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To have and have not

by Jonathan Marshall · 1995

Cover of To have and have not

Since Operation Desert Storm against Iraq, few have questioned the notion that countries sometimes go to war for control of natural resources. However, this motivation has been largely ignored in interpretations of the U.S. decision to go to war with Japan in 1941. In this book, Jonathan Marshall asserts for the first time that the Pacific War was primarily a conflict over access to Southeast Asia's vast raw material wealth. Drawn from a broad base of primary documents, To Have and Have Not provides a fresh look at the political landscape of the time and recreates the mounting tension and fear that gripped U.S. officials in the months before the war.

World War, 1939-1945Raw materialsForeign economic relationsCausesWorld war, 1939-1945, causesWorld war, 1939-1945, campaigns, pacific oceanSoutheast asia, economic policy