Pearl Harbor

Great Mysteries: Opposing Viewpoints

by Deborah Bachrach

112 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

In her conclusion the author states that following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor "many proud battleships never returned to sail". Never returned? The West Virginia, California, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Maryland all returned to sail and fight in WWII. The only battleships that failed to do so were the Arizona and Oklahoma (the Utah was a "target" ship).

As for the culpability of General Short and Admiral Kimmel, I agree with Stephen Ambrose who said upon the occasion of the Senate vote in 1999 to restore General Short and Admiral Kimmel to their original ranks "Kimmel and Short were the commanders. They should have told their men to be up at the crack of dawn, scanning the skies for Japanese aircraft with their guns ready. They didn't do it... They were incompetent. What does it say about us that we're now rushing to exonerate Kimmel and Short? In the more than half century since Pearl Harbor, we've developed a mentality to which everybody has entitlements, everybody has rights, and no one ever takes responsibility for anything."

[Jbussen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a lifetime resident on Oahu. I volunteer at the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. This book offers no insight or any material to think critically about. What it does go over has been proved or debunked even before this was written. Not only that but the proofreader did an exceptionally poor job of fact checking. You would be better served with wikipedia. This book would make poor toilet paper. Aloha, and good luck finding something better.

[Noah Vannoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was an informational book about Pearl Harbor. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about this conflict and how it started a war. It was easy to read and the facts made sense.