Blood Dawn : World War II and the Making of Modern Asia

Hans van de Ven

ISBN 10: 1541620453 / ISBN 13: 9781541620452

Published by Basic Books Sep 2026, 2026

About this Item

Neuware - A momentous new history of Asia's Second World War.'Essential reading for understanding Asia's present.' -Richard Overy, author of Blood and RuinsDrawing on deep archival research across continents, historian Hans van de Ven tells the dramatic story of how Asia's people mobilized to defeat both Japanese aggression and European imperialism, forging modern Asia in the process.By the early twentieth century, from India to China, Western imperial powers dominated Asia. Then, in the 1930s, Japan began to tear down this old order in pursuit of its own imperial ambitions-first by invading China, and then by launching its assault against British, Dutch, and American outposts across Asia and the Pacific in December 1941.As Japanese forces seized vast swaths of territory and pressed toward India, the brutal fighting cost millions of lives across the continent. Simultaneously, the war's chaos and suffering supercharged anti-colonial movements from British India to Dutch Indonesia. Ultimately, it was the charismatic leaders of these movements-Mao, Nehru, Sukarno-who built the new Asia of independent nation-states that emerged in the war's bloody wake.Blood Dawn is a powerful new perspective, revealing how Asia's Second World War was absolutely central in creating the postwar order.

Seller Inventory # 9781541620452

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Blood Dawn : World War II and the Making of Modern Asia
• Publisher: Basic Books Sep 2026
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1541620453
• ISBN 13: 9781541620452
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 239W x 165H x 46D millimeters 239 millimeters width by 165 millimeters height by 46 millimeters depth
• Weight: 680 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A momentous new history of Asia’s Second World War.

"Essential reading for understanding Asia's present.” ―Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins

Drawing on deep archival research across continents, historian Hans van de Ven tells the dramatic story of how Asia’s people mobilized to defeat both Japanese aggression and European imperialism, forging modern Asia in the process.

By the early twentieth century, from India to China, Western imperial powers dominated Asia. Then, in the 1930s, Japan began to tear down this old order in pursuit of its own imperial ambitions―first by invading China, and then by launching its assault against British, Dutch, and American outposts across Asia and the Pacific in December 1941.

As Japanese forces seized vast swaths of territory and pressed toward India, the brutal fighting cost millions of lives across the continent. Simultaneously, the war’s chaos and suffering supercharged anti-colonial movements from British India to Dutch Indonesia. Ultimately, it was the charismatic leaders of these movements―Mao, Nehru, Sukarno―who built the new Asia of independent nation-states that emerged in the war’s bloody wake.

Blood Dawn is a powerful new perspective, revealing how Asia’s Second World War was absolutely central in creating the postwar order.

About the Author

Hans van de Ven is a professor of modern Chinese history at Cambridge University and a visiting chair professor in history at Peking University. He is the author or editor of ten previous books on Chinese history and the history of warfare. A fellow of the British Academy, he lives in Meldreth, UK.