Day of Infamy

by Walter Lord

The Day of Infamy began as a quiet morning on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. But as Japan’s deadly torpedoes suddenly rained down on the Pacific fleet, soldiers, generals, and civilians alike felt shock, then fear, then rage. From the chaos, a thousand personal stories of courage emerged. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, letters, and diaries, Walter Lord recounts the many tales of heroism and tragedy by those who experienced the attack firsthand. From the musicians of the USS Nevada who insisted on finishing “The Star Spangled Banner” before taking cover, to the men trapped in the capsized USS Oklahoma who methodically voted on the best means of escape, each story conveys the terror and confusion of the raid, as well as the fortitude of those who survived.

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

241 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Walter Lord was an American author, best known for his documentary-style non-fiction account, A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

In 2009, Jenny Lawrence edited and published The Way It Was: Walter Lord on His Life and Books.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

“[H]ardly anything was going on. Sergeant Robert Hey began dressing for a rifle match with Captain J. W. Chappelman. Captain Levi Erdmann mulled over the base tennis tournament. Nurse Monica Conter - in between dates with Lieutenant Benning - took pulses and temperatures at the new base hospital. Private Mark Layton squeezed under the 7:45 breakfast deadline, but most of the men didn't even try. At the big new consolidated barracks, Staff Sergeant Charles Judd lay in bed, reading an article debunking Japanese air power in the September issue of Aviation magazine...”
- Walter Lord, Day of Infamy

Infamous or not, December 7, 1941 remains one of the most momentous days in American history. In the span of one Sunday morning, in the paradise of Hawaii, the isolationism of the United States ended forever, and it began its new journey as an intervenor – for better or worse – in world affairs.

Given the importance of the moment, and its undeniable drama, there have been countless books written about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor executed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. It’s impossible to anoint just one of these books as “the best.”

But I’ll go ahead and say it’s Walter Lord’s Day of Infamy.

***

Lord is most famous as the chronicler of the RMS Titanic, the doomed luxury liner that memorialized in A Night to Remember. A Night to Remember is justly hailed for its attention to personal detail, captured in numerous first-person survivor accounts that Lord gathered himself. Lord demonstrated a masterful ability to harness oral history into a compelling and fluid narrative. I don’t think it gives him too much credit to say that he is partly the reason Titanic endures over a century after she touched the bottom of the Atlantic.

Though not as lauded, Day of Infamy perfectly captures the style and immediacy of A Night to Remember, and in doing so creates the touchstone of Pearl Harbor literature.

***

Lord never wastes time in his books. He begins Day of Infamy in the late hours of December 6, 1941, deftly creating tension with a countdown to the violent collision. He introduces dozens of people, both American and Japanese, military and civilian, from admiral to lowly seaman. Some of these add only a dash of color to the narrative; others are followed throughout the day, as Lord spins his tale in novelistic fashion.

The battle coverage is comprehensive. Lord follows both the crews of the Japanese midget subs, and the men of the destroyer Ward who are hunting them. He shifts perspectives from the airmen in the bombers and torpedo planes assailing the U.S. Fleet, with those of the men – many quite young – manning the ships and airfields that are being pounded. Lord’s great strength in his writing is intimacy. By following individuals, rather than the sweep of events, you are placed on the ground, with a visceral sense of the experience, including confusion. His research also allows him to portray the interior thoughts of many of the characters, giving you a level of personal depth that is unusual in nonfiction.

In typical Lord-ian fashion, Day of Infamy moves from person to person, each individual’s recollection leading to the next. It’s pointillist history that Lord draws together to form a larger picture.

As [USS Oklahoma Ensign Bill] Ingram hit the water, the Arizona blew up. Afterward, men said a bomb went right down her stack, but later examination showed even the wire screen across the funnel top still intact. It seems more likely the bomb landed alongside the second turret, crashed through the forecastle, and set off the forward magazines.

In any case, a huge ball of fire and smoke mushroomed 500 feet into the air. There wasn’t so much noise – most of the men say it was more a “whoom” than a “bang” – but the concussion was terrific. It stalled the motor of Aviation Ordnanceman Harand Quisdorf’s pickup truck as he drove along Ford Island. It hurled Chief Albert Molter against the pipe banister of his basement stairs. It knocked everyone flat on Fireman Stanley H. Rabe’s water barge. It blew Gunner Carey Garnett and dozens of men off the Nevada…Commander Cassin Young off the Vestal…Ensign Vance Fowler off the West Virginia. Far above, Commander Fuchida’s bomber trembled like a leaf. On the fleet landing at Merry’s Point, a Navy captain wrung his hands and sobbed that it just couldn’t be true.

