read for tweens and teens alike who will enjoy the novel's bloody appeal.