Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History

by Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon

Overview

The New York Times–bestselling authors of Miracle at Midway delve into the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII in “a superb work of history” (Albuquerque Journal Magazine).

In the predawn hours of December 7, 1941, a Japanese carrier group sailed toward Hawaii. A few minutes before 8:00 a.m., they received the order to rain death on the American base at Pearl Harbor, sinking dozens of ships, destroying hundreds of airplanes, and taking the lives of over two thousand servicemen. The carnage lasted only two hours, but more than seventy years later, terrible questions remain unanswered.

How did the Japanese slip past the American radar? Why were the Hawaiian defense forces so woefully underprepared? What, if anything, did American intelligence know before the first Japanese pilot shouted “Tora! Tora! Tora!”? In this incomparable volume, Pearl Harbor experts Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, and Katherine V. Dillon tackle dozens of thorny issues in an attempt to determine who was at fault for one of the most shocking military disasters in history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504049283
Publisher:	Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Pages:	622
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gordon W. Prange (1910–1980) was a professor of history at the University of Maryland and a World War II veteran. He served as the chief historian on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff during the postwar military occupation of Japan. His 1963 Reader’s Digest article “Tora! Tora! Tora!” was later expanded into the acclaimed book At Dawn We Slept. After Prange’s death, his colleagues Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon completed several of his manuscripts, including At Dawn We Slept. Other works that Goldstein and Dillon finished include Miracle at Midway; Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History; December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor; and Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring.

Donald M. Goldstein (1931–2017) was a retired United States Air Force officer; professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught for thirty-five years; a winner of two Peabody Awards; and author of many books. He also taught at the Air Force Academy, the Air War College, the Air Command and Staff College, the University of Tampa, and Troy State University. He was considered the leading authority on the Pearl Harbor attack.

Katherine V. Dillon (1916–2005) was a chief warrant officer, United States Air Force (retired), and longtime collaborator with Gordon W. Prange and Donald M. Goldstein on their work. She served during World War II and the Korean War.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	vii
	Preface	xiii
	List of Major Personnel	xix
	Abbreviations	xxiii
	Prologue	xxxi
Part I	The Base and the Summit
1.	"We Were All Out There"	3
2.	"Slow in Waking Up"	15
3.	"Too Deeply to Bury Their Hate"	34
4.	"Bait for a Japanese Attack"	45
5.	"To Avoid War with Japan"	66
6.	"He Had Supreme Responsibility"	91
7.	"On Lines of National Policy"	105
8.	"Looking in the Wrong Direction"	121
Part II	Advisers, Planners, and Chiefs
9.	"With Knives and Hatchets"	141
10.	"Unsurmountable Obstacles"	158
11.	"Crimination and Recrimination"	177
12.	"To Help and Serve"	194
13.	"Faults of Omission"	212
14.	"Outside of Effective Contact"	233
15.	"A Finger of Blame"	248
16.	"Primarily a Failure of Men"	267
17.	"The Pitfalls of Divided Responsibility"	285
18.	"A Lack of Imagination"	298
19.	"East Wind Rain"	312
Part III	Field Commanders and Operators
20.	"A Sentinel on Duty"	333
21.	"Alerted to Prevent Sabotage"	348
22.	"The Failure to Comprehend"	363
23.	"An Important Man in an Important Post"	384
24.	"Peculiar, Complicated and Tense"	398
25.	"Always Striving for Perfection"	416
26.	"His Most Grievous Failure"	430
27.	"The Last Critical Stages"	446
28.	"It Is Inexplicable"	464
Part IV	The View from the Crow's Nest
29.	"Blessed by the War God"	479
30.	"A Strategic Imbecility"	498
31.	"A Mental Attitude"	516
32.	"In the Wake of the Pearl Harbor Disaster"	532
33.	"Remember Pearl Harbor!"	549
	Appendices
1.	The Pearl Harbor Investigations	647
2.	Japanese Proposals of November 20, 1941	650
3.	"War Warning" Messages of November 27, 1941	651
4.	Proposed Modus Vivendi	653
5.	Japan's "Bomb Plot" Message	656
6.	The Hull Note of November 26, 1941	657
7.	Popov Questionnaire	660
	Selected Bibliography	663
	Index	677

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent book confirms that the story behind the attack on Pearl Harbor . . . can match a good detective yarn for suspense and complexity. . . . The authors of Pearl Harbor are first-rank historical gumshoes.” —Chicago Tribune

“Vast, precise, and satisfying.” —Houston Chronicle

“History of the very best kind: thorough, judicious, and restrained.” —The Examiner (San Francisco)

“Logically organized and clearly presented . . . a useful introduction and guide to the major arguments and areas of controversy.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A more important clue to explaining the Pearl Harbor disaster than even the most intriguing revelations about code breaking or espionage.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Mr Prange has been called the ‘dean of Pearl Harbor historians.’ The accolade—with appropriate credit to his associates—is deserved.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A superb work of history, with clear and thoughtful insights into America’s greatest military disaster.” —Albuquerque Journal Magazine

“By all odds the last word on the subject.” —The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

“A superb sequel to At Dawn We Slept.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

This excellent book confirms that the story behind the attack on Pearl Harbor...can match a good detective yarn for suspense and complexity...The authors of Pearl Harbor are first-rank historical gumshoes.

Chicago Tribune

Mr. Prange has been called the "dean of Pearl Harbor historians." The accolade—with appropriate credit to his associates—is deserved.

Wall Street Journal