On the Arizona, hundreds of men were cut down in a single searing flash…

The downside to this style is chronological confusion. Lord has been criticized for the way he unrealistically compresses space and time. To be fair, that seems rather true to the way somebody perceives a traumatic experience, given the discombobulating nature of an early Sunday morning bombing. Still, it does make an overall picture harder to discern. Lord tries to overcome this by keeping a timeframe on the upper left page, and by timestamping when possible. That said, certain parts of the narrative are drawn in exquisite detail, while at another point, five torpedoes might hit the Oklahoma in one sentence.

***

I last read Day of Infamy when I was ten or eleven. That’s when I picked up a dust-jacketless first edition for a dollar at a used book store, with the super-old-book smell and sneezing fit thrown in for free. Even then, I was struck by the tone.

Day of Infamy is rather jaunty for a book that describes the death of some 2,400 men in a lopsided walloping. Yes, there is destruction, and dying men, and wounded men, and wounded national pride. But that takes a backseat to the “epic of defeat” that Lord crafts. He places emphasis on small bits of defiance, such as the band of the Nevada finishing the National Anthem while being strafed. He relishes flashes of humor and the absurd, even while sanitizing the violence. The language is also sanitized. There is no swearing in this book, from Lord or his interviewees. I find it hard to believe that no one cursed on December 7, and it’s obvious that Lord or his publishers made the decision to keep it clean. This, of course, is a grossly insulting choice, but in keeping with standard mid-20th century hypocrisies.

I suppose this pugnacious quality is a function of its time. In 1957, the American Century still felt like the American Century. We’d been roughed up in Korea, but had not yet fallen apart in Vietnam. Accordingly, this reads as a throwback of sorts.

***

Day of Infamy is true to its title. It covers a day, and a day only. Lord completely ignores the context leading up to the war. He even quotes one sailor as saying of the Japanese: “I didn't even know they were sore at us!” (Which is a pretty strikingly ignorant thing to say, given that the world had been at war since 1937, but like I said, these were young guys). Back when Day of Infamy first came out, I don’t suppose this mattered. Pearl Harbor had mutated with subsequent victory into a redemptive moment. The lead-up to war did not have the same importance as reframing that opening salvo. In other words, Pearl Harbor wasn’t so much a lesson to be learned as a blemish to be treated.

Reading this now – after September 11, 2001, and a global pandemic in 2020 – is a very different experience. Suddenly, the things that Lord ignored – specifically, the governmental unpreparedness – are the things that feel the most important.

The “system was blinking red” the 9/11 Commission Report stated, and that was true in 1941 as well. In Day of Infamy, Lord plays for laughs an anecdote where a sailor has to throw wrenches at low-flying Japanese planes, because the guns are not yet ready to fire. That flippancy regarding a distant Sunday morning reads differently in light of a not-so-distant Tuesday in September, when a powerful and unsuspecting nation was humbled by four airplanes. The Japanese required a slightly higher cost, losing 29 airplanes, five midget subs, and less than 100 men killed.

This is an observation, not a criticism. When you create a lasting work, as Lord has done, it is going to be read differently by different generations.

***

It should be noted that Lord is more than a historian. He is a preservationist. Authors who tackle historical subjects always brag about the primary source research they’ve done. All the documents they’ve encountered. The hours they’ve spent in musty libraries.

Lord beats them, because he went out and created the primary source documents himself. Day of Infamy is the product of 577 Pearl Harbor participants making their contributions. Over 450 of those witnesses wrote eyewitness accounts for Lord. This is a remarkable addition to the historical record.

***

Pearl Harbor was clearly a turning point in history, not just for the United States, but the world. It instantly changed the complexion – and the eventual outcome – of the greatest war ever fought. As such, authors will continue to take their swings at narrating the attack, long after the last participant passes away. All these books will have to contend with the long shadow of Walter Lord, who helped to create the sources that will be used.

[Paul Haspel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A date which will live in infamy.” Thus did U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt refer, in one of the most memorable addresses ever given by an American statesman, to December 7, 1941 – the Sunday morning on which air and naval forces of the Japanese Empire launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. President Roosevelt, in a last-minute edit of his December 8 address to the U.S. Congress, is said to have crossed out the words "world history" and written "infamy" in their place. His name for the date of the attack stuck, and Walter Lord drew upon Roosevelt's choice of words for the title of Day of Infamy, his ground-breaking 1957 book about Pearl Harbor.

Lord, a Baltimore journalist, was a diligent and conscientious interviewer; he sought out the testimony of almost 600 Pearl Harbor survivors while conducting research for Day of Infamy. Moreover, he was a talented and prolific writer with a gift for bringing historical events to life with you-are-there immediacy. While he is probably best known for A Night to Remember, his classic 1955 recounting of the 1912 sinking of R.M.S. Titanic, this book draws upon his talents in a comparably memorable way.

