![]() ![]() Thus we understand the attacks on the US battleships by hearing what sailors and marines on the ships did, what they could not do, what they saw and how they reacted. There is no overall high level view of what happened, or a moment by moment description of the events, but rather the story is the sum of all of the individual accounts. This book is very different in that the entire attack is viewed through the individual actions on hundreds of people, US sailors, marines, soldiers and civilians as well as Japanese sailors. Many of those give detailed explanations of what happened, when it happened and how each event affected the overall attack. There are many detailed books concerning the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that catapulted the US into World War 2 as an active combatant instead of its then current role as weapons and food supplier, including those from both the US and the Japanese perspective. I am very happy that I got it for free as a 'Plus' option - because it's actually worth a Credit if they ask for it. If you're interested in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and curious what it was like to plan/execute the mission or to face the terror on the ground, this book is an excellent option. Taken altogether, I rate this audiobook 8.5 stars out of 10. Gardner reads with commendable diction, timbre, and cadence - but much too slowly (listen at 1.15X) and with a relatively disinterested tone. Really any professional voice-actor could do a comparable job. the recording is quite creditable - well within "acceptable" parameters - it's just unremarkable. ![]() Less fortunately, the unspectacular narration from Grover Gardner lets the text down somewhat. The book isn't as effective as Lord's seminal exposé on the Titanic disaster ('A Night to Remember') - but 'Day of Infamy' is both informative and pulse-generating. Lord puts his readers/listeners with Japanese strategists, pilots, and midget-sub sailors with American signalmen desperately flashing warnings and with servicemen trying to save their comrades. The relatable humanity of that particular act of war is overwhelming. Walter Lord's narrative technique - coloring puntiliously-researched & accurately-described historical events with personal anecdotes - works very well when discussing the events of December 7, 1941. ![]()
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