1945: The Reckoning

War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World 

By Phil Craig

Published by Hodder & Stoughton; Dist. by Hachette Aust.

RRP $34.99 in paperback

ISBN 9781399714501 

 

This book represents the conclusion to the Finest Hour trilogy which began with the publication of Finest Hour (Phil Craig, Tim Clayton, 2011).

This final book focuses squarely on the fate of the Asian colonial empires of the British, Dutch and French.

Japanese forces were often welcomed as liberators from colonial rule as they moved through the region, their brutality and ruthlessness notwithstanding.

India, the jewel of British colonialism, faced the dilemma of whether to support ‘the Raj’ or fight alongside the Japanese. Craig explores the divided loyalties of Indian families. Will it be the brother who serves under British command, or the one who follows Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, who goes on to help build a new and free India?

In Borneo a little known Australian special forces campaign – secretly controlled from London – goes horribly wrong as questions are asked about whether its true purpose is military or imperial. Borneo, after all, had been a British colonial outpost, prized for its resources and the wealth it generated.

VERDICT: Through individual stories, Craig has delivered a vibrant history lesson for the general reader, acknowledging uncomfortable truths while exploring the forces that shaped the post-war world order.