Sunday in Hell: Pearl Harbor Minute by Minute

by Bill McWilliams

The author of A Return to Glory constructs a compellingly detailed and panoramic history of the fateful day that ushered the United States into WWII. Using long-established historical records and contemporary journals, as well as recently released wartime documents, Bill McWilliams has created a brand-new minute-by-minute narrative of the Day That Will Live in Infamy. Told from the points of view of dozens of characters, from generals and admirals and politicians and diplomats down to deckhands and private soldiers and innocent civilians at all levels, this panoramic overview of one of the most traumatizing and shocking events in American history puts the reader in a position to understand the big picture of strategy and tactics, as well as the intimate details of what the chaos, violence, and presence of death felt like to people immersed in the surprise of an armed attack on American soil. December 7, 1941, was a turning point in the history of the United States, which had been teetering on a decision between isolationism and intervention. One might argue that every US military engagement since then has been affected by what happened when America learned that it could not stand by and watch war among strangers without potentially becoming involved—whether we wished to or not.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

1276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Bill McWilliams was born in Brownsville, TX, raised in small towns in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, from the third congressional district of Colorado. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, and earned a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from The George Washington University while attending the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. He later attended the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA, where he completed ten months of senior management training.

His writing includes two prior major Korean War histories, A Return to Glory: The Untold Story of Honor, Dishonor, and Triumph at the United States Military Academy, 1950-53; and On Hallowed Ground, The Last Battle for Pork Chop Hill, the latter published in hardback and trade paperback; plus numerous articles, including two-part and five-part series in newspapers and magazines. An ESPN made-for-television movie, "Code Breakers," premiered in December 2005 and subsequently released on CD in July 2006, was based on his first book.

Reviews

[Kate Doolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding account of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath of 07 December 1941. I am so glad that I reread the book before I visited Pearl Harbor in June. Bill brings to life the attack and what happened afterwards in a straightforward and very readable fashion. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in military history.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this mighty tome while visiting Pearl Harbor this past January. I did not buy it right away so I could check out some reviews. They seemed decent so I picked it up off of Amazon. While I feel that At Dawn We Slept, is the definitive book on PH, I thought this had a good amount of detail to add to Gordon Prange's awesome book. Ads I read in the reviews the first 250 pages (this book has around 945 pages), were devoted to prewar and centered around the Border brothers, naval officers on the Tennessee. While one brother heads off to aviator training the other stays on the Tennessee waiting for his orders for flight school. Much of the 250 pages centers around Bob Border, the one on the Tennessee, and his future wife Joey. Many of the reviewers disliked this part of the book. Personally I enjoyed it to a point. While I found the story of the prewar Navy, first in Puget Sound then in Hawaii, interesting, at times it read as though I were reading an itinerary. I think this part of the story would have been better served as a narrative, rather than trying to provide a detailed account of Joey's dating life prior to her marriage to Bob. This portion follows them tp Long Beach, then finally to Pearl. Joey taking the liner Lurline over to Hawaii. Their story ends the night of December 6th as they turn in for the night.

The next part covers the attack. This is very detailed and there is much good information to be had. I certainly learned a lot. There is a ton of detail as to wo did what where etc, from Ewa, to Hickham. there are stories galore. Stories of heroism, death, and destruction. unfortunately you hear little of Bob Borders actions after he raced to the harbor from his apt. He seems to have vanished from the narrative. the rest of the story on the attack is very good and worth the price of the book.

The last portion of the book covers the post attack world in Hawaii and long the west coast. Lots of good stuff there. It goes over the medical contingencies that were put into place prior to the attack and how well they functions. Don't let that sorry movie Pearl Harbor fool you. While there may have been some chaos, the medical facilities functioned quite well and served the needs of the wounded very well. There were sections on the post attack convoys, and sub attacks along the west coast. All of this was well covered and very interesting. One of the interesting stories was Joey's trip back to the states on the liner Lurline. The very ship she sailed on to Hawaii. Thought the trip back was not quite the same. The book picks up Bob and Joeys story again at the end, Bob sailing back to Puget Sound on the Tennessee, and heading off the flight school. The author also adds a small section detailing what happened to some of the ships, on both sides, that were involved in the PH attack.

Overall it was a pretty good book. I would be more inclined for 3 1/2 stars rather than 4. There were some issues with the writing and the general narrative that could have been much better. I would certainly recommend this book. However, if you are reading for the first time about the PH attack, Gordon Prange's At Dawn We Slept would be my go to book.

