Focused mainly on the First Marine Division in WWII, An Empire in Ruins provides readers with an understanding of the major land, sea, and air actions in the Asia Pacific theater, followed by an encapsulation of post-war activities that took place after the defeat of Japan.

Including an Introduction about the European Theater to explain how World War Two began, the time-scale for this book is approximately 1940 to 1946, and its historical accuracy is strictly observed.

Intermixed with real-life Allied and Japanese leadership is a cast of fictional characters to help make this book an enjoyable human interest story as well as an important history. The chapters contain many photos from the war to help the reader relate to that long-ago era.

The two people from Texas to whom the book is dedicated also appear in the narrative.