In Day of Infamy, Lord shows his talent for finding the small anecdote that contributes to the reader’s understanding of the big picture. Early in the book, for example, while discussing the preliminary Japanese maneuvers that led up to the attack, Lord looks at the attempt by a Japanese mini-sub to infiltrate Pearl Harbor, and on the subsequent attack on the mini-sub by the destroyer U.S.S. Ward. An ensign in a nearby PBY flying boat, participating in the attack, worried that they might be accidentally conducting an attack on a U.S. submarine: “He could see the court-martial now. And he could see himself labeled for the rest of his life as the man who sank the American sub. In a wave of youthful self-pity he began picturing himself trying to get any job anywhere” (p. 51). In that detail, Lord captures a simple and deadly truth: that war is a stressful enterprise carried on mainly by young people who are not at all sure whether what they are doing will turn out as they are hoping.

Not all of the anecdotes set forth by Lord are that light-hearted in nature. Once the attack has actually begun, there are plenty of stories of wartime tragedy. For instance, a private first class at the Army Air Corps’s Hickam Field is described as seeing the danger facing a group of fellow soldiers inside a building, and calling out to warn them, but in vain: “It was too late. Trays, dishes, food splattered in all directions as a bomb crashed through the roof. Thirty-five men were wiped out instantly” (p. 100). There are plenty of such grim details in Day of Infamy; over 2400 Americans died that day.

Lord takes care to convey the Japanese perspective on the raid as well, as when he chronicles how Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first wave of attack bombers, tried to ensure that all of its pilots would time their attacks precisely. “When Fuchida saw the third plane in his group get out of line and prematurely drop its bomb, he was thoroughly annoyed. The man had a reputation for carelessness anyhow. Fuchida scribbled, ‘What happened?’ on a small blackboard and waved it at the culprit. The pilot indicated that he had been hit, that the bomb lines had been shot away, and Fuchida was filled with remorse” (p. 154).

But as Lord is an American writer, chronicling this American defeat that propelled the United States of America into the Second World War, it should be no surprise that Day of Infamy foregrounds stories of American endurance and heroism. Characteristic of this area of emphasis in the book is Lord’s description of what happened when a second wave of Japanese dive bombers struck the Kanehoe Bay naval air station 90 minutes after the initial attack: “Suddenly all guns began to concentrate on one fighter. Everyone had the same idea at once – it seemed like telepathy. Smoke began pouring from the plane. Ensign Reese wondered if the pilot was crazy – it was hard to believe that they were actually shooting one down. But it was true. The pilot never pulled up. As he hit the hillside, there was a cloud of dirt, a burst of fire in the air, and the plane completely disintegrated” (p. 200).

Such moments of victory were rare enough for the Americans at Pearl Harbor, and therefore it is understandable that Lord wants to make the most of them.

Lord also captures well the chaotic scenes after the air raid had ended. We know, with the benefit of hindsight, that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a raid and nothing more; its aim was to damage the U.S. Pacific Fleet sufficiently to dissuade the United States from challenging the Japanese Empire’s plans to control the Pacific basin. But the people of Hawaii, that Sunday, did not have that hindsight-based knowledge; for all they knew, the air raid was but a prelude to a full-scale Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Against that background, the courage and shared effort that military and civilian personnel alike displayed in treating the wounded and preparing for possible invasion was most impressive. Characteristic in that regard were the words of one man at Queens Hospital, “riddled with shrapnel. When Dr. Forrest Pinkerton began explaining that he would have to delay treating the less serious wounds, the man calmly broke in, ‘Just do what you can, I know there are other people waiting’” (p. 254).

Lord concludes by chronicling President Roosevelt’s “date which will live in infamy” speech from December 8, 1941. As Lord puts it, “The speech was over in six minutes and war voted in less than an hour, but the real job was done in the first ten seconds. ‘Infamy’ was the note that struck home, the word that welded the country together until the war was won” (p. 286).

