Days of Infamy

Book Description

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched an attack against United States naval forces stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But what if the Japanese followed up their air assault with an invasion and occupation of Hawaii? With American military forces subjugated and civilians living in fear of their conquerors, there is no one to stop the Japanese from using the islands' resources to launch an offensive against America's western coast.

Download Description

It is December 7, 1941, and the Japanese launch an attack against United States naval forces stationed in Pearl Harbor. The Japanese follow up their air assault with an invasion and occupation of Hawaii. With American military forces subjugated and civilians living in fear of their conquerors, there is no one to stop the Japanese from using the islands' resources to launch an offensive against America's western coast.

Customer Reviews:

There's no story here. Overlong and underdone.......2007-05-30

There's almost 150 pages of interesting story in this novel. Unfortunately the book is more than 500 pages long. Everyone keeps going on about how carefully researched this book is but I fail to see it. He gets some of the basic facts right, he beats the reader over the head with the fact that the Zero is more maneuverable than the Wildcat (he repeats it more than TEN times through the course of the book)but he leaves out important facts that would deeply affect the story. He has no mention of how the aliies had broken the Japanese Naval Code (JN25) as well as their diplomatic code. He also completely ignores the ceaseless struggle by the Japanese Navy to force the "Jutland style" battleship to battleship battle that all the experts predicted. Perhaps some of this will be covered in the many volumes to come but I just don't have the money or the patience to see it through.

The plot moves at a glacial pace. He introduces more than a dozen characters and few of them do anything interesting. One plotline is the riveting story of a woman growing sweet potatoes! This is obviously the beginning of a many book series and Turtledove has no intention of getting to the point until he's wrested every dime from the reader. This is part of the "every story must be at least a trilogy" trend. It would be interesting to see a good editor take the series and condense it down to a single book. Then, even with all the flaws it might make for an passable read.

Not a bad read. .......2007-05-15

This was my first Turtledove book and I found it to be an enjoyable read. It isn't a first class read like some of Tom Clancy's work is, but it's a pleasant way to pass an evening or two. The premise is believable as many people have wondered why Japan didn't try to invada Hawai'i in 1941 and Turtledove presents a decent invasion scenario. Where he falls short is on the subject of Japanese brutality. The Japanese of 1941 were, if anything, brutal and then they were excessive in their brutality. It is likely that Turtledove's editor or publisher would not like the politically incorrect depictions of Japanese soldiers raping and marauding and predating on the civilian population, but such a thing would have been representative of Japanese behavior in lands they really did conquer. Also, the prisoners of war who were held by the Japanese suffered a 30% mortality rate and the depictions of death in the Hawai'ian prison camp didn't quite come up to the measure of camps typical of Japan. Other than this 'hole' in reality, this is a good book about people dealing with an impossibly challenging circumstance and it is not just a mere flight of fancy. I recommend it.

First of a two-part alternative history of Pearl Harbour.......2007-03-10

This is the first of a pair of gripping alternative history novels which explore the possibility that Japan might have backed up the air strikes on Pearl Harbour with a land invasion.

The sequel is called "End of the Beginning."

This is the fourth alternative version of World War II which Turtledove has written. He has previously done stories with aliens from Tau Ceti invading in 1942, (the Worldwar series) a parallel history following pretty much the real track, in a world where technology uses magic rather than engineering (Darkness/Derlavi/World at War series) and an alternative World War II in a history following a Rebel victory in the US Civil War, hwich has the same roles as in the historical WWII carried out by different people (Settling Accounts).

Having done so many alternative versions of World War II, you would think he would find it impossible to say anything new about them or maintain the reader's interest. Judging by other reviews, some readers do indeed have that problem, and I expected to be one of them, but from the moment I picked up this book I found myself hooked.

Turtledove suggests that the Imperial Japanese forces would have treated the inhabitants of Hawaii with the same ruthless cruelty they dealt out to other people who fell under their control, such as the luckless people of Nanking. This is all too plausible. He weaves a story of how this might have affected the people who lived under their regime, from American Prisoners of War, U.S. and Hawaiian civilians, to Hawaiian residents of Japanese origin.

Turtledove's account of how the conflict might have left this latter group torn between conflicting loyalties is presented through the story of a family in which the father, who was born in Japan, welcomes the invasion and blames the death of his wife (killed by a Japanese bomb) on the Americans for resisting: his sons continue to identify with the American side and blame the Japanese attackers for their mother's death.

For the reasons hinted at above, I nearly didn't read this book, but I'm very glad I gave in to the temptation to do so. If you liked most of Turtledove's other books, you will almost certainly like this one.

