Book Description
Looking up from his newspaper from where he sat on the deck of the destroyer USS Dale, Harold Reichert could see the pilot plain as dayâthe leather helmet with chin strap, the goggles, and then the red rising sun painted on the plane’s fuselage. âI saw the torpedo drop and watched as it ran up on the old Utah.â
It was daybreak at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the beginning of the war, and the Dale was there; she would serve until the end, when the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered. In the words of those who manned her, the Dale’s war comes vividly to life in this first oral history of a combat ship from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. From carrier raids on Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Solomons to the bombarding of Saipan and Guam in the capture of the Marianas, from the Aleutians in the far north to strikes on Tokyo and Kobe, Tales of a Tin Can recreates the action aboard the Dale, and conveys as never before the true grit of wartime on a destroyer.
Customer Reviews:
Not a bad Navy story.......2007-09-09
As a Navy Vet and one who served for a short time on a tin can I found this book interesting. I enjoyed reading it not only from a veterans perspective but also from a historical viewpoint.
Destroyermen The Few The Proud.......2007-08-28
This is a terrific read and well reflects the lives we endured on the "greyhounds of the sea". The memories of these terrific sailors is exciting and certainly reflects the challenges that they faced again and again. Having rode many of these ships over a 30 year Navy career I would certainLY recommend this to any and all. BRAVO ZULU!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Book.......2007-06-27
If you are a serious student of history, you cannot help but enjoy this book.
All too often when telling the story of WW II, the intimate and personal day to day experiences of the individual soldier or sailor get over looked.
This book tells that story, specifically how individual sailors dealt with the day to day stress of combat operations and the death of friends and shipmates; a great read.
They were both (Anchors Aweight) good!!!.......2007-05-26
Two different books and two different stories. If you liked the fun of the ship and the good times that were there, then you'll want to read them both, Anchors Aweight and Tin Can Tales!!!
kudos for a great book.......2007-05-15
We have totally enjoyed the book. It's written as if the men were talking to you right in the room.
Book Description
Taking to heart the classic idea that those who benefit from a crime ought to be investigated, here the eminent theologian David Ray Griffin sifts through the evidence about the attacks of 9/11--stories from the mainstream press, reports from abroad, the work of other researchers, and the contradictory words of members of the Bush administration themselves--and finds that, taken together, they cast serious doubt on the official story of that tragic day. He begins with simple questions: Once radio contact was lost with the flights, why weren't jets immediately sent up ("scrambled") from the nearest military airport, something that according to the FAA's own manual is routine procedure? Why did the administration's story about scrambling jets change in the days following the attacks? The disturbing questions don't stop there: they emerge from every part of the story, from every angle, until it is impossible not to suspect the architects of the official story of enormous deception. A teacher of ethics and theology, Griffin writes with compelling logic, urging readers to draw their own conclusions from the evidence. The New Pearl Harbor is a stirring call for a thorough investigation into what happened on 9/11. It rings with the conviction that it is still possible to search for the truth in American political life.
Customer Reviews:
Bush Admin too inept to have pulled this off.......2007-08-29
Beyond referring to the easily readable Popular Mechanics article of about two years ago, which demonstrates just how the jet fuel could have brought the towers down so quickly, etc., beyond Griffin not being a structural engineer or any other kind of engineer, beyond his relying heavily on Thierry Meyssan's thoroughly debunked "The Big Lie," I can tell you the No. 1 reason not to believe the conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is in any way behind 9/11:
Look at four years of the Iraq War; look at the post-Katrina response. The George W. Bush White House is too inept to have pulled this off.
Unfortunately, neither empirical evidence nor logical reasoning have ever stood in the way of a good, er, bad, conspiracy theory.
Blew my mind - we are living a nightmare.......2007-08-17
How do I get my mind around the inevitable conclusion: that 9/11 was an inside job? All the rhetoric from Bush and Cheney about the evil-doers, the sub-humans who care nothing for human life and want to kill us: they are speaking of themselves. We have entered that phase of world history where global power is slowly, silently being seized by very evil men who stop at nothing to unfold their demonic visions. The people who died in the WTC and the Pentagon were murdered by their own govt.
A few facts from the book: The towers were full of asbestos and it was almost impossible to demolish them any other way. By pretending the collapse was caused by terrorism, citizens cannot sue Silverstein for lung damage. There seemed to be a lot of incentive on the part of the leaseholder, Silverstein, to bring them down.
There was an unprecedented fullpower shutdown the weekend prior to 9-11. All security cameras were turned off. This according to an IT guy for Fidelity named Forbes, Google him. He reported a lot of workmen with spools of wire cables that weekend, he was told that internet cables were being upgraded. Because he worked all weekend, he took Tuesday off and watched the towers collapse from home in NJ. He instantly thought it was related to the work down over the weekend.
Also, all bomb-sniffing dogs were removed from the premises 5 days prior to 9/11 -- that would be Friday. What would the dogs have sniffed if they had been there that weekend?
Read the book.
Unbelievable !!.......2007-07-16
It is astounding and almost unbelievable that the President of the United States would plan or approve such a calamitous event as the 9/11 attack. Yet, this is the conclusion to which we are led by David Griffin in his book, THE NEW PEARL HARBOR. It would have to be characterized as the most terrible immmorality; deception, lying, killing, all for ignoble motives. If this was a conspiracy perpetrated by our own government, as Griffin seems to think, it was gigantic in its scope, involving hundreds and perhaps even thousands of people. You would have to include not only the President and Vice President, but also the top echelon of the military, together with a number of their subordinates, airline executives and technicians, engineers and detonators, New York City officials such as the Mayor and the Police Commissioner, the FBI, the CIA, and the media. To expect that all of these people would remain quiet about what happened if they knew that it differed from the official account, is asking an awful lot. Surely there would be outrage, and at least a few brave souls would speak out. Even in the face of intimidation there would be some that would be defiant. This particular point is difficult for me to accept - that the conspiracy could be so well contained.
Nevertheless, though I have until now accepted the official explanation of those events on 9/11, I am now not so sure. Griffin raises a lot of questions, not just a few, about what happened, as contrasted with the reports that we all know about. He calls for a complete and unbiased investigation by someone whose integrity cannot be questioned, who is beholden to no party or view, and cannot be compromised. I am in complete agreement with that view.
If this is what our government has done to its own people, we are in the gravest peril. It is immoral and treasonous and is not a tactic or strategy we can accept. If the allegations in this book are true, we citizens have a duty to clean house and vote out every single incumbent from office and elect fresh new people, those without political pedigrees. Even for the presidency, we should elect some relatively unknown figure, rather than any politician who has been feeding us a line these past years.
