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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
My experience with WWII in both personal reading and in education has primarily focused on the war in Europe or even the war in the Pacific, but those events occur after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which somehow I never really read/learned about. Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness changed all of that entirely and I now feel that I am well-versed in the many different aspects of the attack and its role in the rest of the war. These are a couple of the interesting details that I came away with:
~ “Remember Pearl Harbor” is written in Morse code in Tojo’s dentures
~ The only people who may have their cremains laid to rest at the USS Arizona memorial are those who served aboard the ship that day, otherwise, if they served at other times they may be scattered on the water
~ The most Japanese city outside Japan is Honolulu
In this book, I felt that I got a sense of the complex lead up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The diplomacy the occurred, failed, and the opportunities that were missed were staggering and wound themselves in and around so many other aspects than just simply the war that was raging in Europe. I say that I walked away with a sense of the events because I think it is really hard to have a solid grasp on issues like this when simply listening; it is too easy to get distracted and at least I am less likely to stop listening to ruminate on a section than I am if I was reading. This was a very worthwhile read.
Audiobook discussion
George Guidall has narrated many of the top-tier novels and non-fiction books on the market: books from Nathaniel Philbrick, Alex Berenson, and Eric Flint. For me, that tells me right off the bat that he is going to be a strong narrator, and I wasn’t disappointed. Guidall handled the plethora of Japanese names and translations effectively. His reading pace had alternately great energy or solemnness, depending on the needs of the section being narrated. He was engaging to listen to and kept me coming back to listen to more.
I did encounter what I believe to have been more of a production issue. I feel like I was able to notice some of the places where edits were made and sections may be re-recorded. The sound of the narrator’s voice sounded slightly off from time to time. At first I thought that it was an indication of a footnote based on a subtle change, however, I noticed that these were otherwise indicated by the word “footnote” being stated before them, leading me to believe it is an editing issue.
This review was previously posted on The Maiden's Court blog and a copy was received for review consideration.
~ “Remember Pearl Harbor” is written in Morse code in Tojo’s dentures
~ The only people who may have their cremains laid to rest at the USS Arizona memorial are those who served aboard the ship that day, otherwise, if they served at other times they may be scattered on the water
~ The most Japanese city outside Japan is Honolulu
In this book, I felt that I got a sense of the complex lead up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The diplomacy the occurred, failed, and the opportunities that were missed were staggering and wound themselves in and around so many other aspects than just simply the war that was raging in Europe. I say that I walked away with a sense of the events because I think it is really hard to have a solid grasp on issues like this when simply listening; it is too easy to get distracted and at least I am less likely to stop listening to ruminate on a section than I am if I was reading. This was a very worthwhile read.
Audiobook discussion
George Guidall has narrated many of the top-tier novels and non-fiction books on the market: books from Nathaniel Philbrick, Alex Berenson, and Eric Flint. For me, that tells me right off the bat that he is going to be a strong narrator, and I wasn’t disappointed. Guidall handled the plethora of Japanese names and translations effectively. His reading pace had alternately great energy or solemnness, depending on the needs of the section being narrated. He was engaging to listen to and kept me coming back to listen to more.
I did encounter what I believe to have been more of a production issue. I feel like I was able to notice some of the places where edits were made and sections may be re-recorded. The sound of the narrator’s voice sounded slightly off from time to time. At first I thought that it was an indication of a footnote based on a subtle change, however, I noticed that these were otherwise indicated by the word “footnote” being stated before them, leading me to believe it is an editing issue.
This review was previously posted on The Maiden's Court blog and a copy was received for review consideration.
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
Most of my knowledge of Pearl Harbor came from reading Walter Lord's classic Day of Infamy decades ago. Craig Nelson's book is not only a worthy supplement but in many ways surpasses it. Without giving away spoilers, Nelson reveals that the Japanese war leaders were even more duplicitous and, as FDR famously put it, dastardly than was previously known in regards to their diplomatic dealings with the USA. But conversely, the US also made more missteps, overlooked intelligence, and failed to react to what should have been red flags. In addition, there are other facts revealed about the aftermath that I found amazing, bordering on incredible. Small spoiler here: for example, the planned invasion of Japan was to begin with poison gas attacks by the US.