12/7/1941 - Alternate History.......2007-02-09

Turtledove hits on another creative idea concerning the original "Day of Infamy" by having the Japanese land troops on the Hawaiian islands on the day following the air attacks. I bought the book because I thought this plot was clever. However, in my opinion, the author spends too much time giving many intimate details about each of the large number of characters. I have found this a distraction. I have completed the book and begun reading the sequel which seems to continue in the same vein.
I have read several other books by this same author, many of which contain these same extensive character details. To me, "Days of Infamy" goes overboard with them.

Great "What-if" about Pearl Harbor.......2006-11-03

Turtledove is the master of alternate history. In this book he takes the attack by Imperial Japan against Pearl Harbor and explores what might have happened if the Japanese had ammassed and sent a large invasion fleet with their carrier task force and invaded Hawaii...much as they intended to do at Midway in real life six months later.

I found the story plausible and engrossing. The way the Japanese forces dealt piecemeal with the two American carriers in the vicinity (which they missed in the real life events and which made a significant difference in the war) was well done and very interesting. In addition, the differences in culture at the time are very well written into the storyline as Americans find out much earlier on, and in a much more visible way, just how fanatical and dedicated the Japense soldiers were in their fight in World War II as they take and occupy the Islands of Hawaii and thus create a scenario for a much more protracted and costly fight in the Pacific.

There are very graphic scenes in the novel and the language is equally graphic in places...perhaps overdone to a point..and this rated a 4 star for me as oppsed to 5 stars.

Just the same, I would recommend this novel (and the series that follows) to anyone with interests about World War II and how things mught have turned out if different decisions had been made...as well as a good look at how things were in the horrific fighting that took place in those days.

Day of Infamy: Attack on Pearl Harbor (Graphic History)

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A much more accessible format and history

Day of Infamy: Attack on Pearl Harbor (Graphic History)
Steve White
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1846030595
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Book Description

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on American military bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Masterfully planned and executed, the attack devastated the US Pacific Fleet; in less than two hours, Japanese aircraft had sunk or damaged all eight US battleships anchored in the harbor and had destroyed 151 planes. Thrust into battle, the United States could have only one response: war.
DAY OF INFAMY portrays the attack that drove the United States into World War II in full-color, historically-accurate comic book narrative. Featuring the personal stories of front-line heroes like Ken Taylor, George Welch, and mess attendant Dorie Miller, DAY OF INFAMY also provides rich background material – causes and consequences, key players, and a glossary of terms – as well as a list of additional resources that encourages readers to delve further into the time period. DAY OF INFAMY is the ultimate way to experience how Pearl Harbor unfolded and to introduce a lifelong passion for reading.

Customer Reviews:

A much more accessible format and history.......2007-04-10

The same is achieved in Steve White's DAY OF INFAMY: ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, which provides a colorful graphic novel focusing on Pearl Harbor events. These histories will also appeal to young adults studying the facts of military history - this audience will find a much more accessible format and history, here.

Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Average customer rating:

A solid read
The Common People's Pearl Harbor
A remarkable book about a pivotal "Day of Infamy"
Slight, but compelling, account of that 'Day of Infamy'
Humanized account of the Pearl Harbor attack

Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Walter Lord
Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0805068031

Amazon.com

There may not be a better book on what happened at Pearl Harbor than Day of Infamy--and it's not as if the Pearl Harbor story has lacked chroniclers. Walter Lord is best known for A Night to Remember, his book on the voyage of the Titanic. Day of Infamy deserves to stand beside that classic as a gripping narrative, and the subject matter, of course, is infinitely more important.

Lord begins by showing how Japanese admirals, three months before their notorious sneak attack, "tested the idea on the game board at the Naval War College." (It didn't go nearly as well there as it did in real life.) Then he proceeds briskly through the preparations for the assault and delivers a minute-by-minute account about those fateful hours in Oahu. The detail is incredible. The Japanese scan Hawaiian radio stations to see if their moves have been detected; a U.S. naval officer on "his first night on his first patrol on his first command" spots a Japanese submarine just hours before the strike; when the surprise attack finally does arrive, an excited Japanese commander shouts "Tora! Tora! Tora!" ("Victory!") before even the first bombs have fallen. The whole assault lasted about two hours. Thousands of Americans were killed or wounded. The Navy lost the U.S.S. Arizona, which blew up about 15 minutes into the raid, and 17 other ships were either sunk or crippled. Hundreds of planes were destroyed or damaged. The Japanese, by contrast, lost only 29 planes. It must be considered one of the most lopsided battles in all history--and "battle" probably isn't the best word to describe it. Pearl Harbor was closer to a massacre. Whatever the label, Pearl Harbor was a turning-point moment in American history, and it gave rise, the very next day, to some of the most famous words ever spoken by an American president: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked...." If you intend to read only a single book on Pearl Harbor, this is the one for you. --John J. Miller

