An excellent argument that America’s WWII began on Dec. 11, 1941.
A meticulous historical account of “five momentous days” at the beginning of World War II.
Congress declared war on Japan the day after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, but it didn’t declare war on Germany. That was Hitler’s idea, and he declared war on the U.S. on Dec. 11. Most historians argue that this was a terrible decision, but Hitler showed no doubt. Simms and Laderman deliver an insightful account of those five days. As the authors note, few considered Japan a serious military threat, and most experts believed that it had bombed Pearl Harbor at Hitler’s behest. Franklin Roosevelt and Allied leaders continued to consider Germany the major threat. Yet when Roosevelt’s Cabinet met and Secretary of War Henry Stimson urged a declaration of war against Germany, no one supported him, and Roosevelt did not mention Germany in his famous “day of infamy” speech. Always attuned to public opinion, he deferred to powerful opposition to another European war, as embodied by the America First Committee, which had grumpily agreed to fight only Japan. Many histories report that Churchill “slept the sleep of the saved and thankful” after hearing the news of Pearl Harbor. That’s hindsight, write Simms and Laderman, noting how he documented that sentiment later. At the time in Britain, “opinion was split on whether the new Pacific war was good or bad news.” Many, Churchill included, worried that the U.S. would focus on Japan and leave Britain to face Hitler alone—a realistic concern given that the U.S. had immediately suspended its massive lend-lease program. Hitler’s declaration of war solved the problem, and the authors conclude that he did not declare war in ignorance of America’s immense power but because of it. “In late 1941,” they write, “the Führer saw a narrow window of opportunity not to defeat the United States outright but to create a self-sufficient Axis bloc strong enough to withstand it. Otherwise he risked gradual strangulation.”
An excellent argument that America’s WWII began on Dec. 11, 1941.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5416-1909-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.
A popular novelist turns his hand to historical writing, focusing on what shipwrecks can tell us.
There’s something inherently romantic about shipwrecks: the mystery, the drama of disaster, the prospect of lost treasure. Gibbins, who’s found acclaim as an author of historical fiction, has long been fascinated with them, and his expertise in both archaeology and diving provides a tone of solid authority to his latest book. The author has personally dived on more than half the wrecks discussed in the book; for the other cases, he draws on historical records and accounts. “Wrecks offer special access to history at all…levels,” he writes. “Unlike many archaeological sites, a wreck represents a single event in which most of the objects were in use at that time and can often be closely dated. What might seem hazy in other evidence can be sharply defined, pointing the way to fresh insights.” Gibbins covers a wide variety of cases, including wrecks dating from classical times; a ship torpedoed during World War II; a Viking longship; a ship of Arab origin that foundered in Indonesian waters in the ninth century; the Mary Rose, the flagship of the navy of Henry VIII; and an Arctic exploring vessel, the Terror (for more on that ship, read Paul Watson’s Ice Ghost). Underwater excavation often produces valuable artifacts, but Gibbins is equally interested in the material that reveals the society of the time. He does an excellent job of placing each wreck within a broader context, as well as examining the human elements of the story. The result is a book that will appeal to readers with an interest in maritime history and who would enjoy a different, and enlightening, perspective.
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781250325372
Page Count: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist (1900–45) collected his work from WWII in two bestselling volumes, this second published in 1944, a year before Pyle was killed by a sniper’s bullet on Okinawa. In his fine introduction to this new edition, G. Kurt Piehler (History/Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville) celebrates Pyle’s “dense, descriptive style” and his unusual feel for the quotidian GI experience—a personal and human side to war left out of reporting on generals and their strategies. Though Piehler’s reminder about wartime censorship seems beside the point, his biographical context—Pyle was escaping a troubled marriage—is valuable. Kirkus, at the time, noted the hoopla over Pyle (Pulitzer, hugely popular syndicated column, BOMC hype) and decided it was all worth it: “the book doesn’t let the reader down.” Pyle, of course, captures “the human qualities” of men in combat, but he also provides “an extraordinary sense of the scope of the European war fronts, the variety of services involved, the men and their officers.” Despite Piehler’s current argument that Pyle ignored much of the war (particularly the seamier stuff), Kirkus in 1944 marveled at how much he was able to cover. Back then, we thought, “here’s a book that needs no selling.” Nowadays, a firm push might be needed to renew interest in this classic of modern journalism.
Pub Date: April 26, 2001
ISBN: 0-8032-8768-2
Page Count: 513
Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
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