I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it was highly informative. I will certainly recommend it to others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I am delighted to report that I have just completed "Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster" from author Mark Stille, published by Osprey Publishing (who were kind enough to provide me an ARC for this review). It is every bit as good as I have come to expect from him! The particular strength in this volume is found in Stille's willingness to look past a simple retelling in the interests of offering a new and somewhat iconoclastic perspective on the "Day that will live in Infamy." The subtitle rather gives the game away. Stille contends, as his central thesis, that the Pearl Harbor attack was far from the smashing victory that everyone made it out to be at the time and largely since. Instead, he sees stubborn military leadership refusing to back down from their imperial vision on the Asian mainland and instead taking an outrageous gamble by hurling their forces at an enemy manifestly superior in material resources. Everyone is familiar with Yamamoto's observation that he would run wild in the Pacific for six months but that he could guarantee nothing beyond that except a chimerical vision of a grinding war of attrition which everyone knew Japan could not hope to win unless the American spirit collapsed in the face of massive losses and a terrible "Butchers Bill." Without downplaying the brilliant (but fundamentally flawed) planning that went into the attack and the many innovations and revolutions it introduced into warfare, Stille is clear that the foundations of the attack were based on little more than wishful thinking. What is more, in relating events the author offers an unparalleled analysis of the weapons and doctrines employed by both sides, with a clear eyed view of strengths and weaknesses. It is a riveting read, as much for this solid look at war at the operational level as for his meticulous discussion of the actual events of that day, and the many ways in which the attack failed as the Japanese, for all of their visionary use of airpower, remained fixated on the traditional battle line as the real target. I strongly recommend this book as required reading for those interested in what happened and why.. Well done!