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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting story despite weak characterization, October 16, 2007
In any story about the Pearl Harbor attack, the attack itself is going to be one of the central "characters," and the narrative of the attack is almost inevitably going to be the most dramatic part of the plot. That's just as well in this case, as I found "Pearl Harbor" by Gingrich and Forstchen to be an interesting and mildly thought-provoking novel despite being weighed down by characters to whom the reader develops (or at least this reader developed) very little personal or emotional connection.
This is an "alternative history" novel of sorts, but not the kind that assumes time travel or poses "counterfactuals" like Wendell Willkie winning the election in 1940. In fact, the point at which fiction diverges from fact in "Pearl Harbor" is so subtle that readers unfamiliar with the Pearl Harbor attack run the risk, I imagine, of never noticing where the split happened. The road the authors have taken, though, is a plausible one, and the consequences of that difference flow logically. It's this element I'm looking forward to seeing explored further in later books in the promised series.
What was far less satisfying, however, was the authors' character development and, frankly, their writing. For one thing, this could have used at least one more pass by a good editor to catch spelling errors ("chocks" versus "chokes;" "terra incognito"), anachronisms (would Winston Churchill really have described someone as "outside the loop" [p. 270]?), and repeated descriptions, phrases, or actions -- if I had a drink every time Fuchida "slapped his pilot on the shoulder," I'd be drunk as a senator by the time the bombs started falling.
The fictional characters here are, as I said, not particularly engaging. I realized a good part of the way through the book that I wasn't really interested in them as such, but only as pegs on which to hang the story. One I came to think of as "Captain Cecil Backstory," useful mainly for long discussions with Winston Churchill during which the authors could explain Japanese culture and politics. Real-life characters like Churchill and FDR struck me as very imprecise portraits. (I've read a lot by and about Churchill, and I know Gingrich has as well. I was surprised, therefore, by how non-Churchillian the "Churchill" in this book sounded.) The one person in the book I did find interesting, and about whom I'm looking forward to reading more in later books, was Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander of the Japanese air strikes.
Because I'm a student of the Pearl Harbor attack and have read a fair amount about it, both fiction and nonfiction, I approached this book with a certain eagerness. I'm really sorry the characterization left so much to be desired, but the plausible and interesting premise may be enough to justify it and make me want to pick up later titles.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Exciting "What If" Book About Pearl Harbor, May 31, 2007
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and historian William R. Forstchen have combined to write this exciting novel about the coming of war in the Pacific, as well as a chilling description of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But this time, the Japanese finish the job.
The story is told through the eyes of Commander James Watson, USN and Lieutenant Commander Cecil Stanford, Royal Navy. Both men work in cryptology, and, through the course of the book, travel all over the world. They even end up meeting Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese pilot who would eventually lead the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Throughout the course of the book, the reader learns, through Watson's and Stanford's eyes, about such events as the Japanese invasion of China, the rape of Nanking, and the sinking of the American gunboat Panay. All of these events set the Japanese, Americans, and British on a collision course toward war.
The story of the attack on Pearl Harbor only encompasses about a quarter of the book, but the story is amazing, and makes the reader wonder what would have really happened had the Japanese attack materialized in the manner conceived by Gingrich and Forstchen. In this fictionalized version of the attack, the Japanese have removed Admiral Nagumo from command of the Japanese striking force. Admiral Yamamoto himself has sailed forth with the strike force. Perhaps the most glaring narrative of the book is the description of a third attack wave. During the actual Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese launched only two attacks then turned for home waters, not wanting to risk detection by the Americans. In this story, the Japanese actually launch a third wave, and the results for the Americans are devastating: More ships are sunk, the harbor channel is bottled up, the oil tanks are destroyed, and, perhaps most destructive of all, the huge floating dry dock is destroyed by aerial torpedo attack.
I've read many books about the actual attack on Pearl Harbor, and I've wondered why the Japanese never launched a third wave to finish the job. After reading this account of what could have happened, I'm glad that the Japanese didn't launch the third wave. Even though this book is only a fictionalized account, the authors show the amount of potential additional damage that could have been achieved had the Japanese actually launched a third wave.
I give this book my highest recommendation. The story is very good, and the historical basis used to develop the story is excellent. I especially liked the development of the characters of Watson and Cecil. Their inclusion in the actual events that occurred in the early 1930s until the Japanese attack made the book much more enjoyable. The description of the Japanese attack, complete with the fictional third wave, is handled extremely well and leaves the reader with a sense of relief that the Japanese didn't actually use a third wave in 1941. If you're a fan of Pearl Harbor history, then don't miss this exciting book; it gives a view of the Pearl Harbor attack that we should be thankful never actually occurred.
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42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Read, But ..., May 20, 2007
... the jacket designer should be shot! Portraying Iowa Class battleships at Pearl Harbor in 1941, when they were not even commissioned until 1943?
But the book is a gem! I liked the efforts of the authors in the Gettysburg series, and this first volume is wonderful! Good alternative history, in my opinion, hinges on a slight change in the actual events to speculate on potential results.
I do not want to be a plot spoiler; other reviewers have given some details. But this is an ideal book for military history fans, as well as for those who enjoy well crafted fiction. I look forward to future volumes!
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