Chapter 7 is entitled DID US OFFICIALS HAVE REASONS FOR ALLOWING 9/11 ?
The author says that 9/11 was the "official" excuse for invading Afghanistan, the beginning of the War on Terrorism. Griffin asserts that the real reason was to establish bases to guard a proposed oil and gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to the Indian Ocean, running through Afghanistan and Pakistan. He further asserts that the written records of some top government officials indicate strongly that we invaded Iraq to "guard" their oil reserves (for ourselves ?). It is likely the oil supply will remain important to us for the foreseeable future. Instead of looking to the mideast for this supply, why don't we begin to mine our own HUGE oil reserves in Utah and Colorado, said to be greater even than those in the Gulf region? It is much more difficult to get this oil, and the process is much more expensive, but it would be an alternative to dependence on foreign oil and we wouldn't have go to war. Scientists and geologists are working now to develop and improve this process. Whatever the cost, the government could and should fund it.
For me the jury is still out. It is unthinkable that our government could plan and instigate the 9/11 attack and do this dastardly deed to its own citizens. But more than enough questions have been raised by Griffin to demand a complete investigation. I'm willing to endure the unpleasantness if we get to the truth.
This is a must-read !
Questioning your government is patriotic.......2007-06-27
Every American should read this book -- questioning the actions of our government is the duty of every American.
cashing in on 911.......2007-06-08
This book's conspiracy theories are so bad, you have to think the author is simply cashing in on 911. dispicable. example- why were'nt jets scrambled to intercept the hijacked aircraft from a closer USAF base? answer: We did scramble from the nearest base that had fighters on alert. True, Mcguire AFB is closer, but only if you were we going to launch a tanker or cargo aircraft. Book is complete fiction.
Product Description
The Naval Institute Press is pleased to make available for the first time this cloth edition of a now-classic war memoir that was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s. Originally published as a paperback in 1961, it has long been treasured by World War II buffs and professional historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The book has been credited with correcting errors in U.S. accounts of various battles and with revealing details of high-level Imperial Japanese Navy strategy meetings. The author, Captain Tameichi Hara, was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain. Called the workhorses of the navy, Japanese destroyers shouldered the heaviest burden of the surface war and took part in scores of intense sea battles, many of which Captain Hara describes here. In the early days of the war victories were common, but by 1943, the lack of proper maintenance of the destroyers and sufficient supplies, along with Allied development of scientific equipment and superior aircraft, took its toll. On April 7, 1945, during the Japanese navy s last sortie, Captain Hara managed to survive the sinking of his own ship only to witness the demise of the famed Japanese battleship Yamato off Okinawa. A hero to his countrymen, Captain Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled (he wrote the manual on torpedo warfare), hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders. The book s popularity over the past forty-six years testifies to the author s success at writing an objective account of what happened that provides not only a fascinating eyewitness record of the war, but also an honest and dispassionate assessment of Japan s high command. Captain Hara s sage advice on leadership is as applicable today as it was when written. For readers new to this book and for those who have read and re-read their paperback editions until they have fallen apart, this new hardcover edition assures them a permanent source of reference and enjoyment.
Customer Reviews:
A good view of naval history.......2007-09-10
Excellent view of the naval WWII war in the Pacific from the viewpoint of a knowledgeable Japanese officer who was in many of the battles. Very readable and informative.
Five stars and two thumbs up!.......2007-08-07
I read this book in paperback the summer before I started college in 1972. I still have the old Ballantine paperback in my personal library here in my office - along with many other classic WWII memoirs and histories which were released between the early '60's and '70's - and they remain to this day the backbone of any historians efforts to understand the conflict from a human perspective.
Hara was there. Regardless of the rhetoric,and the apologetics of his stance, it's impossible to argue with the eyewitness accounts he provides, and the detail of his style.
He creates at once a sympathetic and enthralled audience for his side of the story - one which needed telling, and which wasn't available until he committed it to print.
An enduring classic; this one belongs on the shelf of any person who wants to thoroughly understand the Pacific War.
Japanese Destroyer Captain...WWII.......2007-06-11
I recently had the oppertunity to read "Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway-The Great Naval Battles as seen Through Japanese Eyes.
Tameichi Hara paints an interesting palet of not just the Naval engagments, but the social and economic upheavels in Japan during the war. The hardships he mentions on the civilian population were horrendous, and the reader soon realizes that the "bitter taste" of war is universal for every nation that finds itself at war.
The Naval battles and discription of those engagements was enough to give the "arm-chair" Admirals and Captains cold chills, however, sometimes I felt that Tameichi Hara was too redundent, and...much more of a tactician than I wanted to read about.
Overall, a very good book, and one worth reading for anyone who has the slightist interest in history, and Naval wafare.
Outlines the life of a Japanese Destroyer Captain in the Pacific conflict 1941-45.......2007-06-11
I first read this book in the early 1970's, on the life of Tameichi Hara and his activities while a destroyer captain during the Pacific conflict in World War Two. I found it a very interesting read, on his life and what led up to his involvement in most of the major actions against the U.S. Pacific fleet, especially in the Solomon Islands. The book is well written and kept me just as entranced the second time as it did the first. It is refreshing to have a Japanese version of the events instead of an American one. Well recommended.
Through Japanese Eyes..........2007-06-10
Growing up, I read as much as I could of the Pacific Theater during World War II. I was disappointed that so much was available from the U.S. side, with very little published on the Japanese side. Of course one reason for that was so many Japanese died during the war. So it was a great pleasure to find this book. Hara fought in almost every major surface engagement during the war, and still lived to tell about it. As another reviewer wrote, Hara gets into some of the technical aspects, notably his work before the war on the "Long Lance" torpedo. This weapon was one of the few systems that was superior to the allies- and was a surprise to them in 1941. It had extremely long range and a large warhead and was used with devestating effect during the night battles around Guadalcanal, many of which Hara was an eyewitness of.
In short, if you are interested in WW2 Naval History, this book is a "must have" for your library.
Book Description
"A Thrilling Tale of the Attack That Marked America’s Darkest Day"
---W.E.B. Griffin
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech on December 8, 1941, lasted a mere six and half minutes. But his words and tone—in a monologue that would later be named the Infamy Speech—sent ripples into a nation and a world that continue even today. The historical implications that emerged from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were unprecedented, launching America not only into the depths of a dangerous war, but forever altering the safety and comfort of everyday living. December 8th became a day of speaking out publicly and declaring war; of action, battle, plotting, and victories. This date’s significance is resonant and profound as an indelible moment in American history.
