Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History

Over the years, there has developed a "revisionist" group of historians who claimed FDR Knew in advance about the impending attack on Pearl Harbor and he did nothing to stop it. In this excellent book by Gordon Prange, this somewhat questionable viewpoint is thoroughly destroyed. One of the revisionists' claims is that the radio stations on the West Coast were able to track the Japanese fleet due to their radio signals. This is impossible, since the Japanese fleet NEVER broke radio silence, and, in fact, had their transmitters removed from thier radios all together. Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilot who led the attack, also said that "the force maintained the strictest radio silence throughout the cruise". Revisionists also believed, according to Prange, that if the Japanese task force would have been discovered, it would have turned back. Again, this is not true. The Japanese hoped to attain surprise, but if they were to have been discovered, they were prepared to fight all the way to Pearl Harbor to deliver their attack. What Prange attempts to achieve in this excellent book is who really was to blame? In this aspect, the War Department and the commanders, Kimmel and Short, are held responsible. Prange comes down hard on the War Department for failing to notify the commanders of the intercepted "bomb plot" message. This message, intercepted by "Magic", was transmitted to Japan by a Japanese spy. It broke Pearl Harbor into several sections, which, in effect, could be interpreted as a bombing grid. This information was not transmitted to Kimmel and Short, and could have proven invaluable. But the bulk of the blame appears to fall on Kimmel, Short, and the subordinate commanders. Kimmel and Short both grossly misinterpreted the "War Warning" message dated November 27, 1941, and sent to them by Washington. Short only alerted his troops against possible sabotage and maintained his training schedule. The War Department is also to blame here, because they failed to follow up to make sure Short understood the meaning of the message. Kimmel also failed to grasp the meaning of this message, and, unfortunately, communication between the army and navy was poor at best, so very little information was shared between the commands. One must also realize, and Prange makes excellent reference to this in the book, is that the Japanese placed tremendous amounts of time, thought, and training into this mission, and they must be credited with the success of the attack. America's belief of their huge superiority in both ships and personnel was totally destroyed. Prange also covers each of the resulting investigations fully and includes excellent testimony throughout the book. In summary, this is an excellent book about the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and does a good job of refuting the revisionists and acurately placing blame.

This is an excellent book that examines the background to the Pearl Harbor attack, and does not detail the attack itself. This book takes an in depth look at the men and the assumptions that made Pearl Harbor. It searches out the flaws in the American communication system, and the flaws in the commander's thinking which determined the outcome at Pearl. The reader will be surprised at the bureaucratic stumbles that pleagued the American effort. And the reader will quickly recongnize that these same flaws exist in every government (and private) institution today. The authors take great care to quote from the hearings and documents to show their points and leave little room for argument about their conclusions. The research and the analysis are excellent in every way. And the Japanise side of the issue is examined as well. The Japanise pulled off a great feat in surprising the US at Pearl, and they managed it in large part because the US Navy recognized it would be so hard to do; thus, Kimmel and Short (the two US Commanders on the spot) thought it would not be attempted. They also thought it would not be a smart move for the Japanise, and so they assumed the Japanise would play it "smart". The Japanise, for their part, did not think the US would hesitate to fight once Japan moved toward Southeast Asia; however, they also thought the Americans would not fight for long being weak willed, and too comfortable to risk much. The interplay of this thinking makes the Pearl Harbor story compelling. What makes the book so good is the interplay between all the assumptions made by the US and its commanders and Japan and its commanders. How different the outlooks and assumptions were. It is also interesting to see how even within the US Army and Navy men of intelligence and candor could totally miscommunicate their intentions. Knowing about the details of how the attack took place is great, and one would want to read several books, including At Dawn We Slept, to discover this information - however, unless you know the information in this volume one would have missed the biggest part of the Pearl Harbor story. The "why" it happened. I highly recommend this book. AD2

The "Verdict of History" will leave you stunned and disappointed with the flustered attitude of the politicians in Washington. As Japan firmly commits to war, Roosevelt and his team of advisors remain divided on what to do. All the while, Kimmel and Short are placed on a "need to know basis" with regard to critical information. As a compliment to Prange's "At Dawn We Slept", "The Verdict of History" continues to paint an alarming picture of a divided America and it's militarily ignorant political leaders. In addition, Prange and his team of gifted writers had no way of knowing that many of the blunders that led to the attack on Pearl in 1941 would be repeated with Iraq in the 90's. Clinton's "Wait and see" philosophy with Saddam Hussein is dejavu in it's truest form. It's been said "When any society fails to learn from it's history, they are doomed to repeat it ten fold." "Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History" is being played out again. The Isolationist against the Revisionist. Like Japan, Iraq thinks only from a military perspective, with the understanding that loss of life in battle is to live forever. Once again, America and it's Isolated way of life are being challenged. The oceans can no longer protect us from the Saddam's of this world. The next step is to "wait and see." Read this book..... JJR, M.A.