Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness

To mark the 75th anniversary of the battle that committed the U.S. to WWII and led directly to war with Japan, Nelson (The Age of Radiance) brings his formidable narrative talents to bear on this well-known history as he comprehensively contextualizes and covers the battle. The book opens with a focus on events leading up to the war; readers unfamiliar with the history will find the chaos and violence that characterized Japanese internal politics fascinating. The battle narration seamlessly moves back and forth from the strategic level to the grim fighting and surviving in the harbor. The book is both well researched and well balanced, with Nelson giving equal weight to the Japanese and American perspectives. To differentiate his work from the many previous volumes on this event, Nelson highlights the individual experiences of soldiers at the battle’s front and beyond. He also reconsiders the battle’s place in both Japanese and American culture and history, positing that this event marks the beginning of modern American history (a thesis that may be valid but here remains underdeveloped). Nelson’s well written history of Pearl Harbor will be enjoyed by the general reader and appropriately highlights the battle’s historical significance. [em]Agent: Stuart Krichevsky, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Oct.) [/em]