The Children of Battleship Row: Pearl Harbor 1940-41

by Joan Zuber Earle

Book by Earle, Joan Zuber

Genres: History, Nonfiction

137 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Read after a trip to Pearl Harbor!
So many details about daily life of military families. We often forget the sacrifices made by entire families for military careers.
Zuber is a great story teller with detailed memories of her childhood!

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly informative read.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely engrossing. I read it in a few hours.
As a current resident of Ford Island, this book is considered a must read among the neighborhoods. I have friends who live in the particular neighborhood Ms. Earle describes, known as Nob Hill. Though Ford Island has changed tremendously over the last 70+ years, many aspects remain the same and evidence of that day are visible everywhere. My family swam at the very pool she tells of. It doesn't require great stretches of the imagination to envision her life leading up to December 7, 1941, but her narrative transports me with ease.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on the recommendation of my sister-in-law. I read it in preparation for our visit to Pearl Harbor in a couple of weeks. It never occurred to me that children were living on Ford Island at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This book in written by one of those children, who witnessed the attach first hand.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a poignant and sweet story about a daughter of a Major stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attacks. She tells the story of how they came to be stationed there, the terrible day of Dec 7th, and the aftermath. An interesting perspective and told very well from the place of a 10 year old.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while staying in Ford Island and got to see many of the places mentioned in the book. Fascinating perspective on Pearl Harbor from a kid.

[Elin · Rating 4 out of 5]

080103 - 080119

Bought this one on our trip to Pearl Harbor.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book beautifully captured the perspective and innocence of a child during a time of terror. The imagery was fantastic leading up to the attacks—-I truly felt like I was in 1940s Hawaii, soaking in all of the scenery and the feeling of all things Aloha. Things were at peace in paradise.

The sadness that follows the attack is depicted so artistically by the author. I felt moved to tears as I remembered I wasn’t reading a fictional book but a true story. The author did a wonderful job detailing every mundane detail of that sleepy Sunday morning and weaving it so well into an event that was anything but ordinary. Her memory of the smallest of details truly makes you realize how caught off guard everyone truly was. I was particularly moved by the aftermath and the conditions in which children and families lived as they were waiting to evacuate Ford Island. When thinking of an attack such as this you think mainly of the main event. However the pain and suffering that trickles into the other details of ordinary life is illustrated so well here by the author. I think the happenings after the attack made me feel more humbled and taken back.

She details the mundane activities months after moving away and the pain is so clearly articulated. The pain and heartache follows this little girl as she moves on with her life, but the story is also not depressing. It just seems authentic and raw and I think that’s what I appreciated most about it.