Day of Infamy is well-illustrated with maps and photographs. Yet the heart of the book can be found in the hundreds of interviews that Lord meticulously conducted with participants who, at the time, were still of age to remember. When Lord wrote this book, after all, the Pearl Harbor attack was only sixteen years in the past; he had the same abundance of living witnesses, ready to testify, as a journalist of today writing about the 9/11 attacks or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For any reader who wants a quick, concise, compelling, and well-written account of the Pearl Harbor attack, Day of Infamy provides just that sort of reading experience.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Point

Sunday 07/12/1941 will resonate in American hearts forever, it is the day that the USA was ‘suddenly and deliberately attacked’, as President Franklin D Roosevelt said, it was ‘a date that will live in infamy.’ The events were in fact shocking, a introduction for the USA into a new type of war. One where civilians and military personnel alike were legitimate targets, but one where no formal declaration of war was used before fighting began, one where an enemy would stop at nothing to defend its conquests. Walter Lord’s book describes the USA’s unwilling entry into the war in a form of multiple personal biographies. In a unique way, we are told the story through the lens of people who were swallowed up in one of the most famous events in history.

The book and the research goes backs almost sixty years, Lord having the advantage to interview hundreds who were there. This alongside official records from both Japan and the USA has allowed him to build an almost minute by minute biography of the attack. The account is very impressive, weaving as much history as individual anecdote to give a full and rounded view of the day. I learnt hard facts such as the sinking of the USS Arizona sunk at 08:10 hours, barely 15 minutes into the attack, which lasted only one hour and 15 minutes. Both equally I learnt of the stunned naval and civilian personnel who whilst breakfasting or attending church didn’t even realise what was going on. The tragedy, triumphs and bravery are all crammed into this tiny book, which has stood the test of time.

Lord is fair enough to both sides to account the prejudice of Americans, some of whom nearly slaughtered innocent Japanese-Americans on the island and the paradoxes of peace time military bureaucracy which often does not translate into war practicality. For example men not handing out weapons and ammunition as there was no authority. Thankfully there is always someone pragmatic to overcome these barriers. The social norms of the 1940s are also highlighted, the woman who is prevented from being involved because of her sex. He is also aware of the limitations of his sources, memory and official documentation can both be inaccurate. As Lord says himself, time and reality gets lost in a fighting man who is trying to survive. Memory is inaccurate and can be warped especially in times of traumatic events.

Overall the book was truly very good. In such a short space I have learnt so much about one of the key events of the Second World War. It almost feels like any bigger book on the battle would now be too tedious. Pitched at a great pace and level, I really enjoyed it.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As "on the ground" an account of Pearl Harbor as you're probably going to get. If you ever wonder what it would have been like to be there that fateful Sunday morning, this is the book for you. Like many others I was already pretty familiar with the Japanese attack, so personal remembrances and little details is exactly what I was hoping for and exactly what Lord provides.

[Boudewijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read with lots of eye witness accounts of the attack on Pearl Harbour

Easy to read, told from the perspective of dozens of individuals from the US side who lived through the battle and interesting from beginning to end. I have read a few books about the attack on Pearl Harbour (for example Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack) which dealt with the topic from a strategic and operational point of view, so this book was a nice follow up.

Beware, if you are looking for a hardcore historical account with new information this is not the book, but Walter Lord is an excellent writer and the book will be entertaining and enjoyable to everyone.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to a review and recommendation of a GR friend (thanks Matt) I was reminded of the upcoming 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and that further reminded me of the trip my wife and I made there a few years ago. My friend's review piqued my curiosity and made my book selection much easier though after reading the book I have to say it wasn't what I was expecting. I have read several books about the war in the Pacific and Pearl is certainly mentioned and given considerable attention in many of those books. However, this book is unlike any of the others I have read. While it is a history it didn't read like one. I was put more in mind of a newspaper report fashioned from on the scene reporters. The entire books is about what those people that were there actually experienced and saw. Even the experiences of some of the Japanese are recounted. Sadly, what is really difficult, maybe impossible, to convey in words is the time frame the described events take place within. The entire attack took place in less than 2 hours and many of the events described took place in minutes or at the same time as other described events. If you really stop and contemplate that you start to imagine the hellish confusion that must have been occurring. Yet all these service people fell back on their drilling and their duty and performed under extraordinary conditions many literally performing as flames surrounded and consumed them. This book really put my visit to this site in perspective and now I think a return visit might be required. My wife and I spent a whole day there and it wasn't enough. If you want to know what happened at Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941 then this is the book to read. It is about the people that were there and what they went through and not much else. Well worth reading.

[Darya Silman · Rating 2 out of 5]

My poor rating reflects my inability to grasp the full picture of events when they are told from multiple viewpoints. I can't imagine the number of interviews Walter Lord had made to write Day of Infamy or A Night to Remember, but for me, this method of narration doesn't work. I got distracted from listening, and when I tried to find a familiar spot in the story, I couldn't: all eyewitness accounts sounded the same. The chronology of events at the book's end was more helpful than the whole book. This type of narration suits readers well if they have a clear, coherent knowledge of the events beforehand (I remember only the basics).

I don't doubt that it's a great book. Unfortunately, it's not for me.

