Reviews (2)

Your view of Pearl Harbor is NOT complete unless you have this book!
How many of us ~ naval historians or enthusiasts, or those interested in the Second World War at sea ~ have wondered what happened to the remains of the American battle line in Pearl Harbor after the second wave of Japanese attackers had departed?
Inspiring story of what happened after the bombs fell
I tried to think of a way to avoid the Paul Harvey-ish clich� of "the rest of the story," but it's hard to do. Nearly all general histories of the Pearl Harbor attack either end with the close of the attack, or move into the (necessarily more important) aspect of America starting to respond to the changed world situation and coming to grips with the onset of war. Epilogues sometimes report that most of the damaged ships actually returned to the battle lines, but in-depth reports of what happened at Pearl Harbor itself following the attack are pretty rare.Read more

Subjects:  1. Damage control (Warships)    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Military - Naval    6. Military - World War II    7. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    8. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    9. American history: Second World War    10. USA    11. Warfare & Defence   

Subjects:  1. Aerial operations    2. Campaigns    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Military    6. Military - Aviation    7. Military - Strategy    8. Military - World War II    9. Pacific Area    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Battles & campaigns    12. Second World War, 1939-1945    13. World history: Second World War   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Military - World War II    3. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    4. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    5. Personal narratives, American    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. United States    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (47)

really great book!!!!!
Its about a boy whos dad is a marine they are in hawaii for now because they move alot.But little do they no th are about to go to war.It takes place in hawaii in 1941.The conflict is the japenese are fixing to attack them.But to find out the rest you have to read the book for your self!!!

A great and exciting booking
A Boy At War was a great book. When I was reading it I couldn't put it down. It was about a kid who was new to Hawaii. In his new school he met some guys named Davi Mori and a another guy. They decided to go fishing in Pearl Harbor and while they were fishing the Japenese planes flew over. Adams dad was on the ship the USS Arizona when the planes flew over. All of the other ships were sunk by bombs and so was his fathers ship. Many mens lives were taken that day. Will Adams dad come back or did he drown in the deep darkness,sufficating and dying slowly? Read to find out!
A boy at war
A boy at war is a great book about a boy named Adam who moves to Hawaii from New York in 1941. He comes to Hawaii and goes to a public school. He is not used to public school because he has always gone to school on base because his dad is in the Navy. He doesn't have friends at his new school. Then one day he makes friends. Then a lot of suspense happens all at once on page 46. If you want to read something that has a lot of action then read this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventure & Adventurers    2. Causes    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Historical    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Fiction    7. Historical - Military & Wars    8. Historical - United States - 20th Century    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile fiction    11. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Military & Wars   

Reviews (3)

"Tora! Tora! Tora!"
Although Gordon W. Prange's At Dawn We Slept was a riveting book about the events that preceded and followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, many readers were disappointed by the very short description of the combat that took place over Oahu on December 7, 1941.Three other Prange books (which were actually completed by co-authors Donald Goldstein and Katherine Dillon) Fact-filled history of the attack itself
This is the centerpiece of Prange's (and Goldstein and Dillon's) Pearl Harbor trilogy. 'At Dawn We Slept' set the stage for the attack, and 'Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History' summarizes and draws conclusions. But this title, 'December 7, 1941,' tells the story of the attack itself, from the point of view of both American and Japanese planners, participants, and spectators. An excellent, well researched book of the Day of Infamy.
This book is a must. Though difficult to obtain, it is well worth the wait. It is a usual Gordon Prange Book: Well researched, easy to read, and without errors. Prange's relentless search, and also of his "sucessors" after his death, for the TRUTH about the the attack on Pearl Harbor, make this a must read. It belongs with Prange's other works "Miracle at Midway", "At Dawn We Slept", and"At Dawn We Slept: The Verdict of History".Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. History - Military / War    3. Military - World War II    4. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    5. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    6. History / General   

Editorial Review

There may not be a better book on what happened at Pearl Harbor thanRead more

Reviews (25)

A solid read
I think this book really gives an immediacy to the pearl harbor attack that brings it to exciting and tragic life. The hour by hour chapter structure and detailed info from interviews with survivors helps to accomplish this sense of immediacy. Some of the naval vessels may not be familiar to modern readers without some sort of military knowledge, but this is a worthwhile read nonetheless.

