In 1937, Japan blundered into a debilitating war with China, beginning with a minor incident near Peking (now Beijing) that quickly escalated. The Japanese won significant battles and captured the capital, Nanking, after a horrific massacre of its citizens. Chiang Kai-shek, China's acknowledged leader, would not surrender--each side believed it could win a war of attrition. The U.S. sided with China, primarily because of President Roosevelt's personal bias in their favor. Drawing on a wealth of sources including interviews with key players, from soldiers to diplomats, this history traces America's unexpected and unpopular involvement in an Asian conflict, and the growing recognition of Japan's threat to world peace and the inevitability of war.

Vietnamese soldier Đặng Thuỳ Trâm's diary found by American soldiers during the war in Quang Ngai Province , Vietnam.

Sadistic Shorts - Tales from the Devil's Drawers Don't look out the window and, for goodness sake, don't open the door. Keep it tightly shut and bolted and...no, wait, perhaps you might need to escape in a hurry from something-or someone-already inside. Perhaps it is too late, for here are horrors too gruesome to behold alone on a stormy night, when the lights are flickering and the tree limbs are scratching against the shutters. A collection of stories of lies and deception; of cold-blooded killers; hot-tempered sailors; masochistic victims, and grotesque monsters from the past will bring your worst fears slithering after you as you scramble to get away. Here are sharp knives, last words, deeply-digging shovels, broken glass, wrecked cars, torn bodies, and shattered lives. Here are hellish demons, witches, ghosts, creatures of the night, strangers wreaking destruction, and the ones closest to you that you never saw coming. Here are twisted endings to keep you forever hoping for the dawning light of a new day. It may never come, for here are... Dig Set Spike Block Serve, Ground Rate, and Retention by William G. Sells Jigsaw, and The Summoning by Michael Koogler Liana by T.J. Lord Liar by Dan Otsuki Adding it Up by V.K. Schilling The White Squirrel by Jed Q. Peterson The Audition by Dennis W. Green The Broken People by Drew Wood The Puzzle Piece Person by William Whitehurst The Battle of the Ageless by Brian Wood and Frank LaVoie My Heart Swims in Blood: The Cerro Brujo Diary by L.G. Daleney