Until its loss in World War II, Japan had not known failure in centuries of warfare. This record of the conflict goes beyond mere description to illuminate why Japan instigated a conflict with the only nation--the United States--capable of defeating her, as well as the crucial shifts in the nature of naval power and strategy that occurred during the fighting. Set off on the road to war, analyzing the effects of the first world conflict; Japan's policies in China; the first victories, as Japan surges through Asia; the great battles of Midway and Guadalcanal; and the final defeat, with the devastating launch of the first nuclear weapons.