Fresh from their series on the American Civil War, bestselling authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen now launch a new epic adventure by applying their imaginations and knowledge to the “Date of Infamy”—the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor covers the full spectrum of characters and events from that historic moment, from national leaders and admirals to the views of ordinary citizens caught in the chaos of war. From the chambers of the Emperor of Japan to the American White House, from the decks of aircraft carriers to the playing fields of the Japanese Naval Academy, this powerful story stretches from the nightmare slaughter of China in the 1930s to the lonely office of Commander James Watson, an American cryptographer, who suspects the impending catastrophic attack. It is a story of intrigue, double-dealing, the horrific brutality of war, and the desperate efforts of men of reason on both sides to prevent a titanic struggle that becomes inevitable.
Gingrich and Forstchen’s now critically acclaimed approach, which they term “active history,” examines how a change in but one decision might have profoundly altered American history. In Pearl Harbor, they pose the question of how the presence of but one more man within the Japanese attacking force could have transfigured the war. More than a retelling, the book also serves as a potent warning, valid still today as an example of what happens when communications and understanding breaks down, and a nation is ill-prepared for the onslaught that might ensue.
A compelling, meticulously researched saga, Pearl Harbor is also a novel of valor about those who took part in this cataclysmic moment in world history. It inaugurates a dramatic new Pacific War series that begins with the terrifying account of the day that started it all.
Praise for Pearl Harbor:
“A politician and a novelist, each an accomplished historian in his own right, are emerging as master authors of alternative history. In this ‘what if’ treatment of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen combine their talents to make the diplomacy as suspenseful as the combat, even for readers who know what happens next---or think they know. The authors’ mastery of both the broad sweep of events and the details of naval war and military technology give their counterfactual scenarios an unusual degree of plausibility, concluding with a version of the Japanese attack that guarantees a fictional Pacific war even more terrible than the one that began on December 7, 1941.”
-- Dennis Showalter, former president of the Society of Military Historians
“The book is not only a great read, it is a fascinating historical story that applies today in Iraq as it did in the Western Pacific in the late ’30s and ’40s.”
---Captain Alex Fraser (Ret.)
“Gingrich and Forstchen have done it again. Building on their successful collaboration on their Civil War trilogy that so skillfully combined real history with fiction, they have with Pearl Harbor happily inaugurated another new series. You will not want to put it down, but when you finish you will look, as I do, with great anticipation to the next book.”
---Chief of Police William J. Bratton, Los Angeles Police Department
"Masterful storytelling that not only captures the heroic highs and hellish lows of that horrific day which lives on in infamy---it resonates with today’s conflicts and challenges."
---William E. Butterworth IV, New York Times Best-selling Author of The Saboteurs
Customer Reviews:
Interesting story despite weak characterization.......2007-10-16
In any story about the Pearl Harbor attack, the attack itself is going to be one of the central "characters," and the narrative of the attack is almost inevitably going to be the most dramatic part of the plot. That's just as well in this case, as I found "Pearl Harbor" by Gingrich and Forstchen to be an interesting and mildly thought-provoking novel despite being weighed down by characters to whom the reader develops (or at least this reader developed) very little personal or emotional connection.
This is an "alternative history" novel of sorts, but not the kind that assumes time travel or poses "counterfactuals" like Wendell Willkie winning the election in 1940. In fact, the point at which fiction diverges from fact in "Pearl Harbor" is so subtle that readers unfamiliar with the Pearl Harbor attack run the risk, I imagine, of never noticing where the intersection happened. The road the authors have taken, though, is a plausible one, and the consequences of that difference flow logically. It's this element I'm looking forward to seeing explored further in later books in the promised series.
What was far less satisfying, however, was the authors' character development and, frankly, their writing. For one thing, this could have used at least one more pass by a good editor to catch spelling errors ("chocks" versus "chokes;" "terra incognito"), anachronisms (would Winston Churchill really have described someone as "outside the loop" [p. 270]?), and repeated descriptions, phrases, or actions -- if I had a drink every time Fuchida "slapped his pilot on the shoulder," I'd be drunk as a senator by the time the bombs started falling.
The fictional characters here are, as I said, not particularly engaging. I realized a good part of the way through the book that I wasn't really interested in them as such, but only as pegs on which to hang the story. One I came to think of as "Captain Cecil Backstory," useful mainly for long discussions with Winston Churchill during which the authors could explain Japanese culture and politics. Real-life characters like Churchill and FDR struck me as very imprecise portraits. (I've read a lot by and about Churchill, and I know Gingrich has as well. I was surprised, therefore, by how non-Churchillian the "Churchill" in this book sounded.) The one person in the book I did find interesting, and about whom I'm looking forward to reading more in later books, was Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander of the Japanese air strikes.
Because I'm a student of the Pearl Harbor attack and have read a fair amount about it, both fiction and nonfiction, I approached this book with a certain eagerness. I'm really sorry the characterization left so much to be desired, but the plausible and interesting premise may be enough to justify it and make me want to pick up later titles.
Great read but not up to the Gettysburg series.......2007-10-16
I enjoyed this book, although I have to admit that I was disappointed because I was expecting it to be up to the Gettysburg series. It developed slowly, but once you reached the halfway point in the book it was tough to put down. You do not have to like Newt to like this book. These two guys help you easily visualize what is happening as you read.
Outstanding read!!! Hard to put down........2007-10-11
I cannot wait for the next book!!! Newt did a fantastic job intermingling fact with slight fiction that keeps the reader locked in. Cannot wait to see what comes next.
Pearl Harbor.......2007-09-28
This is an entertaining book, one that should be a "must read." I think It's primary direction is the seemingly total immersion of the pre-war Japanese life of their "warriors." It can certainly bring us forward to today's extremist "warriors" of the mid-East. Scary thoughts!
Couldn't they afford a proof-reader?.......2007-09-28
I cannot imagine why, between them, the authors and St. Martin's Press could not manage to proof-read this book! It is, ultimately, a great read. However, I have never seen so many howlingly bad errors! At one point, because of a missed comma, (page 287) the authors describe one of the main characters as stupid, which they certainly do not mean to do. That is only one of literally hundreds of typos and other errors that really are unforgivable. If they are the doing of the publisher, the authors deserve better. If they are the doing of the authors, they need to learn to proof-read. I do not recall anything similar in their surprisingly good Civil War series, though.
I repeat, this is a great read, despite the miserably poor proof-reading, as well as the authors trying (unsuccessfully) to draw analogies between the days leading up to Pearl Harbor, and the War on Terror.