The Common People's Pearl Harbor
In "Day Of Infamy" Walter Lord gives the reader an insight into the events of December 7, 1941 as seen through the eyes of the participants themselves, Japanese and American, naval, military and civilian.Someone did extensive research for this book.Although the brass are not ignored, most of the observations reported are those of the common people involved.We read the observations of Japanese admirals, pilots and a midget submarine captain. On the American side we see through the eyes of sailors who barely escaped from ships, who struggled to return to their posts and who responded with anti-aircraft fire.Soldiers and airmen, both those on the ground and those flying into the war, tell their stories.Housewives seeking shelter and searching for their children and contribute their the stories.The impressions of children also add to the richness of the book.
A remarkable book about a pivotal "Day of Infamy"
"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."-- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dec. 8, 1941.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Military    4. Military - General    5. Military - World War II    6. Pearl Harbor (Oahu, Hawaii), A    7. Pearl Harbor (Oahu, Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    8. History / Military / World War II   

Editorial Review

It was not long after the first Japanese bombs fell on the American naval ships at Pearl Harbor that conspiracy theories began to circulate, charging that Franklin Roosevelt and his chief military advisors knew of the impending attack well in advance. Robert Stinnett, who served in the U.S. Navy with distinction during World War II, examines recently declassified American documents and concludes that, far more than merely knowing of the Japanese plan to bomb Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt deliberately steered Japan into war with America.Read more

Reviews (123)

Disturbing
Gives overwhelming proof that FDR provoked the Japanese attack primarily through denying access to natural resources in Indonesia via the Dutch government in exile, and also by giving support to Chinese resistance fighters.The motive behind the provocation was to ensure that the American people would support a war against Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan that they did not wish to be involved in prior to December 7, 1941. Instead of trying to convince the American people that war would be inevitable against Fascism; condescendingly assured of their stupidity, FDR sacrificed 2500 sailors in order to mobilize the nation for war.
A Review of Someof the Reviews.
There is a strong political bit to the negative reviews.It reminds me a little of creationists reviewing an evolutionary biology work.
What our government doesn't want us to know
This book is eye opening in many respects.
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Subjects:  1. Diplomatic history    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: American    5. Intelligence service    6. Military - World War II    7. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    8. Political History    9. Political Process - Leadership    10. United States    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. American history    13. History / Military / World War II    14. USA    15. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (16)

descent into darkness
what a great book! i couldn't put it down. commander raymer and the men working with him werebrave heroes.this book gives a glimpse of life in hawaii in the early forties as well as the navy'sdiving program in its infancy.not to mention the unique problems of salvaging the ships that were damaged in the pearl harbor attack.i highly recommend this book.

DESCENT INTO DARKNESS

History written by a eyewitness
This really is a first-rate account of a process that has largely been ignored by writers and historians.I think it's a "given" that diving around sunken, fully armed and fueled battleships would be dangerous, but until I read this book I didn't realize just how MANY different hazards there were.For example, who would have known that it's dangerous to enter a previously-sealed but empty compartment that contains rust? (the formation of iron oxide [rust] depletes oxygen in the space)Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Divers    4. Historical - U.S.    5. History    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military - World War II    9. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    10. Personal narratives, American    11. Sailors    12. United States    13. American history: Second World War    14. Biography: general    15. History / Military / World War II    16. Naval forces & warfare    17. Second World War, 1939-1945    18. USA   

Reviews (48)

Lame, just like the Left Behind series
this whole tale just repeats over and over and over. page after page as you slowly crawl through the story. Do oyurself a favor and pass on this guy.

