SUNSTRUCK GIANT VOLUME 1

DISPONIBILE DICEMBRE 2025

Studio approfondito e bilanciato sulla Guerra Sino-Giapponese, attraverso fonti cinesi inedite, 12 illustrazioni a colori e 22 illustrazioni in bianco e nero. Il Volume 1 getta le basi essenziali per la comprensione del conflitto, analizzando l'organizzazione, la leadership, la dottrina e l'equipaggiamento delle forze armate Qing e imperiali giapponesi alla vigilia della guerra. Esamina la struttura, lo sviluppo e le prestazioni dei principali eserciti e marine cinesi e giapponesi, ricostruendo le loro uniformi, i gradi e i sistemi d'arma con un dettaglio senza precedenti. 

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Sunstruck Giant: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 presents a thorough military history of the conflict, detailing its campaigns, battles, and key figures. Drawing on previously untranslated Chinese sources, it is the first English-language work to provide a truly comprehensive view of both sides in this often-forgotten war.

Marking the death rattle of one empire and the rise of another, the First Sino-Japanese War is frequently portrayed as the ultimate contrast between a “backward” China and a fully modernized Japan. This nationalistic lens has led many to overlook both the redeeming qualities of the Chinese military and the serious failures of the Japanese. Sunstruck Giant, by contrast, examines in detail the specific strategic, tactical, and individual actions and decisions of both combatants. The text is richly illustrated with rare photographs and artwork, many published here for the first time.

Volume 2 narrates the course of the war itself, from the Korean crisis and opening naval engagements to the major land battles in Korea, Manchuria, and the Liaodong Peninsula, culminating in Japan’s victory and China’s humiliating peace. It analyses the strategy, tactics, and logistics of both sides, assessing the human and political dimensions of the conflict and its long-term consequences for East Asian geopolitics.

Previous works on this period have been limited by their lack of access to Chinese- and Japanese language sources, but Sunstruck Giant bridges that gap.