Book Description

A special 60th anniversary edition of the bestselling re-creation of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, by the author of A Night to Remember.Sunday, December 7, 1941, was, as President Roosevelt said, "a date which will live in infamy." Day of Infamy is a fascinating account of that unforgettable day's events. In brilliant detail Walter Lord traces the human drama of the great attack: the spies behind it; the Japanese pilots; the crews on the stricken warships; the men at the airfields and the bases; the Japanese pilot who captured an island single-handedly when he could not get back to his carrier; the generals, the sailors, the housewives, and the children who responded to the attack with anger, numbness, and magnificent courage.In piecing together the saga of Pearl Harbor, Lord traveled over fourteen thousand miles and spoke or corresponded with over five hundred individuals who were there. He obtained exclusive interviews with members of the Japanese attacking force and spent hundreds of hours with the Americans who received the blow -- not just the admirals and generals, but enlisted men and families as well. He visited each of the Hawaiian bases attacked and pored over maps, charts, letters, diaries, official files, newspapers, and some twenty-five thousand pages of testimony, discovering a wealth of information that had never before been revealed. Day of Infamy is an inspiring human document and the best account we have of one of the epic events in American history.

Customer Reviews:

A solid read.......2005-02-11

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.......2004-08-19

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.

I found particular interest in the misconceptions which occurred during and after the raid. Knowing what we know now, the extent of disbelief is surprising, but understandable. The number of service personnel and civilians who thought that the raid was a drill in which live ammunition was mistakenly used is shocking. Many thought that Naval and Air Corps personnel would be in real trouble. After the raid the wild rumors of further attacks and invasions seems incredible, but it is understandable given the shock of the attack.

At the end, Lord sums up the impact that the assault had on American attitudes toward the war in general and toward Japan in particular.

There are better sources for the big picture of Pearl Harbor, the story of the damage done to the fleet and the impact of the attack meant on the course of the war. "Day Of Infamy" is the place to look for the story of the participants whose lives were forever changed on December 7, 1941.

A remarkable book about a pivotal "Day of Infamy".......2004-02-08

"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.

Pearl Harbor. Very few place names in the U.S. evoke still-vivid memories of shocking violence, death, destruction, and a sense that America and her place in the world would never be the same afterwards. In our lifetimes, perhaps only Dallas, Manhattan and Washington, D.C. will rival Pearl Harbor as an existing location where memories of cataclysmic events will overshadow the present. For just as the Pentagon has been repaired and the World Trade Center will be rebuilt after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Pearl Harbor is still a bustling -- if somewhat quieter -- naval base in the Pacific. Yet, say the name and you'll conjure up newsreel footage of the USS Arizona exploding and Japanese bombers attacking Battleship Row on what had previously been a quiet Sunday morning.

Walter Lord, author of such acclaimed narratives as A Night to Remember, A Time to Stand, and Incredible Victory, tells very human stories of heroism and sacrifice as he recounts the events of December 7, 1941 from both American and Japanese perspectives. His clear and descriptive narrative, his masterful use of interviews with survivors and material from the vast amount of historical records, and his decision to focus the book's focus on the events of the evening of Dec. 6 and the "day of infamy" itself make this a fine literary starting point for readers who want to learn the Pearl Harbor story without having to wade through books that deal with all the preliminaries (such as At Dawn We Slept) or try to revise history (John Toland's Infamy) to pin the blame on President Roosevelt.

All in all, for a book that was first published in the late 1950s, Day of Infamy is still considered one of the best popular histories about a World War II event, and I strongly recommend it.

Slight, but compelling, account of that 'Day of Infamy'.......2004-01-06

Noted historian Walter Lord, author of "A Night to Remember", a renowned account of the Titanic tragedy, has put together a brief, but compelling account of one the most horrific days in U.S. History, December 7th, 1941; the "Day of Infamy" in which the Japanese attacked our naval base in Pearl Harbor and drew the United States into World War II. The politics behind the attack and the revisionist histories that want to lay culpability at the feet of Franklin Roosevelt are irrelevant in this book. Walter Lord's compelling account deals briefly with the groundwork the Japanese laid to execute this attack. Then it rolls right into a gripping minute-by-minute account of the pre-attack activities, the attack itself, and the response in the aftermath.

History, when presented in the worst form, can seem static and boring. When history is presented in its best form, it comes alive, captivating the reader and transporting them to the events and making them know the people they are reading about. Though a brief account, Walter Lord's "Day of Infamy" succeeds admirably in making that day come alive. It transports the readers to Hawaii on that terrible December morning and involves them in the events of that day. That, alone, makes this a book worth reading.