Great start to a great series
Turtledove is truly the master of Alternate History. This series of books is great, and they just pulled me in. As a history student, the what if's of history are something that I always like to speculate about. This what if is one of the biggest, a invasion of the Hawaian islands by the Japanese after their sucessful attacks on December 7th. Turtledove follows his usual winning formula.
Boooring!
Not quite as bad as "In The Presence Of Mine Enemies", but almost as one dimensional when it comes to character development and really slow in advancing the story.Although one could believe that the Japanese could have invaded the islands, it is hard to believe they could have done it as quickly and with as little loss of lives and materiel. There are repetitious scenes of the japanese father and his two sons on the fishing sampans, of the american woman working in her assigned garden, of prisoners in compounds, of japanese fliers,etc.,etc. There is no end to the story and a lot of the characters are left hanging in the air; all plenty of reasons to believe in more sequels to come and more readers to bore.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative History    2. Fantasy    3. Fantasy - Historical    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. Hawaii    7. Historical - General    8. Japanese    9. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    10. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. Fiction / Alternative History   

Subjects:  1. 1868-1945    2. 20th century    3. Asia - Japan    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. History, Naval    7. Japan    8. Japan.    9. Kaigun    10. Military    11. Military - Naval    12. Military - World War I    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Asian / Middle Eastern history    15. Maritime history    16. Naval forces & warfare    17. World history: First World War   

Reviews (7)

A nice consequence to an awful film
So many expected Ben Affleck's Pearl Harbor movie to be a blockbuster like Titanic that quite a few decided to go for the coat tails. As a consequence, many new books were written on the subject.
An Illustrated Look at the Day of Infamy
Author Dan Van Der Vat has done an excellent job in examining the attack on Pearl Harbor in a photographic context.This book contains numerous photos of the attack, both in black and white and color, along with informative maps and drawings.The narrative is very good and provides an authoritative, minute-by-minute account of the attack.
Great Chronicle Of "The Day Of Imfamy"
From reading this book about the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 I think that this book gives great detail of both sides of what happened and its aftermath.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Military    4. Military - World War II    5. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    6. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    7. Pearl Harbor (Oahu, Hawaii), A    8. Pictorial works    9. Registers of dead    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Air forces & warfare    12. Photographic reportage    13. Second World War, 1939-1945    14. South Pacific    15. World history: Second World War   

Features

• Abridged
• Audiobook

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Audio - Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Military - World War II    5. History / General   

Reviews (73)

An amazing book!
This is probably one of the best historical fiction books I've ever read. If you hate reading books about WWII, try reading this book and you'll soon start to like it. Under the Blood Red Sun has a wonderful plot, and it has great characters with strong personalities. I'm Japanese myself, and I really wanted to learn about Japanese history. This was the perfect book for me! I can't wait to read Eyes of the Emperor.

Under the Blood Red Sun
This book is about the attack on Pearl Harbor. This book about a Japenese Boy who lives in the Hawian Islands is jam packed with action. It just pulled me in and I could not stop reading it.
Honolulu in war time.
This book gives a very true and accurate picture of the local Hawaiian scene, as it was then and in many ways still remains.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Family - General    5. Fiction    6. Historical - United States - 20th Century    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    9. Social Issues - General    10. Social Situations - General    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Reviews (6)

Polishing A Mosaic.
"The Second Attack On Pearl Harbor".Subtitled: "Operation K And Other Japanese Attempts To Bomb American In World War II" by Steve Horn.Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2005.
This is three books, three books, three books in one!
Steve Horn attempts so much in this book.He covers the night time attack on Pearl Harbor during March 4, 1942.The book opens with the Battle of Midway, covers American code-breaking, the development of aircraft-carrying submarines and the aircraft carrier, and the strategic bomber programs that Japan wasn't able to get off the ground.There is a bit about the paper balloons used as a strategic bombing system, and the role that the Aleutian Islands played --other than as a diversion for the Midway attack in June, 1942.As during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, radar detected and tracked the incoming bombers--but there wasn't anything that could intercept the two Emily flying boats at 1 AM on Oahu.There were a dozen or so Boeing P-26 fighter planes, painted black, assigned the night interception mission, but these ancient aircraft didn't have the speed to catch the raiders.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
With a long-standing interest in military aviation and a rated seaplane pilot, I could not wait to start reading what I thought would be a valuable addition to my modest library.Simply stated:I was wrong.The author puts together several very slim chapters around the main subject -- the March 1942 attack on Hawaii by two IJN "Emily" flying boats.From the bibliography the volume appears well researched and documented, the fault, therefore, must be presumed to rest with the author's ability to tell us a story worthy of the subject.The inability to do more with material that, on its face, is inherently compelling and a dramatic war-time aerial adventure is, sadly, disappointing.Very few details about performance or specifications of the Emily are given. At almost every page, the reader wants and needs more, but it never arrives. Except for the jacket, the book is entirely without the photographs of aircraft, people and events that would have literally brought this story to life.A substantial part of this thin volume attempts to cover other missions by the Japanese to attack the West Coast of the United states.Attacks by a submarine launched light float plane, submarine shelling of areas near Los Angeles, the baloon attacks launched from Japan, and a few others are presented.Unfortunately, they are brought to us in such shallow detail and tepid prose that even the most avid reader will be left wanting.This is a facinating subject that deserved much better presentation.This book could have delivered much in the hands of another author, but falls very short of even modest expections.
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Subjects:  1. Aerial operations, Japanese    2. Campaigns    3. Hawaii    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. Military    7. Military - Aviation    8. Military - General    9. Military - World War II    10. Pacific Area    11. World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (7)

