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Phil in SF

kingrat@books.theunseen.city

Joined 1 year, 8 months ago

I have moved my Bookwyrming to @kingrat@sfba.club

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Phil in SF's books

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commented on Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass

Gary J. Bass: Judgment at Tokyo (EBook, 2023, Alfred A. Knopf) No rating

In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, …

through chapter 7, which covered the Chinese experience in WW2, a brief overview of the life of Mei Ruao (who became China's judge at the war crimes court), and the views of the Nationalists and Communists toward war crimes tribunals.

Gary J. Bass: Judgment at Tokyo (EBook, 2023, Alfred A. Knopf) No rating

In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, …

He had been born at the center of power in Japan: his father had been the grand chamberlain to the future. Taisho Emperor and his childhood friends included such swells as Prince Konoe Fumimaro, who grew up to become prime Minister.

Judgment at Tokyo by  (Page 369)

new word: swells

(informal) a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position

Gary J. Bass: Judgment at Tokyo (EBook, 2023, Alfred A. Knopf) No rating

In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, …

From the introduction, it's very clear that Gary Bass is not going to spare anyone. He doesn't spare Japan for failing to engage with their own imperialism while being very explicit that much of the court was conducted by European colonial powers because it was their colonies that suffered, not them. The Soviet Union was killing a quarter million Japanese in Manchuria even as the trials went on. and that the United States has faced no serious repercussions for targeting civilians during the war (which is perhaps understandable) or since (which is much less understandable if there is truly to be a law of war).

quoted Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner (Manon Bradshaw, #2)

Susie Steiner: Persons Unknown (EBook, Random House) 4 stars

Her eyes were fluttering, black kohl pencil against porcelain skin, and she must have spotted the few remaining stragglers getting their mobiles out to call 999 because she shook her head saying, "No, no. I'm okay. I'll get up in a minute."

Persons Unknown by  (Manon Bradshaw, #2) (Page 90)

new word: kohl

a black powder, usually antimony sulfide or lead sulfide, used as eye makeup, especially in eastern countries.

Yume Kitasei: The Deep Sky (EBook, 2023, Flatiron Books) 4 stars

Competent teams vs teams of competent individuals

3 stars

The Deep Sky is the story of a crew of late teen/early 20s women (mostly) who make up the crew of the first interstellar spaceship. Their goal is to establish a colony on a planet orbiting another star, hence why everyone has to be capable of bearing children. There's mention of one trans dude and a couple of possibly non-binary folk, but by and large the crew is female. The story alternates between episodes on board and flashbacks to crew member Asuka's time on Earth with her family and in the ultra-competitive institute that is both training and selecting crew members.

When the story begins, Asuka and her friend Kate are about to go on a spacewalk to investigate an anomaly on the exterior of the ship. They decide to race, and Kate reaches the anomaly first and thus is the person who dies when the bomb goes off.

Despite …