Average customer rating:
- A Definite Realistic Read
- Japan vs. U.S.A.
- under the blood - red sun
- Under the blood red sun
- An amazing book!
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Under the Blood-Red Sun
Graham Salisbury
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
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ASIN: 0553494872
Release Date: 2005-04-26 |
Book Description
Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty.
World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats.
But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.
Customer Reviews:
A Definite Realistic Read.......2007-02-13
A good book that I recently read is Under the Blood Red Sun. It is a realistic historical fiction book by Graham Salisbury. It takes place on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, before, during, and after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The story is told from the point-of-view of Tomikazu (Tomi), an innocent Japanese-American boy living near Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed. Tomi must deal with racism, bullies, and cruelty.
Tomikazu is a friendly eighth-grade boy who likes to play baseball, and has consequently formed his own team, The Rats. He is loyal to his friends and will even face the crazy school bully, Keet Wilson, for them.
Billy and The rats are Tomi's best friends, being eighth grade and avid fans of baseball like he is. Billy is the friend that Tomi hangs out with the most. He is The Rat's star pitcher and is kind of shy.
From the very beginning, even before Pearl Harbor was bombed, Keet Wilson, the local bully, is a problem. He is a spoiled brat who can take down even Billy's older brother, Jake. His extremely strict father is Tomi's family's landlord, so they cannot do anything to harm him. However, after the bombing, Keet takes being mean to a whole new level. Keet reports Tomi's father and grandfather to the police, falsely accusing them of being Japanese agents. He also tells the police anything Tomi's family does, exaggerating it so it sounds like they are Japanese supporters. He kills Tomi's father's prize racing pigeons, saying that they are messenger pigeons. He also breaks Tomi's family's clothesline and spoils their water supply.
The book starts out several days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It encompasses some of The Rat's baseball games, and their friendship with another team. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed. Tomi's peaceful life erupts into chaos. Everyone is suspicious of all the Japanese, and there are several lynch mobs. His father is shot in the leg by an American aircraft and taken away when coming back from a harmless fishing trip. Many Japanese are being taken the mainland internment camps, which are places that the U.S. government built so Japanese-Americans would not spy. But what will happen to Tomi's family as the only peaceful world they had ever known is crumbling around them?
The largest theme in the book is teamwork. Tomikazu's baseball team sticks together through Pearl Harbor, other baseball games, and bullies. It is a theme that makes you think teams can pull through anything, which they usually can. Another theme is racism. Tomi struggles through the racism directed at Japanese-Americans by white Americans who feared that they were spies following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
I would recommend this book to anyone ages 11-14. It is a very good book, and deservedly won the prestigious Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It is very accurate for that timeframe, and it teaches in an entertaining way. It accurately describes the fear and racism following Pearl Harbor and gives glimpses of life in the internment camps. This book is suited for anyone who wants a realistic historical fiction or a tale with courage and bravery. The author writes this book seriously, staying on topic with very few humorous jokes, although it gives me an almost perfect mindset of where it takes place. It describes almost everything, from the dew on the leaves to the dust on the baseball diamond.
Japan vs. U.S.A........2006-11-16
BOOM!! KABOOM!! KABOOSH!!!!! Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Soon the U.S. Army declared war on Japan. This is when the action started. Tomi and his family are Japanese. During this time, Japanese people had to be careful because suddenly the U.S. Army stated arresting Japanese men. Suddenly, Tomi received a letter that said that while he was at work, his dad got arrested. A few days later, a couple of soldiers come to his house and arrested his grandpa. That left Tomi, by himself, the man of the house. Tomi now needs to take care of his little sister, Kimi, who is really scared of the bombs, and his mother who works with Keet's mom. Tomi needs to protect them and needs to be careful of Keet because if Keet sees something about Japan, he is going to tell his father. If his father finds out, Tomi and his family can lose their house. In this book, Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury, you will learn about this Japanese kid who takes care of his family during World War II.
Tomi is the main character. His life changes a lot when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He needs to face a lot of difficulties because he is Japanese. In that time people hated Japanese people because they thought all of them were part of the bombing. So they started to say, "Go back to Japan and never come back." Billy, Rico, and Moses are Tomi's best friends. They all help Tomi with some of his difficulties with other people who hate Japanese. In the book, they have a close friendship and call themselves "The Rats." Keet use to be Tomi's best friend, but when the war started between U.S.A and Japan, they weren't friends anymore. Keet's father was trying to get rid of all the Japanese in his town. So Keet spies on Tomi's family. Tomi needs to be careful because if Keet sees something of his heritage, he will tell his father and Tomi's family will get kicked out of the town they live in.
I recommend this book for people who like baseball, wars, and stories about friendship. When I first started reading this book, I liked it. It started with some action and some dialogue. For example, Tomi and Billy were playing baseball. When they got back to Tomi's house, Tomi's grandfather had the Japanese flag and showed it to the whole world. This ended with an argument and they were all chasing each other.
Before I started reading it, I thought this book was going to be boring, but then the action made me read this book completely! If you read this book, you will love it! This book made it feel as if I was part of this book. For example, all the action got me really excited and then I was so curios about was going to happen next that I couldn't stop reading. This book was exciting because the action comes right after another. You will love this book because it is filled with action. The action of this book felt like if it was real life. If you read this book, you will love it as much as I loved it.
From this book I learned that the U.S. involvement in World War II was started by the Japanese because they attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. started to arrest Japanese people. Also during that time the U.S. people started to hate Japanese people because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
So if you enjoy reading books about war and baseball, I suggest you read Under the Blood Red Sun.
under the blood - red sun.......2006-10-24
the blood red sun was an ok book. it was not the best.but there was a said part when sosera died in the store.my favorite part was when they were at the baseball game.
Under the blood red sun.......2006-10-24
I read Under the Blood Red Sun and i didn't really think it was very interesting. This was about a Japenese family that is having some trouble with descimanation. It's all going on around Pearl Harbor. But i didn't think it was exciting it kind of dragged on about the same thing. And really boring. But thats just my opinon.
An amazing book!.......2006-08-22
This is probably one of the best historical fiction books I've ever read. If you hate reading books about WWII, try reading this book and you'll soon start to like it. Under the Blood Red Sun has a wonderful plot, and it has great characters with strong personalities. I'm Japanese myself, and I really wanted to learn about Japanese history. This was the perfect book for me! I can't wait to read Eyes of the Emperor.
Book Description
At 7:53 a.m., December 7, 1941, America's national consciousness and confidence were rocked as the first wave of Japanese warplanes took aim at the U.S. Naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. As intense and absorbing as a suspense novel, At Dawn We Slept is the unparalleled and exhaustive account of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is widely regarded as the definitive assessment of the events surrounding one of the most daring and brilliant naval operations of all time. Through extensive research and interviews with American and Japanese leaders, Gordon W. Prange has written a remarkable historical account of the assault that-sixty years later-America cannot forget.
Customer Reviews:
Thorough.......2007-02-01
The best book, hands down, for information on Pearl Harbor. It will take a long time to read, but is very interesting. Miracle at Midway by the same author is just as good. Excellent pictures and hundreds of references quoted, along with personal interviews. I've seen no other book is as thorough in its approach to the subject.
Slightly outdated ,requires revision.......2006-09-13
Gordon W. Prange studied Pearl Harbor raid ,events surrounding it, for 32 yrs.The outcome is this tome.
Author is vehemently critical on Adm Husban E. Kimmel (c-in-c Pacific Fleet) and Gen Walter C. Short( commander US Land Forces
,Hawaii). Both,according to him ,lacked qualities to command forces. They failed to show imagination,foresight at a time when things were becoming explosive in the Pacific.
This is untrue.Evidence shows upon the receipt of war warning message of Nov27,1941,Adm Kimmel mounted long range reconnaissance missions north of Hawaii to detect the presence of hostile ships within the strike radius of Pearl Harbor.Unfortunately Pacific Command never had sufficent planes at its disposal to maintain an all out vigil.This never would have happened if Washington officials not denuded Pacific fleet of its strength to fight an undeclared war against German U boats in the Atlantic. As a result critical gaps in the aircover remained which Japanese exploited.
Now we know two weeks prior to attack based on intelligence furnished Cdr Joseph J. Rochefort of Hypo(combat intelligence centre of US Navy located in Pearl Harbor naval yard)Kimmel instituted a search for Japanese carrier force operating north of Hawaii.He vectored the Pacific Fleet to an area from where Japanese planned to launch their surprise assault. But his efforts were frustrated. Once White House came to know about Kimmel's manoeuvre he was told to withdraw.This was in line with official order of turning north Pacific into a 'vacant sea'.Strangely this reversal of direction has been ignored by every Pearl Harbor enquiry held from 1941-46.Regretably,neither Kimmel nor his family could recall this sortie and its unfortunate reversal.Yet it provides exculpatory evidence because after the war Kimmel was accused of not conducting precisely this type of search.
Author says Japan's expansionist designs on east Asia made Pacific war inevitable.But it should be admitted ,as latest reaearch shows , regardless of Tokyo's ambitions US hatched a plan to push that nation on the road to war.As war raged in Europe and Africa ,threatning to engulf the world,a memorandum started circulating in the corridors of power in Washington.Written by Arthur H. McCollum (dated Oct7,1940 later called 8-ction memo)head of the Far Eastern Branch of ONI,it advocated a series of measures aimed at engineering a situation wherby Japan is force to attack American ground,naval,air,forces in Hawaaii as well as British and Dutch colonial outposts in the Pacific.With FDR's connivance the plan was put into effect.
Of particular importance to the defence of Hawaii were the crucial bomb plot messages . Its timely dispatch to Short,Kimmel would have stopped the Japanese attack on its tracks.Army radio intercept station MS 5 at Fort Shafter in Oaahu was regularly intercepting messages sent to Tokyo by Japanese spy ring which contained information on the where abouts of Pacific Fleet.Information sent on lowgrade ciphers was broken read by senior officers of US Army ,Naval intelligence.This clearly pointed to a Japanese intent to attack Pearl Harbor. Instead of promptly alerting the C in C PAC Washington officials sat on it.
It is military topbrass esconced in Washington who were unfit to exercise command.Are these men so obtuse,doltish that they failed to perceive the significance of these intercepts?Such an incredulous attitude stands to reason only if they had a hidden agenda.Unfortunately,author does not hold them fully accountable for Pearl Harbor defeat. We find this disturbing pattern emerging regarding other significant Japanese intercepts.Tokyo"s reply to American ultimatum of Nov 26,1941 which came in 14 parts
,decision to present Washington an ultimatum at 1pm EST all of which portended war.
I feel Prange's book , loaded with interesting facts and information, requires revision.History of Pearl harbor raid requires fresh interpretation ;facts which have emerged based on latest research have made this indispensible.Because if we are to believe authors like Stinnet,Toland Washington officials knew the attack was coming and they were awake.
More than 60 years have passed .Pearl Harbor raid and events surrouding it have continued to intrigue and fascinate me.I read Prange's book because I wanted to get different perspective on the subject.
Time marches on ..........2006-05-24
This text should be highly valued in providing a first glance or survey of Pearl Harbor, but given the passage of time since its publication, it is now very dated.
With the release of newer materials, it should no longer be considered "definitive" or even "authoritative." It is also widely known to have several flaws (e.g., lacks the Brigg's interview) and factual errors (e.g., how are blinker lamps and signal flags "heard" in tactical radio circuits).
An Excellent Historian.......2006-02-15
I see that some reviewers were critical of "At Dawn We Slept." It should be noted that, while Dr. Prange did do the research, the book itself was put together after his death by two individuals who had previously been his graduate students. Having known Dr. Prange, I'm certain that had he survived to complete his work, the final product would have been much more satisfactory.
For the SERIOUS student of history.......2005-12-08
This book gives new meaning to the term "exhaustive!" Tons of information concerning the events leading up to, during, and following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mr. Prange details the hatching of the plot, who and when the idea was first exchanged and how it came to be put in motion. He lays out the bombing itself and the investigations that followed. It's especially insightful into the thoughts and actions of those in leadership positions, both Japanese and American, although considerably weak on the perspective of the regular people involved. One can only imagine the time and effort and PASSION the author put into researching and compiling this mountain of information.
In all honesty, this is probably a 5 star book, but it was WAY more than I was looking for, and it just wasn't very "readable." I felt bogged down in information that was largely peripheral to my interest in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I found myself at first skimming over chapters detailing the Japanese plotting and American suspicions, and eventually skipping entire chapters looking for the account of what happened that morning of December 7th, 1941. Once I found that section it was interesting (although a bit dry) and certainly reflected the chaos that must have been felt by those experiencing it first-hand. I guess what I was hoping to read was not only a comprehensive description of the events but also richly highlighted with the personal experiences of those who were there and in the middle of it, particularly the regular people whose stories aren't necessarily found in official transcripts from the government investigations.
Amazon.com
It was not long after the first Japanese bombs fell on the American naval ships at Pearl Harbor that conspiracy theories began to circulate, charging that Franklin Roosevelt and his chief military advisors knew of the impending attack well in advance. Robert Stinnett, who served in the U.S. Navy with distinction during World War II, examines recently declassified American documents and concludes that, far more than merely knowing of the Japanese plan to bomb Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt deliberately steered Japan into war with America.
Stinnett's argument draws on both circumstantial evidence--the fact, for example, that in September 1940 Roosevelt signed into law a measure providing for a two-ocean navy that would number 100 aircraft carriers--and, more importantly, on American governmental documents that offer apparently incontrovertible proof that Roosevelt knowingly sacrificed American lives in order to enter the war on the side of England. Although obviously troubled by his discovery of a systematic plan of deception on the part of the American government, Stinnett does not take deep issue with its outcome. Roosevelt, he writes, faced powerful opposition from isolationist forces, and, against them, the Pearl Harbor attack was "something that had to be endured in order to stop a greater evil--the Nazi invaders in Europe who had begun the Holocaust and were poised to invade England." Sure to excite discussion, Stinnett's book offers what may be the final word on the terrible matter of Pearl Harbor. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Pearl Harbor was not an accident, a mere failure of American intelligence, or a brilliant Japanese military coup. It was the result of a carefully orchestrated design, initiated at the highest levels of our government. According to a key memorandum eight steps were taken to make sure we would enter the war by this means. Pearl Harbor was the only way, leading officials felt, to galvanize the reluctant American public into action.
This great question of Pearl Harbor--what did we know and when did we know it?--has been argued for years. At first, a panel created by FDR concluded that we had no advance warning and should blame only the local commanders for lack of preparedness. More recently, historians such as John Toland and Edward Beach have concluded that some intelligence was intercepted. Finally, just months ago, the Senate voted to exonerate Hawaii commanders Admiral Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short, after the Pentagon officially declared that blame should be "broadly shared." But no investigator has ever been able to prove that fore-knowledge of the attack existed at the highest levels.
Until now. After decades of Freedom of Information Act requests, Robert B. Stinnett has gathered the long-hidden evidence that shatters every shibboleth of Pearl Harbor. It shows that not only was the attack expected, it was deliberately provoked through an eight-step program devised by the Navy. Whereas previous investigators have claimed that our government did not crack Japan's military codes before December 7, 1941, Stinnett offers cable after cable of decryptions. He proves that a Japanese spy on the island transmitted information--including a map of bombing targets--beginning on August 21, and that government intelligence knew all about it. He reveals that Admiral Kimmel was prevented from conducting a routine training exercise at the eleventh hour that would have uncovered the location of the oncoming Japanese fleet. And contrary to previous claims, he shows that the Japanese fleet did not maintain radio silence as it approached Hawaii. Its many coded cables were intercepted and decoded by American cryptographers in Stations on Hawaii and in Seattle.
The evidence is overwhelming. At the highest levels--on FDR's desk--America had ample warning of the pending attack. At those same levels, it was understood that the isolationist American public would not support a declaration of war unless we were attacked first. The result was a plan to anger Japan, to keep the loyal officers responsible for Pearl Harbor in the dark, and thus to drag America into the greatest war of her existence.
Yet even having found what he calls the "terrible truth," Stinnett is still inclined to forgive. "I sympathize with the agonizing dilemma faced by President Roosevelt," he writes. "He was forced to find circuitous means to persuade an isolationist America to join in a fight for freedom....It is easier to take a critical view of this policy a half century removed than to understand fully what went on in Roosevelt's mind in the year prior to Pearl Harbor."
Day of Deceit is the definitive final chapter on America's greatest secret and our worst military disaster.
Download Description
Twenty years ago Robert Stinnett set out to answer the question that the Congressional investigations of 1945 and 1995 could not: Did President Roosevelt know that the attack on Pearl Harbor was coming? Using evidence that has never been released before now, Stinnett describes Japanese activities documented by the American government that prove that FDR knew in advance about the attack, and deliberately did nothing to stop it. For decades it has been believed that the Japanese fleet maintained strict radio silence as it approached Hawaii. But Stinnett reveals that it did not -- in fact, no coordinated fleet could have done so -- and more explosively, he proves that allied listening stations intercepted and decoded dozens of the fleet's military messages, as they had been doing long before December 1941. Stinnett produces several devastating cables, tracing their path from the cryptographers who deciphered them directly to the White House. Here at last is the archival evidence that has been denied for half a century.
Customer Reviews:
Nonsense.......2007-06-27
Does anyone use plain ole common sense anymore? Are we really to believe that the president of the United States would deliberately let thousands of Americans be killed, let half of our Pacific Fleet be crippled, and leave the west coast of America open to attack, all for the sake of winning support for a war that we would eventually be dragged into anyway? And this from a president that loved the Navy? What a bunch of hogwash. There is no doubt many things things about Pearl Harbor have been left out of history, but c'mon folks, use your brains..
What is the truth?.......2007-05-21
This is a well documented history of events leading up to Pearl Harbor which gives a lot of credibility to FDR manipulating events to pull the US into WWII. I will try to find out how Mr. Stinnett is viewed by other noted WWII historians. This book presents a different light on FDR than I have heard before and I wonder if this view and Mr. Stinnett are credible rather than having an agenda to prove. It is well written and an easy read for the most part. It certainly caught my attention as it should anyone that has an interest in FDR's legacy and how his administration operated prior to WWII.
9/11--The New Pearl Harbor.......2007-02-17
See on Google Video--LOOSE CHANGE
This video does for 9-11 what this book does for Pearl Harbor.
Disturbing.......2006-09-16
Gives overwhelming proof that FDR provoked the Japanese attack primarily through denying access to natural resources in Indonesia via the Dutch government in exile, and also by giving support to Chinese resistance fighters. The motive behind the provocation was to ensure that the American people would support a war against Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan that they did not wish to be involved in prior to December 7, 1941. Instead of trying to convince the American people that war would be inevitable against Fascism; condescendingly assured of their stupidity, FDR sacrificed 2500 sailors in order to mobilize the nation for war.
The intelligence services were aware of false Japanese diplomats mapping out Pearl Harbor in preparation for the bombing. They were being monitored but allowed to operate. The secret Japanese communications codes were also cracked early on, so that military and government intelligence were aware of Japanese preparations. The `purple' diplomatic code was also cracked, so that Washington was deciphering communications between Berlin and Tokyo.
Once a military attack became inevitable, Washington hid the fact from military commanders in the Pacific to ensure the attack would be more devastating, and Pearl's base commander would take the blame for being unprepared. I find it truly troubling that only warships that were outdated were left at anchor in Pearl that morning on December 7. The Navy knew that the modern aircraft carriers would be extremely useful during modern naval war, so the USS Enterprise and USS Lexington were out to sea on maneuvers and safe from the bombing. Only ships 27 years old, relics from World War I, were left at anchor and vulnerable.
A Review of Someof the Reviews........2006-08-09
There is a strong political bit to the negative reviews. It reminds me a little of creationists reviewing an evolutionary biology work.
Historians use the concept of convergence when evaluating the truth/falsity of claims. For example, we know the holocaust happened and that the nazis ordered the killing of jews because there is an overwhelming amount of evidence. There is disagreement about certain aspects, some bits have been proved wrong (eg. the soap made out of people), but we can be as close to certain that it happened as is possible. But that hasn't stopped smart people from trying to proved it didn't. You can do some research on how their thinking is flawed in debunking books.
Another enlightening topic is how biblical literalists have attempted to create 'creation science'. Smart people actually believe things that aren't true, and there are very human reasons for it. It's quite enlightening looking at people who are 100% certain about things they cant possibly be sure about.
So who are you to believe? Believe no one. If you are interested in the topic, read the book. It is immaculately footnoted, primary source riddled, and intellectually rigorous (i.e. honest, not hard to read), although its hardly a page turner.
So why do people who cannot possibly know with 100% certainity, with no education in historiographical evaluation, with only a superficial grasp of the subject (ret navy code crackers included), etc state with absolute conviction the author is a liar, idiot, etc and that there is no way the prez knew about this? It's almost like the author is insulting their mothers. Afterall, the author spent years going over primary sources and has never been shown to be untrustworthy. Can any of these naysayers say the same? No, they just like to be prejuidiced and judgemental and pretend they know everything. People like that bug me...rant over.
So be like me, read the book, look at the arguements and evidence, and make up your own mind. And no I am not 100% sure the prez knew. But pretty sure. Afterall, buddy used a nuke when he didn't have to...
Ps, if you want some more fun looking at prejuidiced reviews, check out anything written about hillary clinton. Man that woman sends some people in to rage-goofy-land. Oh and al gore, and noam chomsky's good too (not as funny though).
pps you people who use your real names have more guts then i do!
Average customer rating:
- Interesting
- A Boy at War
- A Review of A Boy at War by Steven
- a boy at war
- This book was horrible
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A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor
Harry Mazer
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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ASIN: 0689841604 |
Book Description
December 7, 1941:
A morning like any other, but the events of this day would leave no one untouched.
For Adam, living near Honolulu, this Sunday morning is one he has been looking forward to -- fishing with friends, away from the ever-watchful eyes of his father, a navy lieutenant. Then, right before his eyes, Adam watches Japanese planes fly overhead and attack the U.S. Navy. All he can think is that it's just like in the movies. But as he sees his father's ship, the Arizona, sink beneath the water, he realizes this isn't make-believe. It's real.
Over the next few days, Adam searches for answers -- about his friends, the war, and especially, his father. But Adam soon learns sometimes there are no answers.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-08-06
The book was pretty good as I recall (it was a while back when I read the book). If I remember right, the book seemed liked it ended TOO abruptly (Mazer left 'ya hanging). But after searching on Amazon I see why: There's a Sequel. It was A good book overall.
P.s. If I recall corectly, There was some mild profanity in it.
A Boy at War.......2007-05-15
A Boy at War was an awesome book because it was full of suspense. The book is about a boy named Adam who moves a lot and is new to Pearl Harbor. One day he goes fishing with his friends and Japanese planes start to bomb Pearl Harbor. As he is running away he sees his father's ship, The Arizona, sink into the water. I think Harry Mazer is a great author and this was a fantastic book. I would recommend this book to all readers from 10-12 who like war stories.
A Review of A Boy at War by Steven.......2007-04-27
This is a great and stunning book! It is about a high school age boy named Adam. Adam's dad is in the Navy in Hawaii. In the beginning of the book Adam doesn't have any friends because his family has to move a lot. Then he becomes friends with two boys, Davi and Martin.
One day when Adam is fishing with Davi and Martin the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and bomb American battleships. After that the Americans think of the Japanese as their enemy. Adam helps the wounded soldiers. He searchs for his father, a lieutenant in the Navy, because he saw the Arizona, his father's battleship, explode.
In this book Adam has to grow up very quickly. During this one horrible day he has to do a lot of adult things including driving a jeep to help find his father. Does Adam's dad survive? Is Adam going to be okay after being injured? Will Adam and his sister Bea ever see their dad again?
a boy at war.......2007-01-31
If you like historical fiction you will like this book. It's about a boy that goes to live to Hawaii in about the 1900s. His name is Adam. In school he finds two friends. Later in the book his friends take him on a fishing trip to Pearl Harbor. Then the Japanese made a surprise attack on the navel base of Pearl Harbor. Then they tried to get to a hospital because a guy hit one of Adam's friend in the face with a gun and he started bleeding a lot. But they crashed. Something happened to Adam's dad during the attack. Read and see what happens next.
There are many good characters in this book. First there is Adam. He is smart and overprotected. Davi is another character. He is also smart but not that caring. Harry Mazer described the characters he used a lot of details. I could really visualize what they were like. I felt so amazed and exited when I read this book. I would recommend this book to readers who like a lot of action.
This book was horrible.......2006-11-02
I thought that this book was a waste of money and trees, because Mazer has no creativeness to him. He was trying too hard to make it like a movie, but the real newsflash is that it was just plain bad.
Customer Reviews:
An invaluable source.......2007-06-12
I am glad to see this aging warhorse in print. It is still the only really comprehensive source on the IJN based largely on Japanese-language sources. Way too much fo the Pacific War literature is based on partisan or hagiographic readings of the conflict, almost exclusively from the American perspective (although Spector, Gailey, and Costello try to be balanced). The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has produced a monumental 100+ volume history of the war, but almost none of it has been translated into English. Until we have some historians who can either read the originals and use them to fill in gaps, or translate some key chunks and publish them as a "greatest hits" collection with commentary and comparisons to the US semi-official Morison history, Dull will have to do for understanding "the other side of the hill."
solid historical book........2007-05-15
This book is history personified on the Japanese Navy in WWII. Not only does Mr. Dull explain every battle in the war with detail, in one of the appendixe's he has the fate of each warship. a great piece of work, in my opinion.
Solid research book on the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII.......2005-08-24
Paul Dull's Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1941-1945 is one of those books that is a hidden gem. Few know about it, and it sheds considerable light on topics covered only in musty archives in Washington and Tokyo.
