Travels in Atomic Sunshine: Australia and the Occupation of Japan

A unique and salutary study of both the neocolonialism of foreign occupation and Australia’s characteristic ambivalence about the Asian region, this analysis examines an important period in Australian postwar military history. The book’s compelling readability and its interdisciplinary nature as cultural, military, and political history allow it to stand out as an engaging look into the determining factors in Australian international relations. With a highly original focus, this historical account documents the way some participants genuinely relished exercising power over a despised former enemy, while others developed an intimacy with the occupants to become trailblazers for a new era of bilateral friendship. Comprehensively researched, referencing memoirs, fictional and historical accounts of events, as well as archival work in Australia, the U.S., and Japan, this immensely valuable report illuminates the groundwork for a seminal relationship in the world’s history.