Penguin Classic Military History S.
2 total works
How much of a surprise was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour? History has tended to blame the two commanders of Hawaii's military installations, Admiral Kimmel and General Short, for the unpreparedness of the Pacific Fleet for battle. However, a closer examination of the events leading up to the attack suggests that these two men were merely scapegoats and that the responsibility lies elsewhere - with Washington. Among the many questions explored in this superbly researched book are: why were America's supreme military commanders so lackadaisical about relaying vital information to their subordinates? Did Roosevelt actually know of the Japanese carrier force approaching Hawaii? Was the war with Japan necessary at all? Using the most recent documentary evidence and interviews with witnesses who have never spoken up before, John Toland has produced the most comprehensive account of this great drama.
The Pacific conflict changed the face of history, plunging the world into total war and heralding the ominous beginning of the atomic age. This Pulitzer Prize-winning history, told primarily from the Japanese viewpoint, traces the dramatic fortunes of the Empire of the Sun from the invasion of Manchuria to the dropping of the atomic bomb, demolishing many myths surrounding this catastrophic conflict. Why did the dawn air attack of Peal Harbour occur? Was war inevitable? Was the Emperor a puppet or a warmonger? And, finally, what inspired the barbaric actions of those who fought, and who speak here of the unspeakable - murder, cannibalism and desertion? The product of years of research and interviews with almost five hundred people, including President Truman and survivors of the horrors at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this is a definitive, monumental account.