The USS Arizona : The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America

In the first terrifying moments of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the crew of the USS Arizona could not have imagined the horrors that awaited them on that "Day of Infamy," December 7, 1941. The battleship Arizona exploded when an armor-piercing bomb ignited its forward munitions, creating a thunderclap that rocked the skies; 1,177 men were killed on the Arizona-more than half the casualties at Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona gives a riveting account of the terrible events that violently thrust America into World War II. From accounts of what it was like below deck and topside to its fiery aftermath, we see the attack unfold through the eyes of survivors. Accompanied by 16 pages of photographs, this stirring chronicle tells the story of the famous battleship as few other writers or historians have, detailing its construction, covering life on board the peacetime Arizona, and revealing the unshakeable bond its sailors shared with their ship. Most of all, The USS Arizona captures the ship's transformation into a potent symbol of American grit and resolve-a symbol that resonates today at the final resting place of the USS Arizona and the sailors and Marines who perished with her.

Joy Walrdon Jasper is an investigative journalist and a magazine feature writer with an avid interest in genealogical research. She lives near Hartford, Connecticut where she is at work on her next book.

James P. Delgado is a noted underwater archaeologist and historian who has dived on many wrecks, including the USS Arizona and Admiral Yamamoto's flagship, Nagato. He is the executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum and lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jim Adams, following a career in the Marine Corps, joined the National Park Service and became the cultural resources manager at the USS Arizona Memorial. Presently assigned to Biscayne National Park in Florida, he is writing about his late father, the journalist Val Adams, who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.