The Japanese, by contrast, lost only 29 planes. Hundreds of planes were destroyed or damaged. Arizona, which blew up about 15 minutes into the raid, and 17 other ships were either sunk or crippled. Thousands of Americans were killed or wounded. The whole assault lasted about two hours. 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 Japanese scan Hawaiian radio stations to see if their moves have been detected a U.S. 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. 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.
The recent success of Letters from Iwo Jima may attract readers who would otherwise shy away from military history fiction.ĭay of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor Gingrich and Forstchen, though adept at bigger-picture issues, falter when it comes to establishing and developing characters FDR, Churchill and Hirohito come across as caricatures who move the plot along by mouthing historically appropriate lines, while the soldier-heroes exist to explain their nation’s point-of-view to the reader. How this affects the war’s outcome will be revealed in the sequel.
In this case, the Japanese attack far more vigorously and devastate a larger chunk of the U.S. Fans of the authors will expect their trademark “alternative” ending. The authors’ research shines in accurate accounts of diplomatic maneuvering as well as the nuts-and-bolts of military action, beginning with the Japanese invasion of China. The attack on Pearl Harbor occupies the final quarter of the book, and the extensive leadup begins in 1930s Japan and provides readers not well versed in Japanese history a decent thumbnail sketch of Japanese culture and the events that preceded the attack. Having completed their Civil War trilogy, ex–House Speaker Gingrich and historian Forstchen return their attention to World War II (they previously collaborated on 1945).