Pearl Harbor Books

very insightful as to the acts that would be come upon the attack on pearl harbor. very well written essays that explain different views on how other countries perceived the attack.

Pearl Harbor Recalled with text by James P. Delgado and illustrations by Tom Freeman places the attack in a new perspective. In place of multiple poor quality black and white prints which is all we have to envision the Day of Infamy, Tom Freeman has supplied a visually stunning chronology of the attack beginning with aerial views of the harbor as the attack commenced and ending with a beatiful view of the battleship Arizona as she lies today in the mud of Pearl Harbor. Each episode in the drama is portrayed from the sailing of the Kido Butai (First Striking Force) to the launching of the midget submarines to the first skirmish with the latter and Tone's scout plane confirming the presence of the fleet in harbor. Freeman then potrays the assaults on US airfields preventing any air opposition and then the smashing of battleship row, culminating with a breathtaking portrayal of the Arizona blowing up at approximately 810 am. Individual heroics are portrayed with one G.I. firing his .45 caliber pistol at an A6M Zero as it races close overhead and firemen putting out fires at Hickam Field.
The vast expanse of the fiery inferno is vividly portrayed and places the attack on Pearl Harbor in the world of color for I believe the first time. If not the first, then it is certainly the best artistic impression made of the attack, well researched and executed. Mr. Delgado's narrative is informative and complements the paintings extremely well. This is an excellent book which I would recommend to any naval student, wargamer or naval historian.

Pearl Harbor Story is the fascinating and informative memoir of Major General H. D. Russell, who was a member of the U.S. Army Pearl Harbor Investigation Board, an entity that completed its work in October 1944. Major Russell dictated his recollections in early 1946, shortly after finishing six years of active duty in the Army and returning to civilian life. Major Russell's memoir is at last being published with consent of the general's heirs. His first-person account lends an urgent, up-close and unforgettable insider's view to events that shaped history. Major Russell's personal anger with the attack and with attempts to veil the essence of what was truly happening afterward shows clearly throughout. The official report's conclusion that U.S. government officials knew little or nothing about the likelihood of a Japanese attack are starkly challenged by the dissenting opinion of a knowledgeable investigator. Pearl Harbor Story is a must-read for anyone who wants more than just a surface verdict of a singular event that changed world history.

Harry Spiller adds to the legacy with oral accounts of 24 servicemen who were at Pearl Harbor on that fateful December morning. Even though he offers no new insight into the battle or the indomitable human spirit, there is something compelling in his accounts from men who continue to feel anger, pain, and loss more than 60 years after the attack. For those who think only in terms of history and tactics, strategy and battles, this book reaffirms the trimph of the human spirit.

LTC David G. Rathgeber, USMC, Retired, Fallback, CA

Klobuchar's book is a fascinating, and often gripping, account of the Pearl Harbor attack. The book is based on personal interviews with dozens of survivors, and includes eyewitness accounts of many aspects of the attack, often in great detail. Many stories are told, also, of the heroes who did not survive, as told by their fellow servicemen. The book even includes personal accounts of the attack from several Japanese airmen and seamen, including those who later became American citizens.
While the focus is on individual human interest, Klobuchar also includes important overview information, gleaned from military statistics, about the ships and planes destroyed or damaged, and the total impact of the attack on the US Military.
All-in-all, the book is a good read, offering the rare combination of high readability and solid historical facts.
You don't have to be a military buff to enjoy this book. Anyone seeking a great understanding of the history of this crucial period in world history will appreciate the stories and facts contained in this worthy effort.

Having just visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial last week[December 9th,2004] I recalled reading this book several years ago. I went over it again and recommend it highly. In crisp, no nonsense prose, Admiral Wallin tells us his view of the attack, and how he directed the salvage of 5 of the 8 battleships sunk on December 7,1941. For me, seeing the shattered remnant of the Arizona, tomb to 1177 Sailors and Marines[about 900 bodies remain]with Admiral Wallin's poignant description of the salvage and rescue efforts, delivered powerful reminders of the evil act of that first day of the war between Japan and America. There is the stirring saga of the rebirth of those shattered dreadnoughts, 5 of which fought successfully in the Battle for Leyte Gulf in 1944 to repay the enemy for treachery.
This book is not well known to history buffs, since it contains some technical details of how to refloat a 35,000 ton sunk battleship; nonetheless the author provides an insight into the tragedy not available easily even in other sources.

A fun book that plays 'what if' with Claire Chennault, the Flying Tigers and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The basic concept being discussed was a proposal made by China to increase the American aviation presence in China from a hundred P-40's to 350 fighters and 150 bombers. This force was to be used to bomb Japanese forces in China and perhaps even in Japan. There was apparently some discussion, even some acceptance of the proposal in the United States.

Needless to say, this didn't come to pass, and for a lot of reasons. One problem was the availability of the bombers. As of October 17, 1941 there were 83 B-17s in the United States and another 31 overseas. Hap Arnold and George Marshall were not going to be easy to persuade to give up these planes (and the next 36 to come off of Boeing's assembly line) to a retired Army Captain (Chennault) off in China.

Another point worth mentioning is that the generally held view of the capability of a few heavy bombers to significantly change the outcome of a war was much higher before they really started bombing. It wasn't too long after this that England was doing 1,000 plane raids with planes that carried 3-4 times as many bombs as the B-17.

One of the really strong points of this book is the interplay among the powers that be in Washington. While the plan was being considered, this was the time when Roosevelt was winning an election on the theme that he kept us out of war. A preemptive strike on Japan would probably have been politically worse then than Iraq is now. And the presumption that this might have deterred the Japanese from the attack on Pearl is a bit of a stretch. The reaction of the Japanese to the Doolittle raids was to attack Midway.

Great fun read.

Many fantastic pictures. Very enlightening. Gives you the "Readers Digest" version of the war in China and why the Japanese acted the way they did. If you have any interest in the War in China you must have this book. Over 250 B/W photos. You will finish the book before you put it down.

I have the 1971 edition and am reading it for the second time, and am now looking for copies for my 3 kids.

This book tells blow by blow over several years why the interests of the U. S. and Japan collided and led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese thought expansion was essential to their survival and their efforts conflicted with the moral qualms of the U.S. Japanese calculations included the military weakness of the U. S. and its loud "peace at any price" agitation, which ended abruptly when the Germany attacked the Soviet Union. A careful study of this book will show why weakness (both real and perceived) as seen by a potential aggressor makes war more likely.

Collaboratively written by James Edwin Alexander and William R. Burkett, The Secret Court Martial Of Admiral Kimmel: Pearl Harbor Revisited is a fictional courtroom drama concerning a court-martial trial that never took place -- but perhaps should have. It revolves around Admiral Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor and the man who received the lion's share of the blame for the Japanese sneak attack that took place on December 7, 1941. Admiral Kimmel asked for a court martial to clear his name, but his request was never granted by the War Department. Highly recommended reading, especially for World War II military buffs, The Secret Court Martial Of Admiral Kimmel is a tightly-written testimony, composed and presented in the style of a courtroom transcript, and with a dialogue as sharp as a cutting-edge radio play, so deftly endowed with a powerful sense of tone and conviction that the reader will find it hard to believe that this is, in fact, a work of historical fiction.