Humanized account of the Pearl Harbor attack.......2003-09-21

Lord's Day of Infamy recounts the infamous events of December 7th, 1941. Rather than assuming a conventional descriptive viewpoint, the author humanizes his story by chronicling the day's events using the names of the men and women involved. "Men on the Oklahoma began firing back" is scrapped in favor of "PFC ____ and _____ on the Oklahoma began firing back." Using this format, Lord is able to convey a greater sense of realism when recalling the actions of hundreds of individuals involved in day's events. I was also pleasantly surprised at the book's descriptions of the Japanese men involved in the attack. He did not demonize them but presented them fairly as participants in a well-planned although ultimately foolish attack. The only drawback to reading this book, in my opinion, is that the author's presentation of numerous individuals' actions obscured the big picture. Thankfully, an epilogue summarizes the attack in a few pages. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a lively account of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Days of Infamy : Military Blunders of the 20th Century

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Military Stupidity
Idiotic Infamy
Decidedly Underwhelming
The Biggest blunder on military history in the 20th Century
Skip this book

Days of Infamy : Military Blunders of the 20th Century
Michael Coffey
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B0002Z00IU

Amazon.com

This compendium of military mishaps shows how poor decision-making often leads to catastrophe. In a series of short chapters ideal for subway rides and waiting rooms, Michael Coffey shows how even relatively small misjudgments have become historical turning points. Many of his topics are familiar, such as how the Treaty of Versailles ending the First World War laid the groundwork for an even larger conflict 20 years later. Hitler's military miscalculations--thinking the British would negotiate a peace after Dunkirk, invading Russia, declaring war on the United States--receive prominent attention. Allied leaders also committed plenty of blunders, such as the collapse of British defenses in Singapore and Malaysia, the fruitless bombing of Monte Cassino in Italy, and premature attempts to liberate Arnhem (the subject of the film A Bridge Too Far). More recent events receive coverage, too, including the Bay of Pigs, the disastrous mission in 1980 to free American prisoners in Iran, and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Some sections are much stronger than others, and readers already familiar with certain wars probably won't learn much from their coverage. Yet Coffey calls attention to an important consideration: mistakes are endemic in war, and victory often goes not to leaders who execute brilliantly planned maneuvers but those who simply avoid error. --John J. Miller

Book Description

A fascinating look behind more than fifty of the most historic military blunders of our century. Lively and engaging, in-depth and informative, this companion to an upcoming series on the History Channel goes beyond mere footage to delve into the facts of some well-remembered but little understood incidents and accidents of modern military history.

Customer Reviews:

Military Stupidity.......2007-05-13

They say that the side in a war that makes the fewest mistakes wins!
This certainly illustrates this in a most succinct manner!

Idiotic Infamy.......2004-08-07

This is one of the worst books I've ever read on military history. You have to wonder how someone can get a book like this published. The author is a journalist, but even that is usually not a disqualifying factor with a book on military history, or any sort of history for that matter. Journalists, after all, deal in fact also.

In this case, however, the book is filled with factual errors, and you get the idea that the author sometimes missed the point of a battle or campaign that he was recounting to you. Given that he's so often mistaken about what happened, it's not much of a surprise that his interpretations are going to be poor also.

All of this leads to my final conclusion. I would avoid this book at all costs. I don't get rid of any book that's non-fiction, usually, but this one's going to the used bookstore. I expect them to reject it, and I'll probably wind up giving it to the library, who will overprice it in their book sale at $1.00.

Decidedly Underwhelming.......2003-04-04

This book was prepared as a companion to a History Channel series and it has the depth and detail one would expect from a television program. As some of the other reviewers have noted, there are sporadic factual mistakes, but the greater shortcoming, to my mind, is the lack of much to say. The factual issues discussed are pretty much common knowledge to anyone having much familiarity at all with military history (or history in general) in the Twentieth Century. Worse yet, the insights and commentary provided are little more than unimaginitive "conventional wisdom." I had some suspicions about this book being of a mass market paperback quality, but I picked it up because it was one of the first in .mp3 audio format. This proved to be a mistake as my first concerns were conclusively proven correct.

The Biggest blunder on military history in the 20th Century.......2000-10-18

This book is amazing in its number of errors, shallowness of analysis, and conceptual ignorance. Even for the most significant battles of World War II, the author gets numerous facts wrong. For example, in discussing the Pacific war, he notes the Japanese had 2 carriers sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea (they lost 1 small one) and 3 at Midway (4 were sunk). He states that German blundered by not launching an amphibious invasion of England, even though the Germans lost the war in the air(most military historians would regard launching an amphibious invasion without having air supremacy against a country with naval supremacy suicide). He blames the German Air Force for the fact that German industry didn't go into a war footing until 1943. Huh? Blaming an armed service for flawed industrial policies? This is the most error filled history book I've ever seen and ranks top among the biggest blunders on military history in the 20th century. Considering the high quality of the History Channel, it's amazing that they would associate themselves with such a book of errors.