(I listened to an audiobook. I had to slow down the speed to understand the information.)

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrated by Grover Gardner 6 hrs and 50 mins

Description: Day of Infamy is Walter Lord's gripping, vivid re-creation of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The listener accompanies Admiral Nagumo's task force as it sweeps toward Hawaii; looks on while warning after warning is ignored on Oahu; and is enmeshed in the panic, confusion, and heroism of the final attack.

The best title for today, after the Friday 13th terrorism in Paris yeah, Day of Infamy indeed.

Short enough to keep my attention whilst hands were busy with chores, unsettling that no-one took the radar blips seriously.

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written account of the attack on Pearl Harbor for the Japanese and American perspective. Now the US is in the war too. I would definitely recommend this one if you like WWII history. Will never forget Yamamoto's reply to the attack, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite my Herculean internal struggle to discipline myself and reign in grade inflation, I simply cannot give this book anything less than five stars. Pre-selecting classic books that I know in advance are going to be good and not waste my time would tend to result ultimately in a good rating, in any case.

I will keep this short, because giving the world's richest man uncompensated content to help him sell books is not a good use of my time, and, at any rate, my GR friend here, Matt, has written something pretty close to the definitive review of this book, and he delves into some valid criticisms that I'm not going to take the time to delineate:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That preamble all aside, let's just jump into it (sorry Philip DeFranco...):

First, Walter Lord's Day of Infamy is NOT a book about the full historical, political/geopolitical and military dimensions of the attack on Pearl Harbor. For that, you'll have to find weightier tomes. What it IS -- and in this, it is peerless -- is a three-dimensional, on-the-ground, prismatic, kaleidoscopic, flavorfully detailed account of real people on both sides dealing with the confusions, excitements and ongoing tragedies of that historic Sunday on Oahu. Lord somehow with absolute mastery managed to compress the experiences of nearly 600 people, including Admiral Halsey himself, into barely more than 200 pages that are lightning-paced, vivid, and epic in scope; putting the reader so firmly into the middle of the action that it feels like you've landed on Pearl Harbor in a time machine.

Lord's account is full of everyday details that capture the lives of its subjects and the ways the attacks disrupted their routines and sense of security, often with unexpectedly comical results. It is a very black form of humor, but it works, and strangely I found myself laughing quite often at Lord's pointedly ironic setups and payoffs. For the Americans, Pearl Harbor became a sort of comedy of errors -- as the numerous deaths and injuries from their own confused friendly fire reveals -- and Lord points these out almost as a sort of punchline. Among many favorite passages for me was one young soldier who bypassed his regular pair of worn-out shoes in favor of a brand-new pair because, he reasoned, he might as well start the war off right in proper fashion.

This is definitely meant to be a popular history, and is written with the kind of requisite flair and panache that Lord seemed to have perfected better than just about anyone. I'd even say it surpasses his essential and classic account of the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember, and for me that's no small admittance.

I also loved the story of the inept Japanese midget sub commander, Kazuo Sakamaki, who proved that failure can actually be the best thing that can happen to you in life. Because of it, he survived and lived a long life.

In short, a classic book on World War II that I recommend most highly.

--
EG/KR@KY 2018

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walter Lord's "Day of Infamy" retells the small details and planning leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which was where one of the U.S.'s most important fleets resided. The book is set in Japan to Hawaii on December 7, 1941, a day significant to the larger event of World War II. Meticulously planning an attack on the U.S., a group of Japanese generals and commanders gathered an army and began sailing toward Hawaii, a dreaded trip that was not only long and boring but also full of caution to keep from being discovered. The Japanese leaders in charge stayed tuned with American radio, a spying strategy that let them know the Americans did not seem to expect the arrival of the Japanese. The book provides an insightful view of dilemmas and doubts that eventually became vital decisions for the outcome of the war, which shows us a more real side of these ordinary individuals and major historical events.

There isn't simply one memorable event, but rather, a multitude of occasional thoughts conjoined with the rest of the crew's thoughts. One of the deciding factors of the tide of the bombing is Admiral Nagumo's commitment to carrying on with the attack if sighed by the enemy on December 7th.

Ultimately, the story of the bombing of Pearl Harbor is a story of ordinary soldiers doing their duty, the American navy carelessly ignoring significant hints of the Japanese, the Japanese furiously scrutinizing their plan to stay on task, and both sides refusing to let anything break their pride and sense of nationalism. It all adds up to a tale of human flaws and character, a closer observation of the attackers and bictims behind the war, which shows the raw side of individual men rather than the monotonous, stone-like army they are portrayed as. "Day of Infamy" tells that story very vividly, revealing to us the every thought and feeling of each man during each second leading up to the tragic bombing.

