Rating: Summary: The Common People's Pearl Harbor Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Humanized account of the Pearl Harbor attack Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Humanized account of the Pearl Harbor attack Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Slight, but compelling, account of that 'Day of Infamy' Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Like I Was There.... Review: Outstanding, outstanding, outstanding!!! This book is a must read for anyone who has the slightest interest in the history of the Pearl Harbor attack. From the planning stages of the Japanese attack to the response and eventual declaration of war by the United States, it is all covered here. Lord has done a fantastic job of getting all sides to the story and truly puts you in Oahu on December 7, 1941. The courage shown by U.S. military personnel and civilians is inspiring and, in their own way, the courage of the Japanes pilots who participated in the attack also shines through. Put this book on your to buy list! Also recommended: The Greatest Generation; Blind Man's Bluff
Rating: Summary: A Classic Account of December 7th Review: Popular author and historian Walter Lord has written an excellent book dealing with the attack on Pearl Harbor. This book is different from others on the subject because it deals strictly with the attack itself instead of covering the events leading up to the attack. It wasn't written to be an all-encompassing book about diplomatic manuvering and behind-the-scenes negotiations. Lord's purpose was to describe the attack itself, and he accomplishes his thesis very well. Lord starts his story in the early morning hours of December 7 describing the last night of peace in Hawaii. Many of the servicemen had been attending parties and dances like any other Saturday night. There was no inkling of the impending attack. Lord does an excellent job of describing the events from both an American and Japanese perspective. Extreme attention is paid to the preparation of the Japanese pilots and crews. He also describes the conditions in Honolulu and aboard the ships anchored in Pearl Harbor. Many of the sailors were returning to their ships from a night out,while others were planning to spend a lazy Sunday ashore. Civillian accounts of the attack are also included in the narrative. In the span of approximately two hours, the Japanese severely crippled the U.S Pacific Fleet. Over 2000 service personnel were killed and many hundreds more injured. Scores of airplanes were destroyed, and many ships sunk or damaged. (However, the only ships that were complete losses were the Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah. All others were repaired and returned to service later in the war). Japanese losses were light; twenty nine aircraft shot down and five midget submarines sunk. This book does an excellent job of describing the attack itself. I've read dozens of books about Pearl Harbor, and I would rate this as one of the best. However, I caution the reader that this book deals strictly with the attack itself. For information about the diplomatic aspect of the attack, I would recommend Gordon Prange's "At Dawn We Slept".
Rating: Summary: A Classic Account of December 7th Review: Popular author and historian Walter Lord has written an excellent book dealing with the attack on Pearl Harbor. This book is different from others on the subject because it deals strictly with the attack itself instead of covering the events leading up to the attack. It wasn't written to be an all-encompassing book about diplomatic manuvering and behind-the-scenes negotiations. Lord's purpose was to describe the attack itself, and he accomplishes his thesis very well. Lord starts his story in the early morning hours of December 7 describing the last night of peace in Hawaii. Many of the servicemen had been attending parties and dances like any other Saturday night. There was no inkling of the impending attack. Lord does an excellent job of describing the events from both an American and Japanese perspective. Extreme attention is paid to the preparation of the Japanese pilots and crews. He also describes the conditions in Honolulu and aboard the ships anchored in Pearl Harbor. Many of the sailors were returning to their ships from a night out,while others were planning to spend a lazy Sunday ashore. Civillian accounts of the attack are also included in the narrative. In the span of approximately two hours, the Japanese severely crippled the U.S Pacific Fleet. Over 2000 service personnel were killed and many hundreds more injured. Scores of airplanes were destroyed, and many ships sunk or damaged. (However, the only ships that were complete losses were the Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah. All others were repaired and returned to service later in the war). Japanese losses were light; twenty nine aircraft shot down and five midget submarines sunk. This book does an excellent job of describing the attack itself. I've read dozens of books about Pearl Harbor, and I would rate this as one of the best. However, I caution the reader that this book deals strictly with the attack itself. For information about the diplomatic aspect of the attack, I would recommend Gordon Prange's "At Dawn We Slept".