Needs better writing - start to finish.But ...
This book is Willey's ne plus ultra - he was clearly driven to write it and to self-publish it.While it adds much to the extant Pearl Harbor historiography; it is not recommended to the uninitiated, however.For example, those who do not know that the United States was a declared neutral country prior to Pearl Harbor and what that means will miss some of Willey's conclusions.Clearly much more editing is needed as Willey's writing is, in far too many places, severely and sadly disjointed.
Great Work Of Fiction
Its a shame this book fails in its promise to expose a conspiracy but it makes for some good fiction. The author seems to feel that FDR was a communist and the reason he allowed Pearl Harbor to be attacked is to spread communisim around the world.
Outdated Fraud
This book is a mess of every conspiracy under the sun. It was proven false by Budiansky and MANY others. THE KEY documents that CONSPIRACY theorists (like Willey) told us the government was keeping SECRET were DECLASSIFIED in 1998 and 1999 and are at the National Archives at College Park.They state that as of December 1, 1941, only 10 percent of the code groups and 5 percent of the additive groups had been recovered in AN-1 (aka JN-25B). Also a report by OP-20-G on decrypts produced in various Japanese code systems for each month of 1941 reports the number of decrypts in JN-25 as "none" Futhermore a complete internal history of the solution of JN-25, was written at the end of WWII. This document, which provides great cryptologic detail,explains how JN-25 was broken during each period. It fully confirms the testimony ofthe USN personnel involved. By the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, no JN-25 message had been read for intelligence value. Read more

Subjects:  1. Conspiracies    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: American    5. Military - United States    6. Military - World War II    7. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    8. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    9. United States    10. United States - General    11. American history    12. USA    13. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (11)

Excellent--The Dawn of revisionism
John Toland has done an excellent job in punching holes in the U.S. cover-up about Pearl Harbor. While it is still unproven that FDR positively knew, it is becoming harder to believe he did not. The Japanese did not maintain radio silence as Toland proves, and Robert Stinnett's "Day of Deceit" leaves no more doubt on this subject. Why people here appeal to the "authority" of Gordon Prange is beyond me. His stonewalling is simply unconvincing and written before much of the Pearl Harbor material was de-classified. Not to mention the fact that Gordon Prange was dead before his books were published! Or even finished! Ghost writers helped that project out. We'll know more when the government finished de-classifying. And if they have nothing to hide, WHY is so much material about Pearl Harbor still classified? The mere fact that Roosevelt moved the Pacific fleet from its normal anchorage on the west coast to Hawaii in 1940 (over the objections of some admirals) has got to make you wonder too.

