Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War

Over three days in August 1945, a nation once morally opposed to the bombing of civilians killed 120,000 men, women and children; doomed tens of thousands more to agonising death in the months ahead; and annihilated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Empire of Ashes explores the final brutal months of the war in the Pacific, featuring the voices of never-before-heard victims of the atomic bombs. Through interviews with survivors and accounts gleaned from Japanese sources, The New York Times best-selling author James M. Scott combines the attacks’ heart-wrenching details with their causes and consequences, from debates within the Manhattan Project to the fallout that would alter decades of life in Japan. Empire of Ashes illuminates the moral dilemma at the centre of America’s decision to inflict total war upon Japan with startling immediacy. James M. Scott’s Black Snow (ISBN 9781324002994) was praised as:“Powerful and compelling narrative history.... Scott vividly describes the horrific impact of the inferno on the city and its residents.” – Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs“James M. Scott's brilliant Black Snow balances America's drive to end the war against heartrending stories of ordinary Japanese citizens caught in the bombsights.” – The Wall Street Journal

• Publication date: 18 September 2026
• Page count: 528
• Dimensions: Height 244 mm; Width 165 mm; Thickness 36 mm
• Publisher: WW Norton & Co
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781324065487