Pearl Harbor: 5 top books on the attack

It was 69 years ago today – Dec. 7, 1941 – that the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a surprise attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Four US battleships were sunk and 188 aircraft were destroyed. On the US side, the human toll was horrific, with 2,402 personnel killed and 1,282 wounded.

For reflections on this historic day, we recommend one of the five titles below.

1. The USS Arizona: The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America

The USS Arizona: The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America by Joy Waldron Jasper, James P. Delgado, and Jim Adams relies on eyewitness accounts of the bombing and the sinking of the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack. The three authors, all of whom have dived on the wreck of the ship, tracked down as many Arizona survivors as they could find. (Jasper is the daughter of one of them). Jonathan Yardley, reviewing the book in the Washington Post, says, "[T]he authors have done a service to history as well as providing a powerfully compelling narrative of the events of that dreadful day."

To buy this book from Monitor affiliate Amazon.com, click here.

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