Skip this book.......2000-07-04

As other reviewers have said, it's shallow, riddled with errors, and ultimately unsatisfying. Yet it mentions a lot of incidents, some of which I'd never heard of, like the Queen Mary colliding with her escort. This book's salvation would be a good bibiography, so the interested reader could follow up -- but there is none. No notes. Nothing. For a good book of this sort, read "From the Jaws of Victory", by Charles Fair.

Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy - An Illustrated History

Average customer rating:

Pearl Habor remembered
A nice consequence to an awful film
An Illustrated Look at the Day of Infamy
Great Chronicle Of "The Day Of Imfamy"
3 reviews ain't demos...

Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy - An Illustrated History
Dan Van Der Vat
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0465089828
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Book Description

A Basic Book/Madison Press Book

From the creators of The Discovery of the Titanic comes THE illustrated publishing event of 2001 releasing with THE movie event of 2001 Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed it "A day that will live in infamy"-December 7, 1941, the one date from the Second World War that almost every American knows by heart. Pearl Harbor is the definitive illustrated account of that momentous day. No other battle of the Pacific War was better documented in photographs than was Pearl Harbor. Everyone has seen some of these images, but few are aware of just how many there are-including many that have never been published. Official government photographers were busy that morning, but so were countless service personnel and shocked civilians. Even the Japanese navy photographed their preparations and the launch of the attack fleet. The visual record of the day includes not just stunning black-and-white shots but also vivid color photos showing the American fleet under attack and burning. Pearl Harbor makes lavish use of these historical photos to vividly re-create what it felt like to be there during every key moment of the battle. A compelling narrative by noted naval historian Dan Van der Vat explains the causes and background of the attack. Moving first-person reminiscences of persons who were there-Japanese and Americans, military and civilians, adults and children-give the pictures even greater immediacy.

Customer Reviews:

Pearl Habor remembered.......2007-01-18

I bought this for my mother-in-law for Christmas because she had lent her book to someone and it was never returned. Even though the book is not a recent edition, the pictures and accounts were stirring. I also appreciate the list of the servicemen who died on all of the ships that day especially since my uncle Herman Koeppe died on the USS Arizona. His name is on the list. Thanks for the quick shipping too. The book was a hit!

A nice consequence to an awful film .......2006-07-30

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.

This is one of the best of those books published. Nicely written. Very informative. Well illustrated both with period photographs adn original artwork.

A must have for anyone interested in this subject.

An Illustrated Look at the Day of Infamy.......2005-07-14

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.

Oral histories from both Japanese and American personnel, as well as Hawaiian civilians are also included. These exciting testimonies give the reader a true sense of what it was like to be at Pearl Harbor during the attack. From a captured Japanese midget submarine crewman to American sailors and airmen, their stories are brought to life inside the book.

One section I found especially interesting was the list of casualties included at the back of the book. One look at the size and length of this section will make the reader realize just how tragic and costly December 7, 1941 was for the United Staes armed forces.

Finally, the photos of the USS Arizona memorial, with the "Mighty Mo" serving as a guard, bring a poignant end to the book, and lets the reader know that December 7 will never be forgotten.

I highly recommend this book. I've read numerous books on this subject, and I was very impressed with the quality of the photos as well as the accompanying text. As a stand-alone volume or companion to another book, this work of history deserves its place as one of the best books on the subject of Pearl Harbor. Look through the photographs and get a true sense of what the Day of Infamy was really like.

Great Chronicle Of "The Day Of Imfamy".......2004-02-13

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.

Much more than a coffe book, I think that this book is a great resource in which people can learn what happened.

3 reviews ain't demos..........2002-02-07

Hell, is this the way to begin a review?

Pearl Harbor is a ball, a square, a city, a village, a fool and a loop. Whatever it was, it wasn't this. The Camera doesn't lie -no, but you lie with your own eyes . You do it all the time ,you all deny what you're seeing.So how is a film like this going to make any difference? How is one to make sense of history? -To realize that the British pioneered the technique of aerial destruction of a navy in southern Italy, to feel only empathetic emotion without compassion, a sort of thrill, and feel vicariously English-speaking without the boon of truth and conscience to back it up with?
Live without fleeting flag-wavers; America folds its thoughts upon itself, and is blind. It shocks itself ,nightly, and expects sympathy, like the most selfish old man that ever lived.It cries out in the night, and is impressed with the volume.How desperately low America has become. There is scarcely one iota of sympathy or even coherence to which it appeals; why? because they can't even tell the truth.Hysteria is inflation.