I would recommend this book to those who are patient, observant, and open to a world of different language. Throughout every few pages, there is a change of characters, because the author gives us a view point of numerous people at one given moment. Thought it was a bit difficult for me to adapt to this style at first, I was soon immersed in the little pieces of the personal stories of every man. Each page is filled with a subtle tension as you read the Japanese and American perspectives of what is going on, anticipating when they will finally encounter. Terms used by sailors and the navy such as Ensign and knots took a while for me to get used to as well. Moreover, the most captivating aspect of this book is the dash of overall irony as the reader foresees the attacks while innocent soldiers and Hawaiian civilians live their last minutes oblivious.

I learned that there will always be human factors behind iconic historical events. Events we learn about in every day history class can give us the cold, hard facts of who, what, when, and where something happened. However, it is up to how we perceive the choices and decisions made by the people who wield a great deal of power and responsibility that can change the life of a mass of people. What it comes down to is their reason for doing such things. Ironically, I also came across a quote that relates to the tragic event. “Every form of human conflict may be reduced to precisely the same pattern of mental events. We are all totalitarian despots over our own thoughts, bound to keep our minds in complete control. Control requires security. Security demands war. All war is the macrocosmic residue of neural synapses struggling to maintain their rhythm.” War and violence are not spontaneous, and they are decided by humans like us.

I read this book with an open mind, and I ended it with a pity for those that enter themselves into the zone of war. The Japanese and Americans may have called it national pride, but was it really necessary to launch such a huge attack to declare dominance? I don't think the problem is in military tactics and power, but instead, it lies in the human character of choosing to keep diplomatic peace.

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

History isn't always fascinating to me, but I swear I would be happy to read any of Lord's books! It knew nothing about the attack at Pearl Harbor, but now I do! Presenting historical facts through interpersonal relationships and people's feelings makes history interesting, poignant, and personalized.

I heartily recommend this book as well as A Night to Remember. I plan to read The Night Lives On next!

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in preparation for a visit to Pearl Harbor.

This book is a compilation of first-hand accounts of December 7, 1941. Very interesting!

[Jason Herrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Lord’s book on the attack of Pearl Harbor is pretty good. I enjoyed the firsthand play by play accounts from so many different perspectives.

[William Richardson]

December 7,1941 a day which will live in INFAMY. Have read this book many times and never get tired of reading it. The accounts of the people involved can leave a person spellbound. This was the 1st adult book I read on Pearl Harbor. As a teenager I read a Landmark book titled From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa by Bruce Bliven Jr. Even now I still feel a sense of anger at the Japanese for this sneak attack. One thing I do remember reading in another book that one of the Japanese leaders said after the attack, was he was afraid that all they had done was awaken a sleeping giant. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested on some 1st hand accounts of the attack. It's also a good stepping stone to read more books on WWII.

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For so many of us living now, our day of horror and tragedy was 9/11. But it was 80 years ago on December 7, 1941 that the United States was attacked on its own soil for the first time. Just as with 9/11 or the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, people who lived when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese could recount in detail where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.

This extraordinary book by Walter Lord is the story of that December day in 1941—a balmy, sunny, beautiful day in paradise. Until suddenly it was turned into hell.

The power of this book is in the incredible level of detail. From recounting such things as the meals eaten the night before, the party atmosphere of that weekend, and even the popular music playing on the island, Walter Lord transports the reader to Pearl Harbor on that fateful weekend. Well over 500 people—from admirals to everyday civilians—contributed to the book, sharing their memories, documents, and personal eyewitness reflections.

Find out:
• The shocking (well, now it is shocking to us looking back) level of utter and complete disbelief among the sailors and marines, as well as most people living on the island, that they were actually under attack—even while the bombs were exploding in front of their eyes. Little boys waved to the Japanese pilots, never suspecting they were the enemy. Almost everyone thought it was a drill put on by the Army.

• The bravery of so many young men who jumped into action and did things they never imagined they could accomplish.

• What the Japanese sailors and pilots were thinking and doing on their way to the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the aftermath. This is one of the most fascinating parts of this book.

• The bizarre and overly imaginative rumors—all false—that plagued the area in the hours and days after the attack.

• The stunning overreaction that took place in and around Pearl Harbor after dark on December 7. The fact that more people weren't killed then by friendly fire is a miracle.

This book will dramatically transport readers to that day of infamy in a way that will almost make you feel like you're there. History truly comes alive in these few hundred pages.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Tora! Tora! Tora! was on TV recently and it put me into a Pearl Harbor kind of mood. Walter Lord does what he does best, with stories of the attack not just from the American military POV but also the Japanese attacking and the civilians running for cover. Now he's whet my appetite to read more about the kerfuffle on Niihau but so far I've learned of only one obscure book that's difficult to find. If anyone knows of a book about this incident (non-fiction, historical fiction, doesn't matter) let me know.

5-17-2025

[Garhett Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on Pear Harbor I have ever read. Fascinating detail of survivors.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, concise one volume treatment.

8/10

[John Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still, after reading uncountable books in my lifetime, this remains my favorite book ever. History, at times, has taken a bad rap for being taught as dates and events, or as being written about the same way, with the opinion that the subject is boring, or irrelevant. This book dispels all those remarks and then some. It is written the way history should be written--and taught: focusing on people, their interactions with one another, and their reactions to events, all within the context of the times. I feel such a personal attachment to so many of the people described in this book. Even knowing what will happen, I am always deeply concerned about these people and how the day affected them. I know "you are there" is a trite term, but I can't think of a better term to use for Walter Lord's writing style. I have read this book dozens of times, and I am always riveted by the story, and of the unfolding events on this tragic day in American history.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally written in 1957 the author/historian had direct access to hundreds of people present at Pearl Harbor during the 1941 attack that no historian would have today.

A good leisure read, it's the kind of book to let wash over you as you read. The author literally interviewed hundreds of witnesses and it is a pretty safe bet he included the full names of each and every one of them here. This made much of the book seem a little scattered which caused me to lose focus as I listened.

The author provides a unique Japanese perspective of the attack and their thoughts, fears, discussions, and actions among the crews of the enormous fleet of Japanese ships and carriers as they approached the Hawaiian islands. He does the same with the individual branches of the armed forces present and does so chronologically, offering when possible the specific time when events took place.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is easy to understand why this book is considered a classic. This is a very well written account of the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Walter Lord weaves together 577 first hand accounts, mostly American military, but also some Japanese military and civilians living in Hawaii at the time of the attack, into a gripping narrative. This book is light on the planning and strategy involved leading up to the attack, which is clear in the title - Day of Infamy. There are other great books that cover the important planning and strategy aspects of the attack, Gordon W. Prange's At Dawn We Slept to name just one. Walter Lord's book is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about the direct experiences and perspectives of U.S. military personnel (Navy, Marine Corps, and Army) as well as civilians present during the attack on Pearl Harbor. I highly recommend this book!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book as background reading in preparation for a visit to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona. Though I knew the basics of the attack and the US entrance into WWII, I wanted to learn more.

The book itself was very readable. The individual perspectives ran the gamut from:

sadly moving as men and some women risked and in many cases lost their lives serving their country and their fellow soldiers

infuriating as you could see the mistakes being made and knew of the impending attack

hilarious

The things I found most interesting were:

Radar - Radar actually detected the Japanese aircraft approaching Oahu an hour before the attack began. The reports were incorrectly dismissed as friendly American planes which were expected to the island later in the day. In some ways the misinterpretation of the incoming planes isn't that interesting, more interesting is that in general the military simply didn't understand the value of radar at all. Until this point radar was like a middle school science experiment, something that was interesting but not very useful. Pearl Harbor opened their eyes to the value of radar.

Transition from Battleships to Aircraft carriers - This attack showed that the era of the battleship was over and that aircraft carriers were the new power.

Surprise attack - The attack really was a total surprise. So many people both military and civilian didn't believe we were being attacked even as they saw bombs dropping. Reading the book helped me understand how this event was similar to the 9/11 attack.

Communications challenge - Even though Pearl Harbor was attacked starting just before 8am, other airfields on Oahu were still not aware of the situation as much as 30 minutes later until the Japanese started attacking them also. We have so much better means of connecting now but still communicating the right information to the right people at the right level of detail is a challenge.

Resiliency - Most of the boats that were bombed by the Japanese in the attack on Pearl Harbor were put back into service during WWII. Pretty amazing.

Highly recommend for anyone interested in learning more about Pearl Harbor.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read Lord's book on the Titanic years ago, and knew that prior to the movie in the 1990's, that book was considered one of the ultimate texts on the Titanic because of the research Lord did on his topic. Lord did as much, if not more, research into Pearl Harbor...using different sources, both official and non-official (such as letters and diaries of the men involved). This made this book a classic 'must-read' for anyone interested in the Pacific part of World War II. Yes, it's an older book...but that doesn't negate its validity. If anything, the fact that it was written closer to when it actually happened, added to it being made real, even when we live so long after the fact. I wanted to learn more about this Pacific war, because my grandfather was a commander in the Navy based at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

The writing in this book was so good, that you could see the Japanese as they bombed Pearl Harbor. I didn't realize they didn't just bomb the ships and planes. They actually shot at civilians and homes, and other places which really were not military targets. I also didn't know that the U.S. military ended up setting Honolulu on fire...it seems that while they were shooting at the Japanese some of their shots ended up hitting the city, and hurting civilians.