[Tekken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pärast Zimmi raamatut oli mul Pearl Harbori temaatikast korralikult kopp ees ja uus, ligi tuhande leheküljega tellis jättis nii hirmuäratava mulje, et kavatsesin selle pikkadeks talveõhtuteks reservi jätta. Aga kui natuke sirvisin, tekkis huvi ja enne viimast lehekülge ma enam pidama ei saanud.

Enne „Pühapäeva põrgus“ oli mul illusioon, et sel teemal mind enam millegiga üllatada ei saa. See oli küll eksitus. „Sunday in Hell“ sisaldab kõike seda, mis eelmistest raamatutest puudu jäi – siin on draamat, intriige, õõva ja isegi huumorit. Tegevusliine on palju, kuid ometi ei jää need vahepeal ripakile, nagu seda niisuguse mastaabiga teostes pahatihti juhtub. Vääramatu inertsi edasiandmine, millega kaks riiki sõtta triivisid, on uskumatult hästi õnnestunud.

Autori tagapõhja uurides selgus, et tegemist on endise lenduriga – no seda oli ka tunda! Kui millegi kallal norida, siis detaile oli tõesti palju ja lisaks allikaviidetele oleks ka register hädasti ära kulunud.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tons of info, messily delivered

It took me weeks of steady and determined reading to make it through this book. For in-depth study before my visit to Pearl Harbor, it was great. Its collection of documentary photos is terrific. Its sheer volume of information was often overwhelming. Books this ambitious need rigorous, careful editing and proofing; this one received very little of either and is full of typos, obvious spelling errors (Bougainville!), and garbled writing. To Open Road Media: please give this book a thorough clean-up! The readers, author, and subject matter deserve far better.

[Darel Krieger · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is for 31/2 stars. This was a good book and the author did a good job with the story, maybe a little too good. The description of the events on Dec. 07 was excellent and of course sad at the same time. But the 800+ pages of this book is not all about Pearl Harbor. The author takes the reader through the war year (basically) the fight against Japan. So the title of the book is somewhat misleading. The reader will get weighed down with the description of the boats, planes, ammo, etc. etc. Had the author stuck with the title of the book as his theme then it would have been about 400 pages shorter. If you read this be ready for the long haul!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history

At times the reading was cumbersome but the personal stories made it a very interesting read U recommend it to all who want to learn more about the Pearl Harbor attack.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes fascinating, sometimes a slog, this book was at its best when it departed from its fairly rote lists of planes or battle statistics and focused on the stories of the people who lived through the events.

[Kate Mendenhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunday in Hell Pearl Harbor Minute by Minute is a riveting, powerful, engaging, factual, and bloody history book! This book will take you in to another world, another time, and in to the lives of many people who survived and remember that horrible day in history, and what it did to their lives. The multi-published Author and Screenplay writer, Bill McWilliams, is my Father, who gave me full permission to promote this book. If you enjoy reading, you will enjoy the history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in The Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. This attack lead to the U.S. involvement in WWII. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read history that feels like an action-packed novel!

Daughter of Author Bill McWilliams, Kate Mendenhall

[Dennis E. Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

As a former aircraft crew member and one that worked the flight deck, been all over the far east, seen the Utah and was there when Vice President Nixon commemorated the Arizona memorial in 1962. This book not brought back many memories, but gives an inside view, of the human side of December 7 th and what followed. I have sailed many times . Over the seas that those last great naval battles took place. This book tells what it was like for the guys that lived it and the many that did not return.

[R.V. Doon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way the author presented the peaceful weekend activities before the attack. I also learned a lot of obscure facts about the ships in the harbor. I especially liked the section on how the military dependents were tansported back to the mainland on converted ships, and the situations they dealt with. Overall, I found the interpersonal stories very compelling, and the book read much like a thriller.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed, very thorough information. I think this book was intended less as narrative and more as extensive research into the attack on Pearl Harbor.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot!

Needs proofreading, though.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was too much detail even before the Pearl Harbor event.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an account!!!

I bought this book after visiting Pearl Harbor. I learned so much more than I ever remember learning in school!

[LaDawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an incredibly detailed book. Perhaps too much so. I really just skimmed parts where the author seemed to be copying ship's logs and such. There were times when I got so bogged down that I considered just putting it on my DNF shelf, but it was worth sticking with it.