Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book attempts to provide some insight into the subject of Admiral Husband Kimmel and General Walter Short and their roles in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the information presented in the book is good, it is very basic and does not go into much detail. The information included in the book really only amounts to a thumbnail sketch, and the author seems to concentrate his discussion more on the shortcomings of General Short than Admiral Kimmel.
The author bases his arguments from information obtained from the several Pearl Harbor inquiries, mainly the Army and Navy board inquiries. For example, in the chapter entitled "Accountability", each charge against Short is listed, along with an analysis of the response of Short. What perplexed me is why a similar approach was not taken in regards to Admiral Kimmel? I felt that by reading this book, much of Admiral Kimmel's story was omitted.
There are some interesting parts of the book, however. The author presents compelling evidence about the inter-service rivalries that existed between the Army and Navy, and how these rivalries directly lead to the disaster on December 7. Also, the failure to coordinate training and liasion activities between the two branches is effectively discussed.
Overall, I found this book to be interesting, but very basic. The information presented is good, but only the surface is scratched and the author doesn't go into great detail on any subject. I would recommend this as an introductory book, but there are other books about Pearl Harbor that discuss these same topics in much greater detail than this one does.
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When these two [authors] combine their considerable experience, the reader has to pay attention. Naval Aviation NewsIn 1999, by a vote of 52 to 47, the U.S. Senate cleared the names of Admiral Husband Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter Short of blame for leaving Pearl Harbor vulnerable to attack. According to the declaration, Kimmel and Short had performed their duties "competently and professionally," and that America's losses at Pearl were "not the result of dereliction of duty." Revisionist historians have been trying for years to portray Short and Kimmel as innocent scapegoats. However, Major General Kenneth Bergquist is among the many witnesses who went to their graves crying "foul," but not before telling their stories to historians Jack Lambert and Norman Polmar.This book combines the evidence of never-before-seen photos and documents, Lambert's taped interviews with some of the last surviving witnesses, exhaustive research of all remaining evidence, Polmar's perspective as naval warfare commentator for the History Channel, and Barry Levenson's legal experience trying cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, to finally put the case of the tragic failure of command and dereliction of duty leading up to December 7, 1941, to rest.Senator Strom Thurmond called Kimmel and Short "the final two victims of Pearl Harbor." In reality, was the last victim the truth?
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