While Lord had the luxury of having many survivors to consult for Day of Infamy, Craig has the luxury of declassified and otherwise discovered material that was not available to Lord. And perhaps in deference to both the survivors and the dead, Lord conveyed the massive destruction and death but did so more delicately than Nelson. This is not a bad thing, but Pearl Harbor is more graphic and probably more realistic "you are there" picture of the horror of December 7, 1941.
I would never discourage anyone from reading Day of Infamy, it's a great piece of historical literature. But I would strongly recommend Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness as well. And with all due respect to Mr. Lord, if I had to choose I would suggest Nelson's book as being more definitive.
While Lord had the luxury of having many survivors to consult for Day of Infamy, Craig has the luxury of declassified and otherwise discovered material that was not available to Lord. And perhaps in deference to both the survivors and the dead, Lord conveyed the massive destruction and death but did so more delicately than Nelson. This is not a bad thing, but Pearl Harbor is more graphic and probably more realistic "you are there" picture of the horror of December 7, 1941.
I would never discourage anyone from reading Day of Infamy, it's a great piece of historical literature. But I would strongly recommend Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness as well. And with all due respect to Mr. Lord, if I had to choose I would suggest Nelson's book as being more definitive.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Excellent book on Pearl Harbor. Extensively research and well written.
Atrocious writing and editing. Poor fact-checking resulting in egregious errors (who is General George McArthur? Midway as AH, not AF?). No serious scholar could commit such basic mistakes. Hard pass.
At first, I am a bit reluctant to read this voluminous book, a 500+ pages detailed narrative of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I thought this single major event can be easily grasp by reading some articles and introductory histories somewhere in the Internet; also WWII offers a lot of historical and major events aside from Pearl Harbor bombing in order to understand it as a whole. I initially thought, why should I read this one? Why not instead read a definitive history of WWII in a single book? For sure, Pearl Harbor bombing history is there.
But, to my surprise, I've finished reading this one! Even though I am already pessimistic while reading its prologue, the introduction and its succeeding chapters really were page-turners. My doubts diminished and I started to appreciate the detailed accounts of this particular history.
One of the personal factors which aroused my interest in reading this book is its full-packed overview of the US-Japan relations and the Pearl Harbor bombing. It is not just the story of Pearl Harbor. Instead, it is a story before Pearl Harbor centuries ago when Japan was still an isolated country—which later explored by Matthew Perry— and the US-Japan relations' starting point. It is a story during the Pearl Harbor bombing, the detailed atrocities and personal accounts of witnesses, the diplomatic talks between the two countries to delay the pending war, and the intelligence and detailed plan behind the surprise attack of Japan that the US never have been expected. And it is also a story after the Pearl Harbor bombing, its legacies and succeeding chaos brought by this turning point in history: from the US's declaration of war against Japan, the war in the Pacific theater, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, and the strengthened US-Japan relations after the war.
Still, this two imperialist countries in our history were the same. They were both aggressors in their own terms. Americans were never the victims because of Japan's surprise attack; and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not put Japan in a pitiful state. They were both imperialistic countries who massacred, exploited, and conquered other countries in the past. And after the WWII, these two countries immediately were in good terms, while their victims were in desolation.
But, to my surprise, I've finished reading this one! Even though I am already pessimistic while reading its prologue, the introduction and its succeeding chapters really were page-turners. My doubts diminished and I started to appreciate the detailed accounts of this particular history.
One of the personal factors which aroused my interest in reading this book is its full-packed overview of the US-Japan relations and the Pearl Harbor bombing. It is not just the story of Pearl Harbor. Instead, it is a story before Pearl Harbor centuries ago when Japan was still an isolated country—which later explored by Matthew Perry— and the US-Japan relations' starting point. It is a story during the Pearl Harbor bombing, the detailed atrocities and personal accounts of witnesses, the diplomatic talks between the two countries to delay the pending war, and the intelligence and detailed plan behind the surprise attack of Japan that the US never have been expected. And it is also a story after the Pearl Harbor bombing, its legacies and succeeding chaos brought by this turning point in history: from the US's declaration of war against Japan, the war in the Pacific theater, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, and the strengthened US-Japan relations after the war.
Still, this two imperialist countries in our history were the same. They were both aggressors in their own terms. Americans were never the victims because of Japan's surprise attack; and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not put Japan in a pitiful state. They were both imperialistic countries who massacred, exploited, and conquered other countries in the past. And after the WWII, these two countries immediately were in good terms, while their victims were in desolation.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced