December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor - Hardcover

Prange, Gordon W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0070506825 ISBN 13: 9780070506824

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1988

Synopsis

Details moment-by-moment chronological account of the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor

About this title

Reviews

This is the final volume of Prange's Pearl Harbor trilogy, based in large part on interviews conducted immediately after World War II. A chronological account related mostly by eyewitnesses, it describes the hints and warning of the attack as perceived both in Washington and Oahu, covers the attack itself in starkly vivid detail, and shows the reactions of servicemen and civilians, which range from fear to heroism to bewilderment. The narrative is particularly interesting in its depiction of the stupified incredulity on the part of many, and on the involuntary flights of imagination that rendered an extraordinary number of people temporarily aberrant. Many "eyewitnesses" saw German planes over Pearl Harbor, for instance; others saw Japanese paratroops landing on Oahu. The riveting narrative concludes with President Roosevelt's declaration of war the following day. The first and second volumes of the trilogy (At Dawn We Slept and Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History) were highly praised bestsellers. Prange died in 1981; Goldstein teaches history at the University of Pittsburgh; Dillon was Prange's editorial assistant. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The final volume of the late Prange's seminal trilogy maintains the luminous quality of his earlier works. Like At Dawn We Slept and Pearl Harbor: the verdict of history , it is thoroughly documented and detailed yet captivatingly readable as well. Prange's collaborators have chosen the same approach used in Walter Lord's classic Day of Infamy (1957): an hour-by-hour recapitulation through the eyes of participants. This book, however, begins on December 6 and focuses as much upon the Japanese raiders as the American defenders. The diplomatic and high command levels are especially well represented. Highly recommended. Raymond Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0070506825
• ISBN 13: 9780070506824
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 493