Race to Pearl Harbor: The Failure of the Second London Naval Conference and the Onset of World War II (Harvard Studies in American-East Asian Relations, 5)

It's obvious that the author is very well versed and deeply read in these matters.
His writing style was not that onerous and he made this kind of detailed research readable and interesting.

If you love WW II history and want some real in depth background, you would do well to read this.