Overview

A new, readable account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. What happened at Pearl Harbor? What really happened? The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is one of those rare moments where, in the space of a few hours, the hinge of Fate turned and the course of history was utterly changed. Nearly eight decades later, it has become one of those events which almost everyone knows of, but hardly anyone seems to know about. How and why did the Empire of Japan and the United States of America collide on blood and flames that Sunday morning when the sun rose and the bombs fell? Pearl: The 7th Day of December 1941 is the story of how America and Japan, two nations with seemingly little over which to quarrel, let peace slip away, so that on that day which will live in infamy, more than 350 dive bombers, high-level bombers, torpedo planes, and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy did their best to cripple the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet, killing 2,403 American servicemen and civilians, and wounding another 1,178. It's a story of emperors and presidents, diplomats and politicians, admirals and generals and it's also the tale of ordinary sailors, soldiers, and airmen, all of whom were overtaken by a rush of events that ultimately overwhelmed them. Pearl shows the real reasons why the America's political and military leaders underestimated Japan's threat America's security, and why their Japanese counterparts ultimately felt compelled to launch the Pearl Harbor attack. Pearl offers more than superficial answers, showing how both sides blundered their way through arrogance, over-confidence, racism, bigotry, and old-fashioned human error to arrive at the moment when the Japanese were convinced that there was no alternative to war. Once battle is joined, Pearl then takes the reader into the heart of the attack, where the fighting men of both nations showed that neither side had a monopoly on heroism, courage, cowardice, or luck, as they fought to protect their nations. AUTHOR: Daniel Allen Butler, a maritime and military historian, is the bestselling author of Unsinkable The Full Story of RMS Titanic, Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War, and The First Jihad: The Battle for Khartoum and the Dawn of Militant Islam. He is an internationally recognized authority on maritime subjects. Butler lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Daniel Allen Butler was educated at Hope College, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Erlangen. 40 photographs

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9781612009384

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...[Butler] has done his homework and skillfully and carefully constructed summaries of older and recent findings making this volume a valuable source for any reader. -- Naval Historical Foundation This book will be of great interest to military historians... -- AMPS Indianapolis Much like his previous works, Dan Butler's account of the Pearl Harbor attack is simultaneously sweeping and intimate. Written for the layman but with enough detail to satisfy even the most fastidious historian, Pearl is an eminently readable and engrossing account of the actions that pulled America into the Second World War. A valuable addition to any bookshelf, with many last words documented from veterans of the attack who are sadly no longer able to share their own stories.--Parks Stephenson

This book will be of great interest to military historians... -- AMPS Indianapolis Much like his previous works, Dan Butler's account of the Pearl Harbor attack is simultaneously sweeping and intimate. Written for the layman but with enough detail to satisfy even the most fastidious historian, Pearl is an eminently readable and engrossing account of the actions that pulled America into the Second World War. A valuable addition to any bookshelf, with many last words documented from veterans of the attack who are sadly no longer able to share their own stories.--Parks Stephenson

This well-researched and very well-written book offers probably the best overall summary available of the military, economic and diplomatic events leading to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and of its inevitable outcome. * Baird Maritime 27/04/2021 * This is a very readable book, and is strongly recommended to NR members, particularly those having only a passing understanding of the events that, 80 years ago, that finally drew America into WWII. * Naval Review 13/09/2021 *

Author Information

Daniel Allen Butler, a maritime and military historian, is a bestselling author and internationally recognised authority on maritime subjects. Butler lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He was educated at Hope College, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Erlangen.

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