The naval war in the Pacific has been covered by every major historian ad nauseum. Dull, drawing on his knowledge of Japanese and Japanese culture, has drawn his information primarily from the official records of the IJN. This book is a treasure trove of information about Japanese fleet movements, little known battles, and methods of ship to ship combat that both sides used that are glossed over or completely neglected in large histories. Dull is not afraid to criticize Japanese commanders, and assesses Yamamoto, long considered to the be Japan's finest naval officer, to be hesitant, battleship centric, and slow to seek out battle.
This is a phenomenal stand alone work, and serves as a must read for anyone reading about Nimitz or Halsey or the US Navy in WWII. Great appendix with information regarding the names, classes, and fates of all major Japanese surface combatants during the war. Though I am sure there is something we all wish he had addressed(for me the construction and design history of their battlefleet), Dull does exactly what he set out to do. Tell a focused story with new information that has not seen the light of day. For a book published in 1978, it is remarkably fresh and relevant, and was an extremely enjoyable read.
Be mindful of the subtext.......2003-11-09
"A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy" will make a fine and intellectually stimulating addition to a military history collection. A veritable compendium of surface naval engagements that have been revisited by Mr. Dull using Japanese-language sources, it is not, however, the most comprehensive source of information and insight about the role of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War. Other sources, for instance, that greatly complement this book include "Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941" and Prange's seminal books on Pearl Harbor and Midway.
The book has some noticeable quirks too for the non-initiated. For instance, was there ever a pink-painted Japanese cruiser? The book does not dwell on the minutiae of the warships involved, so it is rather surprising to encounter an odd little detail such as the cruiser Haguro's paint scheme.
What makes the book especially valuable to me is the subtext: the Japanese Navy had in essence intensely prepared for the wrong war to fight. Deeply absorbed in the Mahan doctrine of the decisive naval battle--a principle that emphasized destroying an enemy fleet in a grand engagement that effectively ends the conflict--Nihon Teikoku Kaigun was, by the outbreak of the Second World War, ready to confront the US fleet within the context of a short yet decisive campaign. Then, after helping Japan secure access to the mineral resources of Southeast Asia, the navy would have been instrumental in safeguarding the perimeter of the newly-won oceanic empire.
It didn't quite turn out that way. As Dull's book elucidates in meticulous detail, the Japanese Navy was forced to fight practically to the last ship. Having lost the initiative midway through the conflict, a once-powerful armada that helped subdue one-third of the globe was to all intents and purposes wiped out by the end of the war.
Swill.......2002-02-22
This is one of many books claiming to be "based on hitherto unreleased Japanese documents" it purports to be told from the Japanese side which increases it's propaganda value but it's all so crudely done that only a U.S. Marine cadet and other mentally uncomplicated people could see it as anything but tiresome american chest beating.
This book is just more sickly solipsism for the kind of grubby folks who hang around gun shows and keep fading foot-ball trophies on their mantelpiece.
Just read the front cover flap and you can see how clichéd this garbage is.
Incidentally the Japanese navy didn't somehow begin in 1941 it's just convenient for the double speak of Dull to begin there. Where's the Japanese defeat of Czarist Russia, or the absurdly biased quotas at the London & Washington naval conferences?
Book Description
A tribute to the audacious Navy divers who performed the almost super-human deeds that served to shorten the war.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent snapshot of Diving History.......2007-04-14
Commander Raymer did a fantastic job setting the mood of this story in the first chapter as he described his first dive into the sunken Arizona (it was the first ever dive on the ship), months after it had sunk. His descriptions are so vivid, I often pictured (what he experienced) as if I were there.
Other reviewers mention Raymer's escapades into early WWII Honolulu and his encounters with the the locals, but this story really focuses on what the divers did, hazards they overcame, and innovations they devised as they fought to return the heavily damaged warships back to the fleet.
descent into darkness.......2006-10-20
what a great book! i couldn't put it down. commander raymer and the men working with him were brave heroes.this book gives a glimpse of life in hawaii in the early forties as well as the navy's diving program in its infancy.not to mention the unique problems of salvaging the ships that were damaged in the pearl harbor attack.i highly recommend this book.
DESCENT INTO DARKNESS.......2005-08-29
Most books on WWII center around specific battles. However, Commander Raymer gives the reader a somewhat different perspective of WWII. Although, Raymer discribes several important engagements and the sinking of his own ship by Imperial Japanese naval forces, he also concentrates on the overwhelming and depressing daily tasks of the Navy salvage diver stationed at Pearl harbor shortly after the infamous attack. His objectives; recover bodies, raise or salvage the flagship U.S.S. Arizona, and other capital ships such as the U.S.S. California, U.S.S. West Virginia, and others.
His writing style is simple, and straight to the point. His ongoing descriptions of the scenes he saw and experienced in Hawaii and through the divers helmet port are well worth the read!
If, you liked the movie; "Men of Honor" then I guarentee you will like "DESCENT INTO DARKNESS!"
History written by a eyewitness.......2004-05-31
This really is a first-rate account of a process that has largely been ignored by writers and historians. I think it's a "given" that diving around sunken, fully armed and fueled battleships would be dangerous, but until I read this book I didn't realize just how MANY different hazards there were. For example, who would have known that it's dangerous to enter a previously-sealed but empty compartment that contains rust? (the formation of iron oxide [rust] depletes oxygen in the space)
The reader gets a firsthand account of the daily lives of salvage divers, and how frequently solutions to problems were devised on the spot. Rather unexpectedly, readers also get a firsthand description of what life was like "on the ground" during the Guadalcanal campaign.
Anyone wanting to know more about the Pearl Harbor attack really should read this book. Many people tend to think of the battle as being over when the last Japanese plane returned to its carrier; in truth, the battle had just BEGUN.
A Great Preservation of History.......2002-11-19
I recieved Descent In to Darkness as a Christmas pressent from my sister. I could not stop reading the book. I have always been a huge history buff as well as a great interest in diving . Febuary of this year (2002) I went to Maui to visit my cousin. While in Maui I got my scuba certification. My last day we flew over to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona. It was very moving because I had more of a conection to the Arizona due to Raymer's detailed report on Pearl Harbor and the Arizona in the salvage eforts to raise our Pacific Fleet.
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- Flowers of the Natal Drakensbrg: The Lily, Iris And Orchid Family And Their Allies
Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles As Seen Through Japanese Eyes
The Luck of the Draw: The Memoir of a World War II Submariner: From Savo Island to the Silent Service
Sea Cobra: Admiral Halsey's Task Force and the Great Pacific Typhoon
Anchors Aweight
Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II
