Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date.
For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.
Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
Stanley WeintraubUnabridged — 5 hours, 38 minutes
Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
Stanley WeintraubUnabridged — 5 hours, 38 minutes
Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody's mind.
United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen under grim Nazi occupation.
Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe.
Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.
In this compelling book, historian Stanley Weintraub provides a compact and vivid day-by-day account of the days following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor…For political junkies, this title is chock-full of amusing observations…
—The Washington Post
A minor genre, the day-by-day chronicle, receives a fine addition as veteran historian Weintraub (15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, etc.) devotes a chapter each to the last 10 days of 1941 plus New Year’s Day. He describes the Wehrmacht’s epic winter debacle in Russia and Japan’s advances across Asia with dazzling detail. The primary focus, however, remains on events in Washington enlivened by the presence of Churchill, who invited himself shortly after Pearl Harbor. A reluctant Roosevelt would have preferred to use the time to organize the nation for war; nevertheless, he welcomed the prime minister. Roy Jenkins, a later cabinet member, compared Churchill “to a real-life version of The Man Who Came to Dinner.” U.S. brass worried about FDR’s susceptibility to his famous charisma—which was on full display as Churchill extended his stay in the White House, captivated the media, and delivered stirring addresses to Congress and radio audiences. Weintraub does not exaggerate what followed, but readers will enjoy his opinionated portraits of the allied leaders as they hammered out strategy, much of which was rendered irrelevant by subsequent events. Photos. (Dec.)
“A story of two men of very different personalities and proclivities, Pearl Harbor Christmas is also a recounting of the early days of United States entry into a war that had been going very much as the Axis powers wished. Weintraub neatly juxtaposes the smaller story of the two world leaders' ideas and personalities with the larger one of events in the war itself.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/4/11
“For the World War II buff, this book may have some interest.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12/4/11
“A brief but authoritative account of 11 days—Dec. 22, 1941 through Jan. 1, 1942—during which the course of the global war began to shift profoundly. [Weintraub's] ability to meld together so many disparate elements…in such a short, swift-moving book is exemplary.”
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 12/4/11
“A fascinating account of Churchill's history-making visit…Carefully chronicled…Contains rich anecdotal material involving the colorful prime minister…Worth reading as an account of what went on behind the scenes in the decision making that forged the strategies that led the Allies to victory.”
St. George Independent, 12/15/2013
“[An] absorbing story.”
Kirkus Reviews, 4/15/11
“A vivid 11-day account of a World War II holiday…A master chronicler, Weintraub's moody, intensively researched play- by-play narrative traces the final days of 1941. Ruminations, anecdotes and creatively reimagined scenarios crisply capture all of the minute details of the time and sequences of events…Erudite, sweeping and contemplative—classic Weintraub.”
Booklist, 11/15/11
Prolific historian Weintraub (Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce) again ties an epic piece of history to its holiday season. The period immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when the country was still in shock, has not been well covered. The primary story here is of Prime Minister Churchill sailing across the U-boat-infested North Atlantic to confer with President Roosevelt to map out the general strategy that would win the war. Americans were finding it hard to transition to a wartime status: there were still traditional celebrations, such as the lighting of the national Christmas tree, despite new blackout regulations. This is a more human World War II book, not of policy details, but of people trying to figure out how to proceed, with the focus on two titans of the Western Alliance (who both enjoyed a good smoke and a drink). VERDICT A chronology and maps would be helpful, but this stirring book is recommended for all history buffs and general readers interested in this human—and holiday—take on the war.
Starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and continuing through the creation of the United Nations at the start of 1942, Stanley Weintraub tracks the first days of U.S. involvement in WWII. Narrated by Malcolm Hilgartner, the account has the urgency of news bulletins as it juxtaposes battles and diplomatic efforts with holiday preparations. He gives figures such as Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt appropriates tones of gravitas in a historic meeting. Bringing alive a last Christmas of plenty before wartime deprivations hit the U.S. public foreshadows the dramatic effects of WWII. The book reveals December 1941 as a key month in U.S. history. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
A vivid 11-day account of a World War II holiday.
As in previous volumes on Christmastime during critical moments in history (General Sherman's Christmas: Savannah, 1864, 2009, etc.), prolific biographer and military historian Weintraub dramatically recaps the last week and a half of late December 1941. The author's treatment of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor centers on two "open wartime allies," Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, both united under pessimistic speculation to review global strategies. Churchill's much-ballyhooed attendance at the White House summit was beneficial yet was somewhat marred during a train trip, where he solemnly viewed Virginia's placid, colorfully lit holiday scenery, a stark contrast to his decrepit wartime British homeland. A master chronicler, Weintraub's moody, intensively researched play-by-play narrative traces the final days of 1941. Ruminations, anecdotes and creatively reimagined scenarios crisply capture all of the minute details of the time and sequences of events. Adolph Hitler's sarcasm bleeds through in dispatches of his Nazi reign of terror as Christmas Eve at the White House became a tangle of lights and red ribbon, strained public speeches by the president and prime minister and strategic second-guessing. The author brilliantly juxtaposes the horror and violence of war with the tender nostalgia of Christmas, including gift ideas where "a new Ford or Chevrolet, both soon to be unobtainable, cost $900." Weintraub cites war memoirs, military dispatches, speeches and diary entries, all to great effect, and he deftly captures the period-authentic food and dress of his subjects (including cameos by the sage, cautionary Eleanor Roosevelt) and the chaotic, edgy essence of battle.
Erudite, sweeping and contemplative—classic Weintraub.
| BN ID: | 2940169573817 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 11/01/2011 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
