Pearl Harbor: 5 top books on the attack

5. Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor

Cultures of War by Pulitzer Prize-winner John W. Dower is a book likely to stir controversy. Dower tracks similarities between US reactions to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the bombing of Hiroshima, the attacks of 9/11, and the second Iraq war, delving into questions of the power of symbolism in big attacks and its effects on the psyche of citizens. Writing for The Boston Globe, Anna Mundow said that, in "Cultures of War," "Dower exposes the dubious nature of any nation’s or movement’s claim to moral purity or clear conscience in an era when 'modern war remains largely wholesale killing.' "

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