War Without Mercy examines Japanese-American relations during World War II and investigates links between popular culture, stereotypes, and extreme violence. Dower argues that the concept of racism—used equally by both sides—underpinned the military conflict and led to a particularly brutal war in the Pacific and East Asia.Racial stereotypes were deliberately transmitted through mass media and government propaganda by both parties, transforming enemy forces into subhuman characters that deserved to be dominated. Fueling such fear and loathing of the "inferior other" allowed American and Japanese soldiers to dehumanize the enemy and focus on their utter destruction.