The Way It Was: Pearl Harbor, the Original Photographs (World War II Commemorative Series) [Paperback]

Donald M. Goldstein (Author), Katherine V. Dillon (Author), J. Michael Wenger (Author)

Book Description

Series: World War II Commemorative Series | Publication Date: April 1995

From Library Journal

At long last, the familiar and overused photographs of the "Day of Infamy" can be retired. The 430 prints in this new and welcome collection were gathered from various Japanese and U.S. sources, and most have never been seen by the general public. The majority were taken during the height of the air raid itself, many from Japanese cockpits. Along with numerous maps and sketches, they are arranged according to the various phases of the battle and are supplemented with commentary by two of Gordon Prange's coauthors (Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon). The overall effect is to give the reader an uncanny sense of being present at the battle. This book will make a wonderful companion piece to Prange's now-classic At Dawn We Slept.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

At long last, the familiar and overused photographs of the Day of Infamy can be retired. The 430 prints in this new and welcome collection were gathered from various Japanese and U.S. sources, and most have never been seen by the general public. The majority were taken during the height of the air raid itself, many from Japanese cockpits. Along with numerous maps and sketches, they are arranged according to the various phases of the battle and are supplemented with commentary by two of Gordon Prange's coauthors (Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon) The overall effect is to give the reader an uncanny sense of being present at the battle. This book will make a wonderful companion piece to Prange's now-classic At Dawn We Slept ( LJ 11/1/81).
- Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

J. Michael Wenger is a historian living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The late Katherine V. Dillon, Donald M. Goldstein and the late Gordon W. Prange created numerous World War II classics, including At Dawn We Slept; Miracle at Midway; and God’s Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (Brassey’s, Inc., reprint 2003). They also collaborated with historian J. Michael Wenger on several books, including The Way It Was: Pearl Harbor-The Original Photographs (Brassey’s, Inc., 1995); Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Brassey’s, Inc., 1995); and The Pearl Harbor Papers.

Donald M. Goldstein is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, a professor of public and international affairs, and a best-selling author. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Brassey's Inc (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028811208
• ISBN-13: 978-0028811208
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,900,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!, November 12, 2005

By 

In the Middle of the Road (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Way It Was - Pearl Harbor: The Original Photographs (America Goes to War) (Paperback)

This book is absolutely terrible, a waste of money. The photographs are so badly reproduced that they're little more than muddy smudges. The quality is far worse than anything your local newspaper can produce in the way of pictures.

I can only assume the current version is different than the one that was given five stars. I've seen many of these photographs in other places ... and some original prints. Most of them come from beautiful monochromatic prints, not difficult to reproduce or to print in books. And, in this paperback version while the size is nice, it's a waste. You could double the size of the book and it would still be a waste.

There are many examples of a caption identifying something (very large something at that) on the deck of a ship. It isn't so much that you can't identify the object, you can't even make out the ship.

There are many instances of this. If you're inclined to buy this sort of thing, this is one instance in which you'll be far better off looking at a copy in a regular book store to insure you're not disappointed and throwing your money away. I know that I threw mine away.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Read Only 2 Books On Pearl Harbor, This Has to Be One, June 19, 2001

By 

Mark A. Savage - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way It Was - Pearl Harbor: The Original Photographs (America Goes to War) (Paperback)

I just finished "At Dawn We Slept" and was very impressed with it. I then saw the movie "Pearl Harbor". On a coffee stop at the bookstore, I saw this book, and bought it on the good impression of a similar volume about D-Day by the same editors. The coffee was just OK, but the book is tremendous.

This book, as did the D-Day issue (see my review if you're interested), presents original photos tied together with a fairly simple narrative that tells the story of the Pearl Harbor attack. You'll get to see photos of all the major players, Kimmel, Short, Yamamoto, et al. Some of the attack photos are pretty amazing. The original Japanese photos are stunning and good for hardware fans. The Japanese ariel photos lend great detail to the story. The superimposed flight patterns are very instructive. As I implied above, after Prange's book and the movie, this book was the crowning glory to my Pearl Harbor reading.

This book will catch you off-guard. At first it looks very simple, which it is, almost for children, but when you dive into it, it gets surprisingly detailed. All the US planes that were involved are present in photographs, even a B-18! The text presents facts and occurances, and no politics. 90% of the ship photos are spectacular.

So, go out and buy this book. You really should have it, then read one of the many books about Pearl Harbor. The photos will make the story live. Well done Mr. Goldstein and Ms Dillon.

5.0 out of 5 stars Shouldn't be your first book on the attack, but..., August 30, 2007

By 

Mark W. Workman (Ballwin, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way It Was - Pearl Harbor: The Original Photographs (America Goes to War) (Paperback)

If you have gleaned all the knowledge possible from the multitude of first person and general overviews published, this book will give you a concise knowledge of the tactics and timeline of the events. It contains a wealth of photographs that you will not see anywhere else, and each one of them is pinpointed to the minute when it was taken. You will see the first bomb hit the floating drydock, you will see the California disappear into a sea of burning oil, and you will see period photographs of the men involved (on both sides), what they did, and where and when they died doing it. True, some of the photographs are dark and lack contrast in the details, but hey, if you don't know what the Oglala or Nevada looks like up close, then you are not ready for this book. Another nice feature is that you rarely have to turn the page to study a photo as it is referenced in the text. It would have been nice to have this book printed on glossy pagestock, but I believe the publishers suspected it would not have a wide audience. Nonetheless, it is an invaluable reference for the serious student of the Day of Infamy.