Average customer rating:

A return to the spy stuff
The story keeps getting better
Another Work of Art

Adolf, Volume 4: Days Of Infamy (Adolf)

Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569311242

Customer Reviews:

A return to the spy stuff.......2005-02-18

This is a return to the action and espionage of the first book in the series. Most of this one takes place back in Japan. Toge, who has been guarding and trying to publicize the documents that prove that Hitler has Jewish ancestry, has finally found someone who can publicize them globally. His contact is the son of a Japanese general who has been spying on his father throughout the war. These plans quickly fall through and no one knows where the documents are, but Toge and others are beginning to realize that the war will still end, especially after the invasion of Pearl Harbor and the US entering the war against Japan. So life goes on in Japan.

Back in Germany, Adolf Kaufmann, a half German half Japanese boy raised in Japan but schooled in Germany, has been promoted to Lieutenant. When he is demoted for not arresting a war hero accused of trying to assassinate Hitler, he is restationed moving people between concentration camps. This is nasty work and Adolf, who is not even twenty yet, finds himself haunted by the faces of all the people he must shoot as part of his job. It is obvious to him and everyone else that he is soon going to be shipped off to the front line as canon fodder. With that alternative, he is offered a chance to transfer to the Gestapo and return to Japan to find and destroy the documents.

This is a great series. I highly recommend it. This book stands alone well and has plenty of action. By now many subplots involving minor characters are starting to reemerge, so having read other books in the series will add a few layers to the mix. Keep in mind that the series is very violent. A big part of this story involves Adolf being rough with and shooting people as part of his job and the psychological effect that this has on him. So don't give this book to your fourth grader to teach them history.

The story keeps getting better.......2004-06-08

Let's be honest here, if you've made it this far into Osamu Tezuka's 5 volume, 'Adolf,' series, chances are you'll find volume 4 just as engrossing as the previous books with enough dangling setup that will have you looking forward to finding out how the series finally concludes.

In volume 4, the bulk of the storyline focuses itself on Adolf Kamil in the waning days of Germany's involvement in WWII with all the horrors of Nazi cruelty reflected through his eyes. Fans of the series will not be disappointed with the intricate, but beautifully executed, plotting and characerizations that have certainly lived up to its billing as hallmarks of this series.

Another Work of Art.......1999-02-15

This is the fourth installment of "Adolf". The books keep getting better and better.

The character development is unbelievable. The artwork is fantastic.

The story is like a roller-coaster ride.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you have read any one of the first three.

Average customer rating:

Brace yourself

The truth? Our just another book about Pearl Harbor?

Many villians

The most informed and well-reasoned account to date

Absorbing And Well-Documented Treatment !

Days of Infamy: Macarthur, Roosevelt, Churchill-The Shocking Truth Revealed : How Their Secret Deals and Strategic Blunders Caused Disasters at Pear Harbor and the Philippines
John Costello
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Philippines | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0671769863

Customer Reviews:

Brace yourself.......2004-10-26

This book suggests, and convincingly, that MacArthur and Churchill and FDR engaged in treasonable, nefarious, and unconstitutional activities. MacArthurs intentional delay to implement war plans with influence from Phillipine authorities, Churchill's withholding of information and history manipulations, and FDR's unconstitutional guarantees to foreign nations in event of war are just some of the conclusions of this book. The first half of this book is the most interesting, especially the suggestion of MacArthur delaying action and leaving his B17 fleet exposed to Japenese air attack. Believeable but sometimes almost over the top.

The truth? Our just another book about Pearl Harbor?.......2004-10-24

This is a best-selling book, by a best-selling British author, concerning the destruction of the greatest concentration of Air power in the Pacific, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, on the ground, in the Philipines, a full ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as some information on the politics surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor. A total failure on the part of MacArthur.

Having just read Day of Deceit, by Robert Stinnett, with elaborate, detailed information demonstrating that Franklin Roosevelt indeed indubitably knew, in advance, of the Japanese plans to attack Pearl Harbor in an air strike on December 7th, 1941, and withheld that information from the commanders on the spot, Admiral Kimmel and Lt. General Short, both of whom FDR then demoted in disgrace, as "patsies," for "dereliction of duty," I am underwhelmed by Costello's book, Days of Infamy. It does, however, bring out some facts about General MacArthur's failures to adequately prepare his command for the impending certain attack by the Japanese forces, to wit: instantly sending a bombing raid against the Japanese air bases on Formosa (Taiwan), which his orders required of him, or at the very least moving the B-17s in question out of harm's way--out of range of Japanese Formosa based bombers, by sending them further South, as he could have done. Instead, he sat on his hands.

With the exception of General MacArthur, the motivation for President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill's blunders are quite understandable: Both men were faced with almost insurmountable dilemmas. It was necessary for Churchill to drag America into the war with Germany, kicking and screaming if necessary. It was a matter of survival for Great Britain, who was the lonely combatant for freedom left on the European continent. For FDR, faced with isolationist fervor among his constituency, but foresighted enough to know the stakes involved, it was necessary to get a cause celebre to inflame the American people into a warlike mood. The ploy succeeded, even though it involved chicanery, double dealing, lying to his people, and many American deaths at Pearl Harbor.

Although the facts are seemingly ugly, and American and British icons reputations suffer as a result, Churchill and FDR peformed to the best of their abilities to save their nations. MacArthur's motives and judgments are less justifiable and bear scrutiny less well. For those who knew him best, MacArthur was a walking, talking egomaniac who made monumental blunders with little to recommend his decisions.

I served under him in Japan during the Korean war, and observed him in his role as the defacto Emperor of Japan. Harry Truman had him pegged, accurately in my opinion. He would have dome better on the stage than in a military career.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

Many villians.......2004-10-14

Days of Infamy by John Costello

This book makes one very angry at the incompetence of our military commanders at the beginning of WWII. The 2 goats of Pearl Harbor, Adm Kimmel and Gen Short, seem very competent compared to Marshall, MacArthur, Stark, King,Turner, and others.
The American plan assumed that the Japs would attack the Philippines first. To defend it, Roosevelt pulled MacArthur out of retirement in July 1941 and sent him there. In addition, he sent thousands of troops to help train the Filipinos, plus most of our latest bombers, the B-17, and many of our latest fighter aircraft, plus a potent Navy force. Marshall at the time said that reinforcing the Philippines was a mistake of the first magnitude. They allocated 200 planes to destroy 164 targets. In Europe, the allocated 8,000 planes to destroy an equal number of German targets. Japs and Jap targets were inferior, so needed fewer planes. MacArthur did not believe the Japs could fly planes due to their slanty eyes. Neither did the Brits, who would lose 2 of their battleships to Jap planes a couple of days later.

Ath the time of the Pearl Harbor attack MacArthur was called and had an 8 hour warning before the Japs attacked. They did the same thing in the Philippines that happened at Pearl. Complete surprise, in spite of the warning. This was a mystery until the early 1990's when records came unsealed that revealed that MacArthur had received $640,000 from the Philippine president to not attack the Japs.
(The plan was to have the B-17's MacArthur had to attack the Japs at Formosa and knock out their air force.) Had MacArthur followed orders, he would have done just that, as the Japs were grounded by fog.
The Army Air chief, Breteron pleaded with Mac to let him attack, but Mac refused.
In January, when Mac and his men got paid FDR himself had to approve the payment, as it was illegal for a military person to be paid by another government. Mac got500.000 of the $640,000. Sutherland and others got the rest.
Mac also had the machine that decoded the Jap purple code, unlike the folks at Pearl Harbor, so he had the same intelligence as Washington.
The Brits were supposed to get some B-17's but in an exchange of an secret agreement that we would use them to bomb the Japs at Malaya when war came, they let us keep them. Mac got them, and the Japs destroyed them. Stimson and the air generals told FDR that air power alone could beat the Japs.
To keep Kimmel up to date at Pearl, Adm Stark in Washington mailed him letters. Kimmel was never told about the Majic machine or the intercepts.

If operations started in the Philippines, and fuel was needed, this would create a fuel crisis in the U.S. as there was a lack of tankers to transport oil.
Adm Layton, an intelligence officer at the time thinks Kimmel would have deduced the Pearl Harbor target if he had the Majic machine. Adm Pye thought that the Japs would not attack Pearl either. Adm Kelly Turner in Washington was convinced the Japs were going to invade Siberia. Facts could not disabuse him of this opinion.
On Dec 5, Col Sadtler of the Army signal corps drafted a memo for Gen Short that hostilities were imminent. Gen Gerow did not allow the memo to go forward, saying Short had been warned enough.
On Sat night Dec 6, Bratton asked Marshall to issue a war alert, and Marshall refused.

The book is a listing of error after error made by our military as well as civilian chiefs. Kimmel and Short got sacked, MacArthur got the Medal of Honor, and the incompetents in Washington got promoted.

Adm Pye took over from Kimmel. Kimmel had sent a force to reinforce Wake Island, which was under attack. Pye recalled it. He too was sacked. We could have defended Wake and been in a much better position in the Pacific, if Kimmel had been left in charge.

The book leaves one gnashing his teeth in frustration reading this.

The most informed and well-reasoned account to date.......2003-01-07

Days of Infamy is a masterpiece. As a serious research book, it is incomparable. Just about every assertion is thoroughly documented with American, British, Japanese, German and even some Dutch and Soviet sources. John Costello also thoroughly comments on the major previous efforts to explain the surprises at the start of Pacific War. He clearly and thoroughly points out what the previous investigations have gotten right or wrong. Mostly, they have narrowly focused on just the Pearl Harbor attack, and the communications between the White House, Departments of Army and Navy in Washington, and Hawaiian Army and Navy commanders. This book takes the reader to all the participants, and especially the British, who had an enormous but unpublicized influence on American plans before the war.

As a popular historical book, Days of Infamy is well-written and engages the reader very well. Since John Costello is a journalist and a TV producer, rather than a university professor, he lays this book out as a story, not as a dry research paper. He vividly describes the events of the spring, summer, fall and winter of 1941, the personalities involved, their conflicts, egos, fears, and desires. He also vividly describes the strategic and tactical plans of all sides, and where they went wrong.

Overall, I believe this book is excellent. Unlike many previous efforts, it goes beyond just Pearl Harbor to explore the full scope of American and British efforts in the Pacific in 1941. This shows that today we, as a society, are getting very close to understanding what actually happened during those days in 1941. And the more we understand the more ugly it looks. It's 60 years late, but at least we can try to learn from this experience.

Absorbing And Well-Documented Treatment !.......2002-10-16

There are few events that prompt as much spontaneous discussions regarding the possibility of conspiracy and guilty prior knowledge as those involving the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Indeed, there are a whole catalogue of titles dealing with the possibilities, the associated issues, and with the substance of arguments surrounding all of the varied possibilities, which seem to have endless permutations and countless variations. So too here in British author John Costello's excellent exposition, the fascinating world of this "what did the President know, and when did he know it" whodunit is deftly explored by a virtual master of the genre. Also the author of such notable titles as "The Pacific War" and "And I was There", Costello addresses himself to a welter of issues and conditions that paint an indelible picture of what he conceives to be the actual circumstances surrounding the Japanese attack.

Indeed, the author not only asks a number of interesting rhetorical questions regarding the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor itself, but also delves into the shocking related attack on the American forces in the Philippines later the same day. Why, he asks, given his being warned so far in advance, did General Douglas MacArthur allow the Japanese forces to destroy the greatest single concentration of American air power in the Pacific region some nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor? And, in answering the question by way of detailing the complex series of miscommunications and fumbles surrounding MacArthur's mishandling of the circumstances, the author also raises the issue of MacArthur's unlikely escape from the blame game following in the aftermath of the attacks. Seems that those in power in Washington were so intimidated by MacArthur's positive image and reputation among the press that they dare not attack him openly by court marshalling or reprimanding him. In essence, his political connections saved him. Instead, after ordering MacArthur off the island, ostensibly to take command of all the Pacific forces regrouping in Australia, Roosevelt rewarded the general with the Congressional Medal Of Honor.

Also discussed here is the half million dollar payoff that the Philippine Government gave to MacArthur as he departed the islands, as is the desire of the Philippine government to try to maintain their neutrality, an exercise in futility that may have played fatefully into the hands of the Japanese, and which the author suggests may have influenced MacArthur in his decision not to attack or save the pacific-based American planes under his command. Yet the book spends much more energy and time covering the ways in which the diplomatic and military miscalculations on the part of both Roosevelt and Churchill played almost perfectly into the hands of the Japanese. Yet it was, according to Costello, more the loss of the Pacific air power rather than the losses at Pearl Harbor that so severely limited and hampered American efforts to stem the rising tide of Japanese hegemony over the Far East in 1942.

Book Description

SYNOPSIS Pearl Harbor and the American Spirit is filled with unforgettable interviews that describe the shock, anger, confusion, dislocation, and unwavering American resilience that followed Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The book is perhaps the first to document the broad human experience of December 7, 1941. In this groundbreaking publication, more than 175 people from all across America recall how their lives were suddenly changed forever by Japan's "dastardly attack" in Hawaii.

These fascinating stories take the reader back in time to vintage diners, filling stations, railroad depots, drug stores, family farms, stadiums, churches, barracks, and other places where the alarming news of the ambush was announced to a stunned nation.

Many narrators discuss significant personal, national, and world events from the time of the Depression through WWII, thus making this book a fine introduction to the momentous Roosevelt era. The stories show how the children of the Depression overcame hardship-and acquired the strong character that enabled them to emerge as liberators of the world.

Customer Reviews:

Truth is often far more fascinating than fiction.......2006-07-30

There are a lot of reasons to find Ben Affleck's Pearl Harbor movie bad. A bad story based more on Star Wars than on what happened with a pathetic love triangle and unreal characters. Indeed, of all the characters, only one, the guy Cuba Gooding Jr played was real.

This book with the recollections of those there would have made a better movie. All of the people in here are real. And very very fascinating. From Tai Sing Loo the Hawaiian born Chinese Photographer's eyewitness accounts to Japanese admiral Kickisaburo Nomura, from Navy wife Peggy Ryan (no relation) to Arizona survivor V Adm Kleber S. Masterson, this book provides the reader great insights into this event.

Would make a great movie.

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