Rating: Summary: The Day of Imfamy Review: The Day of Infamy was an outstanding story of the invasion of Pearl Harbor. It gave a detailed description of the Japanesse bombardment of the United States Navy. This book tells of all the navy ships that were destroyed by both the aircraft and submarines that flew in and bombarded Ford Island. It also tells of the personal battles which were fought on the land involving U.S. soldiers defending their home from invasion. It went into deep discription of the veterans and who had survived. Now that you know a little of The Day of Imfamy you can read it. Shaun Tudor
Rating: Summary: Breathtaking account Review: The gifted Walter Lord, whose NIGHT TO REMEMBER remains the definitive storytelling of the RMS Titanic tragedy, gives the same treatment to the terrible day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. A wonderful work you will be proud to have on your bookshelf.
Rating: Summary: terrific history Review: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the rare historic events whose significance and continuing ramifications it is probably impossible to overstate. What If? games are inherently silly, however fascinating, and they can't produce any certain answers, but consider the course that history might have taken had the attack (or another like it) never occurred. To an extent that Americans no longer seem willing to concede--witness the hysterical reaction to Pat Buchanan's musings on the subject--Pearl Harbor was the proximate cause of the United States' entry into World War II. But for the attack, it is entirely possible that America would have safely sat out the War. This in turn would have meant either a bloody stalemate between Nazi Germany and the USSR or victory by one, followed by a debilitating attempt to control the European land mass. Meanwhile, Japan would have had a free hand to completely overextend itself in the South Pacific. Ultimately, the victorious Axis powers, and/or the Soviets, would have collapsed of their own weight. The Cold War would have been avoided and along with it the fifty year long economic displacement that the U. S. suffered through. Or suppose that Japan had simply declared war before attacking : would the lack of the "sneak" in the attack have made enough of an emotional difference for Americans not to have imprisoned our own Japanese-American population or not to drop the atomic bombs on Japan ? Well, you get the picture; we're talkin' big, big deal here. What makes this event all the more remarkable is how utterly futile it was. Even if the bombings had been completely successful and all the U. S. Naval ships in port that day had been destroyed (in fact, only two battleships, one target ship, and two destroyers were permanently lost), what good would that have done Japanese war aims ? At best it might have bought them a very little extra time in which to try to expand, and thus further overextend, their Empire. There was never any chance that the Japanese could actually attack the American mainland, which meant that the U. S. would have the opportunity to rebuild those ships at her leisure. And, once entered into the War, it was inevitable that the U. S. would defeat Japan and Germany. Pearl Harbor was essentially a national suicide mission by the Japanese. One natural outgrowth of the importance of this episode is that for sixty years now there have been all kinds of recriminations and conspiracy theories surrounding the events of December 7, 1941. Volumes have been written about what Roosevelt knew and when he knew it. Ditto for Churchill. U. S. Intelligence services have taken a beating. The various military commanders have been blamed. And so on, and so forth, with the unfortunate result that most versions of the day's events have some axe or another to grind. One exception to this rule is Walter Lord's thrilling moment-by-moment account of the attack in his great book, Day of Infamy. Ignoring all of the controversies and avoiding any finger pointing, Lord simply reconstructs, as best anyone can, what happened on that fateful day. His thoroughness is staggering. He interviewed some 577 participants, both Japanese and American, and their recollections give the story an extraordinary level of intimacy and immediacy (for a similar effect see a more recent book on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton). Though Lord masterfully imposes order on the material, these first hand accounts convey a sense of just how chaotic things were during and after the bombings. And he captures a sense of the violation that Americans felt in the wake of the attack. Standards of conduct in warfare have fallen so far since then that it's easy to forget how outraged all of America was by this perfidious action. Literally overnight, a healthy and so far triumphant Isolationist movement dissipated, as even the most vocal advocates of staying out of the War, voiced their commitment to avenging this wrong. I've been a huge fan of Walter Lord's books since I was a kid. [In fact, I was shocked to hear that he's still alive.] In addition to this one, he's written excellent books about the sinking of the Titanic, A Night to Remember, and about the War of 1812, The Dawn's Early Light. Not that these are specifically kids' books, but they have a couple of things that recommend them. Lord writes clearly and concisely. Wherever possible he relies on the accounts of people who were there. And, because he doesn't seek to place blame or provoke argument, the stories are populated by heroes, rather than goats. Best of all they are truly exciting. This sixtieth-anniversary edition of Day of Infamy has a cover blurb saying that one million copies of the book have been sold; here's hoping they sell a million more. GRADE : A
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