"Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- J. Daley, CHOICE

". . . a narrative that unwinds less like a debate than a geopolitical thriller." -- New York Times

"Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- J. Daley, Pittsburg State University

"Unconditional Surrender: Sounds like a tidy formula for ending a war. During America's war against Japan, it turned out to be anything but tidy. In this fascinating volume, Marc Gallicchio unpacks the diplomatic, political, bureaucratic, and civil-military complexities involved in translating a seemingly simple formula into an actual outcome. An illuminating book." --Andrew Bacevich, author of America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History

"The superbly told and thoroughly researched story of how American politics shaped peace in the Pacific War. New Dealers, including Truman, insisted on unconditional surrender, while conservatives, who had never wanted to fight Japan, clamored for softer terms. Truman won the battle but the American left lost the war, as they eventually adopted the right's revisionist history." -- Eric Rauchway, Distinguished Professor of History, University of California, Davis

"A reasoned, researched, and persuasive voice in the debates over the use of the atomic bomb, the survival of the Japanese Emperor, and the end and aftermath of the Pacific War." -- Michael Barnhart, Stony Brook University

"Skillfully connecting the strands of war policy, military strategy, diplomacy, and the play of key personalities, Marc Gallicchio illuminates the seminal issue of Japan's unconditional surrender and reveals how our fraught politics today arise from what many have erroneously supposed to be the happier, consensual days of World War Two and its immediate aftermath." --Thomas Zeiler, University of Colorado, Boulder

"Marc Gallicchio's Unconditional: the Japanese Surrender in World War II stands out as a well-researched glimpse of the last months of World War II, revealing the many layers of decision-making which escape most cursory discussions of the war's conclusion. It is not merely diplomatic or military history, as it considers other key aspects which impacted the decision such as public opinion, economic factors and coalition warfare." -- Navy History

"The strength of Unconditional is Gallicchio's exhaustive research of events and debate leading up to Japan's surrender presented in a highly readable style and prose. It is simply hard to put down. This would be a fine complement to Implacable Foes and an excellent addition to the library of any historian or student with an interest on the subject. It is a must for foreign policy makers and military strategists." --Military Review