The Rise of Japan and Pearl Harbor (World War II Story) [Library Binding]

Julie Klam (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Smart Apple Media; 1 edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583401881
• ISBN-13: 978-1583401880
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julie Klam grew up in Bedford, New York. After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and interning at Late Night with David Letterman, she went on to write for such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, and The New York Times Magazine and for the VH1 television show Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Class Writing. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, daughter, and many dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first half of the War in the Pacific for young students, May 24, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rise of Japan and Pearl Harbor (World War II Story) (Library Binding)

It looks strange to have a color photograph of the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the cover of this book since we tend to think of World War II as having been fought in black & white. Indeed, the photograph on the cover is the only one in the pages of "The Rise of Japan and Pearl Harbor" that is in color, which just goes to prove my point. In her introduction, which appears at the start of all of the volumes in the World War II Chronicles, Julie Klam sets up the leaders on the two sides of the conflict and provides maps of the German conquests and the Pacific campaign. The latter is obviously of more value for this second volume in the series.

Klam begins by tracing the rise of military government in Japan following the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 to the invasion of Japan in 1931 and the establishment of the strongest navy in the Pacific by 1940. Chapters are devoted to the Japanese atrocities in China, and the "diplomatic war" between the United States and Japan that led up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The rest of the books follow the Japanese tide of conquest covering the attacks on Wake Island and the Philippines, the sinking of the British ships HMS "Prince of Wales" and HMS "Repulse," the surrender of Singapore, and the Battle of the Java Sea.

However, in the last few chapters the tide turns against the Japanese. After introducing young readers to America's top commander (General George C. Marshall, Henry H. Arnold, and Douglas McArthur and Admirals Ernest J. King and Chester W. Nimitz) Klam looks at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the activities of "Vinger Joe" Stilwell in the China-Burma-India Theater, and the pivotal naval Battle of Midway which finally turned the tide. I wish there were more details about that last battle concerning the almost unbelievable series of events that resulted in a decisive U.S. victory, but Klam's focus is on giving young readers an introduction to the first half of the war in Pacific through June 1942 without getting down to the level of military strategy and tactics.

The volume is illustrated with historic photographs and posters and has a glossary of over a dozen terms from Allies to Tripartite Pact. The information provided is a bit more specific than you would find in a standard American history textbook, which is precisely the point of a series like this. Klam's other volumes in the World War II Chronicles covers "Europe in Flames," Air War!", "The War at Home," "From D-Day to V-E Day," and "Victory in the Pacific."