The Bombing Of Pearl Harbor

Discusses the people and events involved in Japan's decision to attack on Pearl Harbor, which forced the United States to enter World War II.

Gr 6-9-An excellent introduction outlines the history of Japanese-American relations from the time of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 to December of 1941. A time line helps define the political and military maneuverings on the part of each country during the year leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The two-column text is liberally illustrated with vintage photos. Numerous sidebars contain extensive information from primary and secondary sources. Rice's well-balanced text explains in detail the gamble on the part of the Japanese and the unpreparedness of the United States. This book provides a fine complement to Theodore Taylor's Air-Raid-Pearl Harbor! (Harcourt, 1991), which has more detailed maps and a listing of key figures. The only problem with this new title is that it does not explain why Vichy France gave Japan permission to invade northern Indochina in 1940. Also, no explanation is give as to why the time difference between Washington, DC, and Hawaii varied by 5 hours and 30 minutes rather than the standard one-hour segments. Despite these minor shortcomings, this title is a solid purchase.-Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved