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Pearl Harbor Ghosts : The Legacy of December 7, 1941
A landmark book published to rave reviews a decade ago, Pearl Harbor Ghosts has now been updated to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the surprise attack that forever changed the course of history.
Full of gripping drama and vibrant details, here is the intimate human story of the events surrounding that fateful day of December 7, 1941–the glamorous tropical city that seemed too beautiful to suffer devastation . . . the stunned naval personnel whose lives would permanently be divided into before and after Pearl Harbor . . . the ordinary Honolulu residents who were tragically unprepared to be the first target in the Pacific war . . . the Japanese pilots who manned the squadron of deadly silver bombers . . . and the island’s community of Japanese-Americans whose lives would never be the same again.
Blending meticulous historic recreation with lively reporting, Clarke counterpoints the freeze-frame nightmare of the 1941 bombing with the disturbing realities of present-day Honolulu, where hundreds of veterans, both American and Japanese, converge each year to relive every hour of the attack. Wealthy Waikiki landowners and native Hawaiian farmers, admirals and nurses, Navy wives and government officials–all take their part in Clarke’s rich tapestry of memory and insight. In the end, Pearl Harbor emerges as a trauma that spread from Oahu to engulf the nation and the world–an event that continues to reverberate in the lives of all who experienced it.
Full of gripping drama and vibrant details, here is the intimate human story of the events surrounding that fateful day of December 7, 1941–the glamorous tropical city that seemed too beautiful to suffer devastation . . . the stunned naval personnel whose lives would permanently be divided into before and after Pearl Harbor . . . the ordinary Honolulu residents who were tragically unprepared to be the first target in the Pacific war . . . the Japanese pilots who manned the squadron of deadly silver bombers . . . and the island’s community of Japanese-Americans whose lives would never be the same again.
Blending meticulous historic recreation with lively reporting, Clarke counterpoints the freeze-frame nightmare of the 1941 bombing with the disturbing realities of present-day Honolulu, where hundreds of veterans, both American and Japanese, converge each year to relive every hour of the attack. Wealthy Waikiki landowners and native Hawaiian farmers, admirals and nurses, Navy wives and government officials–all take their part in Clarke’s rich tapestry of memory and insight. In the end, Pearl Harbor emerges as a trauma that spread from Oahu to engulf the nation and the world–an event that continues to reverberate in the lives of all who experienced it.
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 1993
About the author
Thurston Clarke
17 books66 followersThurston Clarke has written eleven widely acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction, including three New York Times Notable Books. His 'Pearl Harbor Ghosts' was the basis for a CBS documentary, and his bestselling 'Lost Hero', a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, was made into an award-winning NBC miniseries.
Clarke's articles have appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and other awards, he lives with his wife and three daughters in upstate New York.
Clarke's articles have appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and other awards, he lives with his wife and three daughters in upstate New York.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 13, 2025
I bought this book at Pearl Harbor National Memorial and read most of it on the beach at Waikiki. The museum and the USS Arizona Memorial were extremely moving, and Pearl Harbor Ghosts gave me additional perspective not only on the attack itself but how it affected Oahu for decades. Very well-researched and written.
September 12, 2021
Never in my life have I ever stopped reading a book. This was a first. I picked up this book expecting another page turner of the WWII era and the tragic bombing of Pearl Harbor. I have read a lot of books about both Pearl and WWII. One better than the other. This was a boring, mundane description of what Hawaii was like just before the bombing. There was no story line. Nothing to look forward to. NO main characters except a few possible Japanese spies and special newspaper ads supposedly decoded to warn the Japanese population of Hawaii. Maybe the book was going someplace. But after 100+ pages when you don't feel like picking the book up anymore. It's time to stop. I am sure Mr. Thurston Clarke conducted endless hours of research to get this information into a book. I give him credit for that. But there wasn't one opening to any chapter that grabbed me. The opening of a book is supposed to draw you in. This did not. I am all for descriptive type books, but you need a story with main engaging characters with humanistic values.
October 16, 2021
If only all history books could be as well written, well researched, engaging and all encompassing as this. Bravo.
December 18, 2010
Not your standard-issue military history
Ghosts of Pearl Harbor is an intriguing exploration of a still much-debated chapter in American history. It’s written not in a dry or analytical fashion, but by developing a series of thematic vignettes, starting on December 5, 1941, then on to December 6th, with the attack on Dec. 7th as the tragic climax. The author, Thurston Clarke, provides a wealth of detail drawn from contemporary accounts and from extensive interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors, but he also brings to the task an interesting and personal “double vision,” which juxtaposes the Honolulu of 1941 upon the bustling city of today.
The opening chapters bring to life the Honolulu that was:
“In 1941, Honolulu was a city where people advertised for a ‘Hawaiian yard boy who can sing, dance, and play the guitar,’ and taxi drivers used call boxes attached to palm trees, and you requested a favorite driver by name. It was a city where a siren ordered minors off the streets at eight o’clock, beachboys had names like Hankshaw, Steamboat, Panama, and Tough Bill, who played the ukulele and tucked hibiscus blossoms behind their ears, policemen wore leis and sat on high stools under umbrellas, waving at friends as they pulled “Stop” and “Go” levers, and Pete the “Hula Cop” directed traffic with the arm motions of a hula dancer, and was honored by a downtown plaque thanking him for having “smiled his way into the hearts of the people.”
Yes, Hawaii was a paradise, but one with a shadow hanging over it. However, few could even conceive of a Japanese surprise attack, and it was universally acclaimed that the defenders of Hawaii were more than ready for any intruders. In the words of one young ensign, “We had the supreme overconfidence a great athlete has who has never been beaten – we all thought we were invincible.”
In the days just before Pearl Harbor it was not a Japanese invasion that the military commanders of Hawaii were anticipating: it was acts of sabotage by local Japanese, who comprised over thirty percent of the islands’ population. They believed in this threat even though there had not been a single proven instance of sabotage, and despite the repeated insistence of reliable intelligence sources that there were no indications of subversive activities.
Indeed, so preoccupied with a possible Japanese “Fifth Column” on the islands were the military commanders that they insisted on numerous measures which proved tragically counterproductive in the face of an actual attack: locking up ammunition and weapons, parking airplanes head-to-toe on runways, and not fully manning radar stations. As Clarke noted, “And so it would turn out that…the only subversion occurring on December 7 involved American military commanders subverting their own defenses.”
All of this is well-trodden ground, of course, but Clarke’s account adds a certain piquancy of detail by examining what people actually did and said in the last few days prior to the attack:
“A Japanese raid was considered so improbably and suicidal it had become a long standing joke. One kamaaina woman told me, ‘My father and I would stand outside on the lanai and whenever we saw a funny boat offshore we’d say, ‘Here come the Japanese,’ in the same way you’d say to a child, ‘Here comes the bogeyman.’”
Even more striking are first-hand accounts of the reactions of disbelief the morning of the attack, when, as Clarke notes, “the denial of the truth was so widespread, and so resistant to visual evidence to the contrary, that it bordered on mass delusion. ”
Among the disbelievers was Mr. Yee Kam York, who “heard an explosion, saw Pearl Harbor burning, watched through field glasses as planes were hit by antiaircraft fire, and remarked to his wife, ‘These Americans, when they have maneuvers, they certainly make it realistic.’”
Another, a sailor standing on the deck of the destroyer Helm, watched as Japanese dive bombers cheekily waved at men on deck, yet, “perhaps because no one yet believed the attack was real, sailors on the Helm waved back.”
Clarke’s description of the events of December 7th is mesmerizing, though often difficult to contemplate, as the Arizona “opens like a flower” as it explodes, and charred men – and parts of men – are flung hundreds of yards by the blast. A recurrent theme throughout the book, made crystalline in these chapters, is how the trauma of the events of December 7th seared themselves into the memories of the survivors and how these painful memories are still affecting us today.
The last part of the book deals with “after the attack.” While throughout the book faulty intelligence and strategic error are examined, there is an equal weight given to how contemporary attitudes, particularly racial ones, contributed to the lack of preparation for the attack. In the last chapter, he sums this thesis up nicely:
“Pearl Harbor anniversary speeches often mentioned the “lessons” of that day. During the early years of the Cold War he lesson was vigilance against Communism; during the Vietnam Nar, the danger of appeasing an Asian foe; during the Reagan years, the importance of a strong military. But other lessons, ones with an uncomfortable relevance to the present, went unexamined. Among these are how an obsession with internal subversion can leave you vulnerable to your real enemies; how technological superiority -- the ability to decipher Japanese codes -- is no guarantee of victory; and how a mix of racism and national pride can be a recipe for disaster.”
Ghosts of Pearl Harbor is an intriguing exploration of a still much-debated chapter in American history. It’s written not in a dry or analytical fashion, but by developing a series of thematic vignettes, starting on December 5, 1941, then on to December 6th, with the attack on Dec. 7th as the tragic climax. The author, Thurston Clarke, provides a wealth of detail drawn from contemporary accounts and from extensive interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors, but he also brings to the task an interesting and personal “double vision,” which juxtaposes the Honolulu of 1941 upon the bustling city of today.
The opening chapters bring to life the Honolulu that was:
“In 1941, Honolulu was a city where people advertised for a ‘Hawaiian yard boy who can sing, dance, and play the guitar,’ and taxi drivers used call boxes attached to palm trees, and you requested a favorite driver by name. It was a city where a siren ordered minors off the streets at eight o’clock, beachboys had names like Hankshaw, Steamboat, Panama, and Tough Bill, who played the ukulele and tucked hibiscus blossoms behind their ears, policemen wore leis and sat on high stools under umbrellas, waving at friends as they pulled “Stop” and “Go” levers, and Pete the “Hula Cop” directed traffic with the arm motions of a hula dancer, and was honored by a downtown plaque thanking him for having “smiled his way into the hearts of the people.”
Yes, Hawaii was a paradise, but one with a shadow hanging over it. However, few could even conceive of a Japanese surprise attack, and it was universally acclaimed that the defenders of Hawaii were more than ready for any intruders. In the words of one young ensign, “We had the supreme overconfidence a great athlete has who has never been beaten – we all thought we were invincible.”
In the days just before Pearl Harbor it was not a Japanese invasion that the military commanders of Hawaii were anticipating: it was acts of sabotage by local Japanese, who comprised over thirty percent of the islands’ population. They believed in this threat even though there had not been a single proven instance of sabotage, and despite the repeated insistence of reliable intelligence sources that there were no indications of subversive activities.
Indeed, so preoccupied with a possible Japanese “Fifth Column” on the islands were the military commanders that they insisted on numerous measures which proved tragically counterproductive in the face of an actual attack: locking up ammunition and weapons, parking airplanes head-to-toe on runways, and not fully manning radar stations. As Clarke noted, “And so it would turn out that…the only subversion occurring on December 7 involved American military commanders subverting their own defenses.”
All of this is well-trodden ground, of course, but Clarke’s account adds a certain piquancy of detail by examining what people actually did and said in the last few days prior to the attack:
“A Japanese raid was considered so improbably and suicidal it had become a long standing joke. One kamaaina woman told me, ‘My father and I would stand outside on the lanai and whenever we saw a funny boat offshore we’d say, ‘Here come the Japanese,’ in the same way you’d say to a child, ‘Here comes the bogeyman.’”
Even more striking are first-hand accounts of the reactions of disbelief the morning of the attack, when, as Clarke notes, “the denial of the truth was so widespread, and so resistant to visual evidence to the contrary, that it bordered on mass delusion. ”
Among the disbelievers was Mr. Yee Kam York, who “heard an explosion, saw Pearl Harbor burning, watched through field glasses as planes were hit by antiaircraft fire, and remarked to his wife, ‘These Americans, when they have maneuvers, they certainly make it realistic.’”
Another, a sailor standing on the deck of the destroyer Helm, watched as Japanese dive bombers cheekily waved at men on deck, yet, “perhaps because no one yet believed the attack was real, sailors on the Helm waved back.”
Clarke’s description of the events of December 7th is mesmerizing, though often difficult to contemplate, as the Arizona “opens like a flower” as it explodes, and charred men – and parts of men – are flung hundreds of yards by the blast. A recurrent theme throughout the book, made crystalline in these chapters, is how the trauma of the events of December 7th seared themselves into the memories of the survivors and how these painful memories are still affecting us today.
The last part of the book deals with “after the attack.” While throughout the book faulty intelligence and strategic error are examined, there is an equal weight given to how contemporary attitudes, particularly racial ones, contributed to the lack of preparation for the attack. In the last chapter, he sums this thesis up nicely:
“Pearl Harbor anniversary speeches often mentioned the “lessons” of that day. During the early years of the Cold War he lesson was vigilance against Communism; during the Vietnam Nar, the danger of appeasing an Asian foe; during the Reagan years, the importance of a strong military. But other lessons, ones with an uncomfortable relevance to the present, went unexamined. Among these are how an obsession with internal subversion can leave you vulnerable to your real enemies; how technological superiority -- the ability to decipher Japanese codes -- is no guarantee of victory; and how a mix of racism and national pride can be a recipe for disaster.”
March 8, 2019
I absolutely love books about World War II, whether they are fiction or non fiction, but this was the first I have read that was focused on Pearl Harbor. I found the stories and descriptive elements paired with facts and information to be an immensely evocative piece that stirs many emotions in the reader.
The organization of the book made it easy to understand the mindset and circumstances leading up to the attack, grasp the gravity and disbelief Americans had of the attack, and review the aftermath and feelings that various people have in the decades to follow.
Absolutely wonderful and incredibly sad at the same time. Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten.
The organization of the book made it easy to understand the mindset and circumstances leading up to the attack, grasp the gravity and disbelief Americans had of the attack, and review the aftermath and feelings that various people have in the decades to follow.
Absolutely wonderful and incredibly sad at the same time. Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten.
December 5, 2019
What made me order this book was its conversational tone and delivery of all the military and political aspects that revolved around the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into WWII. With many books about any war is the technical jargon that makes it hard for many readers to digest. The way the author compiled the combination of military facts surrounding the days leading up to and after December 7, plus firsthand accounts of locals and military personnel on the island is what made this book stand out for me.
January 6, 2026
My first of read for the year 2026.
Pearl Harbor Ghosts is an account of events prior to, during and after the attacks that took place at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941.
This is a very detailed read, and I would recommend to anyone interested in Historical Events and World War Events, as this really did start a World War.
This book includes newspapers ads, and eyewitness accounts. We also review a few myths around that day.
Pearl Harbor Ghosts is an account of events prior to, during and after the attacks that took place at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941.
This is a very detailed read, and I would recommend to anyone interested in Historical Events and World War Events, as this really did start a World War.
This book includes newspapers ads, and eyewitness accounts. We also review a few myths around that day.
December 5, 2023
Great book to read on details leading up to
Dec 7, 1941. Tells a lot about what was happening
on Dec 7 and how unprepared for war. Reflects
what happened days and years after this fateful
day. Great book for historians.
Dec 7, 1941. Tells a lot about what was happening
on Dec 7 and how unprepared for war. Reflects
what happened days and years after this fateful
day. Great book for historians.
May 25, 2017
Gave this a three because I felt that it did not fill the description. It was a good read for the few historical accounts dotted throughout, but I just wasn't impressed.
May 31, 2018
Lots of interesting stuff here.
May 15, 2023
Provides historical context and first person accounts.
December 23, 2025
lots of survivor interviews and also interesting updates since WW2
February 7, 2026
A well researched and a well written book on the few days surrounding the attack. This is intertwined with historical facts and interviews of survivors of the attack.
June 19, 2011
This book is not like other books about Pearl Harbor. Even though I was not a big fan of the book it still had good information. Most of the others deal mainly with the events leading up to the attack and the attack itself. Thurston Clarke chose to write a different path with Pearl Harbor Ghosts. Clarke wrote about the development of Hawaii and Honolulu starting from the attack to the present day. Also through the book he added lessons that may be learned from the attack.
Life at Pearl Harbor was very simple. But December 7 changed Hawaii from a tropical paradise into a modernized military outpost. After the attack the lazy drives u could take up winding roads to the beach were. The rule of the day now was working long hours to repair the damage done by the Japanese.
For me this book was not that great. Im not a big fan of this book but its because I never did like war stories or political things. Other then that this book was very informative and had some great first person stories.Also i was not a big fan of stories that have alot of interviews. It felt as if it was akward meaning it did not flow for me. But one thing i did like was the book had sub chapters like pre war, the day of the war and the aftermath. If you are a person who is interested in politics and first hand accounts of war then this book is PERFECT.
Life at Pearl Harbor was very simple. But December 7 changed Hawaii from a tropical paradise into a modernized military outpost. After the attack the lazy drives u could take up winding roads to the beach were. The rule of the day now was working long hours to repair the damage done by the Japanese.
For me this book was not that great. Im not a big fan of this book but its because I never did like war stories or political things. Other then that this book was very informative and had some great first person stories.Also i was not a big fan of stories that have alot of interviews. It felt as if it was akward meaning it did not flow for me. But one thing i did like was the book had sub chapters like pre war, the day of the war and the aftermath. If you are a person who is interested in politics and first hand accounts of war then this book is PERFECT.
January 17, 2016
What intrigued me the most about this book was the reaction of the residents, military personnel and tourists on Oahu during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most people were so sure that such a thing could NEVER happen that most of them continued with their daily activities like having breakfast or swimming in a hotel swimming pool while ships and buildings exploded and burned in the visible distance. When military personnel were summoned for duty, many thought it was a prank or a mistake. Even civilians and military personnel who saw the Japanese emblem on low-flying planes or were actually shot at or strafed by those same low-flying airplanes refused to believe what they were seeing and insisted instead that they were witnessing an elaborate simulation by the American military. The bombing of Pearl Harbor is a cautionary tale of the “failure of imagination” to be sure. This was an excellent book about the recollections of people on Oahu shortly before, during and even years after the attack, and a vivid description of life on Oahu then compared to now.
January 24, 2011
I read this book because I'm going to Pearl Harbor with my daughter's marching band in November and it is required reading for them. I enjoyed it. Before reading this book all I knew about Pearl Harbor was from the Ben Affeck movie. My history classes in high school and college ended about WWI. I liked learning the reasons and history behind the conflict and learning what when on with the people in Hawaii during and after the attack.
January 6, 2013
This account provides a more personal touch surrounding the details of December 7th 1942. The author provides many different accounts of his personal interviews with survivors. The book provides great detail around the many different perspectives surrounding the events the lead up to the attack and attack itself. The second half of the book deals more with the personal impact of the survivors. It is less of a military history and more of a personal impact. Very interesting read.
July 17, 2013
I read this several years ago and had forgotten about it until I was reading reviews of another Pearl Harbor book. I loved the personal accounts given by survivors. It is an interesting perspective of that day given by those who were there.
September 10, 2016
Explores the social forces at work before, during and after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Fascinated by the number of people who did not believe it could ever happen -- even while they were dodging bullets and explosions.
November 28, 2016
Mostly pretty good. Not so much the exact details but the perspectives of Japanese-Americans and others in Hawaii. Relates the legacy of the Pearl Harbor attack from various viewpoints. You have to read something else for the exact chronology and what happened to whom.
March 9, 2009
Not really a history of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but really a look back and one man's way of coming to terms with it. Basically he was "exercising" the ghosts of one of Americas darkest days.
April 8, 2010
This book really helped me understand the attitude of Americans towards PH attack. Also helped explain a lot of the Hawaii residents toward the war and lingering racial tensions.
June 20, 2015
What really happened at Pearl Harbor
Read
September 21, 2016Good historical book. There's some opinion in there, but it's based on research.
November 12, 2016
Great book!!!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews