1945: The Reckoning War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World

by Craig, Phil

• ISBN13: 9781399714532
• ISBN10: 1399714538
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-09-08
• Publisher: Hodder
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Summary

'This book is a triumph.' Jane Caro
'An ambitious project impressively navigated with great storytelling, interweaving analysis and anecdote in a documentary style.' Chris Masters
'Australian readers will be alternately enthralled and enraged by 1945 The Reckoning at the naked exercise of imperial and commercial power in our region that Phil reveals, in the final months of a war we were told was for liberation and self determination.' Professor Jenny Hocking, Emeritus Professor Monash University.
'Engrossing, good natured and perceptive...His style is conversational, like a popular podcaster, but never glib or shrill. His judgments are often understated but shrewd...' Mark Dapin, The Australian
'It's an epic canvas, ambitious, in some ways even Tolstoy-esque. On both the narrative and thematic level this is skilfully told history for the general reader.' Sydney Morning Herald
'Craig's vision is as global as was the war. It is easy to imagine this book being turned into a box-office triumph...buy the book!' Ken Haley, Inside Story
'An unrelenting account of terror; example follows example of brutality and barbarity.' Braham Dabscheck, New Town Review of Books
As the fate of the world is decided, so too is that of the British, Dutch and French empires.

In India a generation committed to independence must decide whether to support 'the Raj' or fight alongside the Japanese. One military family is bitterly divided. 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. And in Indochina and the East Indies British Generals free and arm Japanese prisoners of war and use them in savage campaigns that aim to put colonial rulers back into their palaces.

Clearing away the haze of nostalgia, many uncomfortable truths emerge - but so too does a humane and balanced exploration of what victory in the Second World War truly means.

Author Biography

Phil Craig is a best selling author and multiple-award-winning film-maker.

He studied history at Cambridge university, was a BBC graduate trainee and built his career working for iconic British TV series World in Action and Panorama. Later he held senior positions at the prestigious Brook Lapping production company, at Channel Four, at the Discovery Channel and at ABC Television in Australia where he ran the entire factual output including its high profile ANZAC centenary project. Throughout his TV and writing career Phil has spent many years researching and reinterpreting the story of Britain and its Empire during the Second World War, including his definitive and bestselling account of 1940 - Finest Hour.

He now runs The Scandal Mongers Podcast with his friend and fellow writer Andrew Lownie.