Drawing on a range of sources from manga comics to MacArthur's report to Congress, John Dower examines the impact of military defeat and occupation on an exhausted and traumatized population. Focussing on American policy, and the Japanese response to collapse, he demonstrates how the mix of East and West in modern Japan derives from the period immediately after World War II. Alongside the familiar story of economic resurgence, Dower provides an account of the recreation of private life after years of regimentation and sacrifice.