Walter Lord was fair and gave information about the Japanese as well, especially what their thoughts and feelings were as they attempted to pull off this 'ambush'. I think we are far enough away from WWII, not to harbor bad feelings against men who thought they were doing what was right for their country.

This is a great book, that belongs on the must-read list for people who like their history. It is a fast read, but it is an important read. I think it should be required reading in highschool, so we don't forget what happened, and what all those men and women died for.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and well written. I liked the style of writing that the author used to add plenty of personal experiences throughout the book. It almost makes it feel like you are there as it is happening including many of the Japanese. Unlike many other books written about the attack on Pearl Harbor this one focuses one that one day and the lead up to the actual attack. Great book for anyone interested in WWII history and the attack that brought the United States into the war.

[Jeni McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed the overall knowledge of this book, it was very difficult to follow all of the different technical terms. The author seems to assume that anyone reading the book will be familiar with the ranking systems of the Army and Navy, and have a very good understanding of boating terms. I have neither, and so, found it very difficult to follow several of the most important parts of the book.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just reread this after fifty years, and boy howdy, does it hold up. Lord is famous for A Night to Remember, the book that provided the first real account of the Titanic sinking. As with Night, in which the stories of Titanic passengers and crew were organized into a deeply personal narrative, Day utilizes copious interviews Lord conducted with survivors of Pearl Harbor. These included military and naval personnel on both sides of the attack as well as civilians, Navy wives and other eyewitnesses. The result is another gripping account that takes something that felt chaotic at the moment it happened, but upon which Lord imposes the kind of order our eyes provide when we stand in front of a mosaic. Each individual occurrence becomes a part of a coherent whole, i.e. the overall arc of roughly 24 hours on a December Sunday in 1941. Lord doesn't spend a lot of time discussing how the attack came about, or what happened after it ended. He is dispassionate about Kimmel's and Short's decision to line up the battleships and planes in neat rows that made them easier targets. The American military leadership was on heightened alert on December 7, but they expected an attack in the form of sabotage. The planes displayed on the runways of Oahu in neat formation were easier to defend that way. A series of unfortunate blunders prevented early warning to Oahu that the Japanese were on their way. Inexperienced radar operators mistook the Japanese planes on their screen for an incoming group of B-17s from California. An American destroyer sighted and sank a Japanese minisub at the entrance to the harbor, but its report wasn't taken seriously. Once he covers these pre-attack moments, Lord focuses on the disaster itself.

A lot of new information has been uncovered or declassified since Lord wrote his book, and we now have a deeper understanding of the logistics that informed both sides' actions. But Day of Infamy remains a deeply satisfying account of how individual men and women reacted to the disaster. Essential reading for those interested in the event that propelled the United States into World War II.

Highly recommend.

[Daniel LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Day of Infamy by Walter Lord is an amazing book about the days leading up to, the events of the day, and the aftermath of the devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. This book tells the story from various sailors that day and gives a real insight on what it was like during the attack. Originally published in 1957,this book still to this day is one of the best books about the attack. I liked this book because of the first person accounts from sailors to residents near by. This allowed me to get a better understanding of the horror the brave sailors had to go through that day. This book also made me want to visit the site of the attack to further my education into this topic. This is a fantastic book and if you like WWII history, this is an amazing book to read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the book on Pearl Harbor that I was looking for, even if I didn't know it. You can read a thousand books on the tactics, the diplomatic poses, the command level decisions. But this work was written originally in '57, when there were still a significant number of survivors from both sides, and the author weaves their individual stories together for a much richer tapestry than you get from a normal account. The near misses, the rapid (and not so rapid) responses, the individual heroics and the moments of unintentional hilarity. I literally both laughed and cried at the human moments that I just never got to see before.

The one nit that I have is something that is a sign of the times, although it still bugs me. The author Westernized the Japanese names, from Lastname Firstname to Firstname Lastname. It makes me nuts when authors do that, but given when the book was written I'm not really surprised. So I while I would have preferred that he kept the names as they should have been, that barely tips the scales against everything else that is great about this book. 100% recommended.

[Nolan Zink · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extremely in depth. It goes minute by minute of the attack at Pearl Harbor, from both the Japanese and American points of view. It is kind of hard to read, because every couple sentences it switches to the story of another person and what they were doing at that moment. As a result, it’s a slow read because it’s almost all straight facts. However, overall a great book and it probably took years to write.