In 1971, David Bergamini, a popular science writer, published a bombshell of a book (nearly 1,400 pages) which forcefully threw the mask off Showa Emperor Hirohito by alleging he was no ceremonial relic or dupe of Japanese military but an active warmonger. (1/22) #Japan #History Bergamini, born in Japan (but schooled in Hankow, China), had trawled through more than 30,000 pages of Japanese documents and US intel. reports, done 140,000 pages of collateral reading, 272 reference books, 50,000 pages of testimony from the Tokyo war crimes trial...(2/22)

#ClintEastwood turned 93 yesterday; a 🧵on Spaghetti Westerns, Clint's role in 'Per un Pugno di Dollari' (A Fistful of Dollars) and the subversive after-effects of the film that re-defined the Western. #ClintEastwood93today In the summer of 1964, a TV actor who starred in a prime time Western serial was looking for distraction in films. The show was 'Rawhide', and its star Clint Eastwood, who played the impulsive, sometimes hot-tempered, but generally sweet-natured 'Rowdy Yates' felt he’d stagnated.