This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base, which took place Dec. 7, 1941. As a result, publishers are releasing a bevy of books examining the event on micro and macro levels. Here’s a look at some of the Pearl Harbor titles headed to bookstores.
Title: A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor; Betrayal, Blame, and a Family’s Quest for Justice
Author(S): Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan
Publisher: Harper
Pub Date: November 15
First Announced Printing: 150,000 copies
Angle: Adm. Husband Kimmel, the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet when the attack took place, was later accused of negligence and removed from duty. Summers and Swan expose how the government used Kimmel as a scapegoat, highlighting the fact that he was never provided with available, and essential, intelligence.
Title: Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack
Author(S): Steve Twomey
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: November 1
First Announced Printing: 50,000 copies
Angle: Pulitzer-winning journalist Twomey examines the days before the attack and reveals, S&S said, “the warnings, clues, and missteps” of the U.S. government.
Title: Seven Days of Infamy: Pearl Harbor Across the World
Author(S): Nicholas Best
Publisher: St. Martin’s/Dunne
Pub Date: November 29
First Announced Printing: 20,000 copies
Angle: Best offers what SMP is calling an “up-close-and-personal perspective” of the attack and its repercussions. He provides snapshots of what various famous people—including Ernest Hemingway and John F. Kennedy—were doing during the week the historic event took place.
Title: Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness
Author(S): Craig Nelson
Publisher: Scribner
Pub Date: September 20
First Announced Printing: 42,000 copies
Angle: The S&S imprint claims Nelson’s account of the attack is the “definitive history” of it. The fruit of more than five years of research, the book details “how and why Japan attacked America,” giving a “blow-by-blow account from both Japanese and American perspectives.”