First Shot: The Untold Story of the Japanese Minisubs That Attacked Pearl Harbor

The midget subs launched into the attack at Pearl Harbor is an interesting small part of the whole Pearl Harbor story. The story of the 'Ward' firing on the sub is well know. We know that the 'Ward' then reported the incident and that it was ignored, beginning a logn sequence of What If's. This book tells the story of the midget subs at Pearl. It also goes into the story of midget subs in general from the Italian frogmen, the British designs, and more. Other incidents in the war that touch on the subject are covered as well, such as Yamamoto and his meeting with the P-38's. Two points particularly stand out. His analysis of the Japanese view of the war. The abject denial that seems to be underway in Japan as if they were going along one day and then the atomic bombs began to fall. Second is his story of the sub the 'Ward' fired on. He didn't finish the story until the Epilogue at the end of the book, so I'm not going to say what happened. After all, if I had to wait and wait and wait until reading to the end of the book you should too. All I can say is that it's a good thing that the book was so interesting as to make it worth the wait.

I came across this book shortly after I saw Pearl Harbor for the first time. It was fascinating to be able to visualize the location and think about how things might have been different. Particularly, just after the visit, the book helped me to realize the true magnitude of the tragedy of that day. . . I recommend it to anyone with an interest in WWII, or just history itself and the way seemingly random events can have such impact on how it is formed.

Craddock discusses midget submarines used in all wars and then concentrates on the midget Japanese submarine sunk by a U.S. destroyer an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and what might have happened if the message about the sinking had reached the right authorities. Along the way we learn about a fascinating man, the Japanese admiral, Yamamoto, who planned the Pearl Harbor attack and also about efforts to find the sunken sub.

I know for a fact that Julia Craddock was the inspiration of this book. This book provides you with factual information and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would most definately recommend this book because it is AMAZING!!