Through his famous ransack of Tokyo, Gojira (Godzilla to Western audiences) became the definitive movie monster. But the original Godzilla delivers more than just thrills - he represents Japan's very real reaction to nuclear war. Attracting new generations of fans decades after his 1954 debut, Godzilla's popularity lauched a franchise of over two dozen films and paved the way for numerous other B-movie kaiju (monsters), including Rodan and Mothra, to take the silver screen. This lively volume provides a behind-the-scenes look at the various Godzilla films and the monsters pop culture legacy both in Japan and abroad.