Worth a read
Toland is an excellent historian.He's put together a lot of different lines of evidence to insinuate that the United States was indeed aware of the Pearl Harbor attack before it happened.That's the gist of this book. Biased reporting ....the decline of a once good author
John Toland was an excellent writer. 'The last Hundred days' 'But Not In Shame' are both excellent books and are highly recommended. 'The Rising Sun' is good, very good in spots but the author was already losing his objectivity, clearly and sometimes blatantly. Toland was 'spinning' the story i.e trying to protray the Japanese as good intended ( the war was anti-communist not really imperialistic, yeah, right)culturally indoctrinated 'wrongheaded'( beheading POW's fits into Shinto, how exactly?). Even then He was trying to shift blame over unto the Americans as if the 'poor' Japanese had been duped by the manipulative Americans into war. But this book is almost a farce, come on, Roosevelt would let 'His' beloved navy get massacred so the American Public would permit us to go to war to save Europe? Sure there were hints clues signs there that the 20-20 vision of hindsight of history allow us to say that they could or should have been picked up on. Read Gordon Prange exhaustive series of books on Pearl Harbor for the real truth about the attack. Or read John Costello's book 'The Pacific War' for a very objective and much shorter recount of 'they knew what when' game that Toland weaves out of discredited and, in some cases, imaginary bits of psuedo facts. A good summation from that book is "The Japanese didn't want war, they just wanted Asia. And they were willing to go to war to get it." Toland has clearly lost his ability to to distinguish betweens facts and 'belief as fact'. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Military History (General)    2. Pearl Harbor, Attack on, 1941    3. World War II   

Reviews (10)

Excellent Detail of Fighter Operations
The author does a fantastic job of providing the day-to-day operations of carrier fighter aircraft from just before the beginning of the war. He includes such topics as production quantities, training and individual aircraft models performance stats. I was unaware that the Lexington still operated Brewster Buffaloes well into January 1942 until I read this book. Also surprising that was the Hornet's air group comprised many biplane aircraft when she was comissioned.
Accurate, Well Written, A Pleasure to Read
'The First Team' was the group of Navy fighter pilots serving with the Pacific carriers at the beginning of the war. In addition, this book might be called something like 'The First Team.' It is the definitive work on the subject.
Lundstrom's scholarship is first rate
I can't believe that I'm the first one to review this book because it's been out for awhile.If you look at the various lists of WWII books that have been posted, it's frequently mentioned.The First Team is the name that author Lundstrom gives to the naval pilots that were in service at the start of the Pacific war.For the most part, these pilots fought all the battles through the Guadalcanal campain Aug-Nov 1942.The pre-war pilots were skilled and experienced and usually knew each other.
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Subjects:  1. Aerial operations, American    2. Campaigns    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Military    6. Military - Aviation    7. Military - Naval    8. Military - World War II    9. Naval operations, American    10. Pacific Ocean    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. Air forces & warfare    13. Second World War, 1939-1945    14. USA    15. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (6)

An Invaluable Academic Research Resource
Goldstein and Dillon have done all the legwork one needs to conduct research into the Japanese experience and perspective on the Pearl Harbor operation.While much of the content is repetitive, the subtle varieties of individual experiences and opinions of the Japanese command are truly insightful.To read this book is to understand, as best as one can, the thought processes of the Imperial Japanese Navythat lead to the greatest confilct of the modern age.If you find the attack on Pearl Harbor to be a fascinating subject, this book will reveal an entirely different perspective with first-hand accounts and immediate post war criticisms that are exclusively Japanese.
Excellent appendix to At Dawn We Slept
This book can be considered an appendix to Gordon W. Prange's "At Dawn We Slept, the untold story of Pearl Harbor." As an appendix, it is not a story but a collection of whatever significant material was found in the Prange archives related to the Pearl Harbor attack. As a result, it contains maps, diaries, comments, naval statistics, and so on, which are very helpful for the military specialist. Goldstein and Dillon, the co-editors, include a number of diaries, ship logs, or journals of commanders of the Japanese fleet covering the period from their departure fromHitokappu Bay to arrival day at Pearl Harbor, and these are in some cases very routine but do allow for a look at how the Japanese fleet dealt in a day-to-day way with the long and dangerous North Pacific trip and how they handled obstacles, such as refueling, morale and heavy seas. Essential primary sources
Gordon Prange, the dean of Pearl Harbor researchers, and his assistants Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, produced the essential trilogy on the before-during-and-after of the attack, "At Dawn We Slept" (1981), "December 7, 1941" (1988), and "Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History" (1986). In this book, Dillon and Goldstein produce some of their essential primary sources, key Japanese documents about the planning, execution, and aftermath of the attack.