“In this brilliant mix of history and emotion, Craig Nelson has managed to combine grueling research with masterful reporting in order to capture the long and the short, the overview and the detail, of that infamous day in a paradisal land of orchids and jacaranda. It has taken seventy-five years, but now, finally, the Pearl Harbor book has been written.”
—Jim deFilippi, author of Mules of Monte Cassino and Murka

"Craig Nelson has completely retold the epic story of Pearl Harbor. Using his skills as a reporter and a literary stylist, he not only deftly paints the fleeting image—an enemy pilot waving as he flies by, a cup of coffee trembling on a table while outside a war commences—but a world roiled in titanic struggle. His gifts as storyteller, his empathy and scope, will appeal to fans of Walter Lord’s Day of Infamy or Cornelius Ryan’s A Bridge Too Far, and, in surprise, the inquiry of Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower. This book has a thousand poignant and unforgettable moments. You’ll read Pearl Harbor and want to pass it to a friend."
—Doug Stanton, New York Times best-selling author of Horse Soldiers and In Harm's Way

“Craig Nelson has taught me there's a lot to learn about an infamous day and it's a joy reading his deeply-researched and well-written account.”
—James Bradley, bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, and The China Mirage

"Bookshelves groan with accounts of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath, but readers will not regret this thick new contribution to the literature. . . . Nelson weaves archival research, interviews, and personal experiences from both sides into a blow-by-blow narrative of destruction liberally sprinkled with individual heroism, bizarre escapes, and equally bizarre tragedies."
—Kirkus Reviews

“A valuable reexamination of the causes, the attack, and the aftermath of that seminal event [at Pearl Harbor] … Superbly done and instructive… Informative and poignant. ... This is a worthy addition to the already voluminous studies of a history-changing event.”
—Booklist (starred review)

"Nelson brings his formidable narrative talents to bear on this well-known history as he comprehensively contextualizes and covers the battle....To differentiate his work from the many previous volumes on this event, Nelson highlights the individual experiences of soldiers at the battle’s front and beyond. Nelson’s well written history of Pearl Harbor will be enjoyed by the general reader and appropriately highlights the battle’s historical significance."
—Publishers Weekly

"As close to a complete history as possible of the events leading up to the December 1941 bombing…This comprehensive account doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, successfully providing an even-handed chronicle of the events that led up to Pearl Harbor.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

"Undoubtedly, we will read many stories about Pearl Harbor in the coming months, but this book is an invaluable resource for those who want to know the whole story."
—Bookreporter

“[An] important new piece of Pearl Harbor scholarship… A comprehensive, engaging new history of the attack that thrust the United States into World War II.”
—Shelf Awareness

“A superb and instructive reexamination of the causes, the attack, and the aftermath of Pearl Harbor…backed by a deep look into prewar developments in Japan.”
—Booklist