In the Cauldron

Terror, Tension, and the American Ambassador's Struggle to Avoid Pearl Harbor

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Pub Date 5 Nov 2019 | Archive Date 1 Nov 2019

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Description

This is not just another book about Pearl Harbor.  It is the story of Joseph Grew, America’s ambassador to Japan, and his frantic effort in the months before the Pearl Harbor attack to orchestrate an agreement between Japan and the United States that would avoid the war he saw coming.  It is a story filled with hope and heartache, with complex and fascinating characters, and with a drama befitting the momentous decisions at stake.

And more than that, it is a story that has never been told.

In those months before the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan and the United States were locked in a battle of wills. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic sanctions were crippling Japan.  America's noose was tightening around Japan's neck—but the country's leaders refuse to yield to American demands.

In this cauldron of boiling tensions, Grew offered many recommendations to break the deadlock.  Having resided and worked  in Tokyo for almost ten years, Grew understood what Roosevelt and his administration back home did not: that the Japanese would rather face annihilation than endure the humiliation of surrendering to American pressure.

The President and his administration saw little need to accept their ambassador’s recommendations.  The administration’s policies, they believed, were sure to succeed.  And so, with increasing urgency, Grew tried to explain to the President and his administration that Japan’s mindset could not be gauged by Western standards of logic and that the administration’s policies could lead Japan to embark on a suicidal war with the United States “with dangerous and dramatic suddenness.”

Relying on Grew’s diaries, letters and memos, interviews with members of the families of Grew and his staff, and an abundance of other primary source materials, Lew Paper presents the gripping story of Grew’s effort to halt the downward spiral of Japan’s relations with the United States. Grew had to wrestle with an American government that would not listen to him – and simultaneously confront an increasingly hostile environment in Japan, where pervasive surveillance, arbitrary arrest, and even unspeakable torture by Japan's secret police were constant threats. 

In the Cauldron reads like a novel but it is based on fact.  And it is sure to raise questions whether the Pearl Harbor attack could have been avoided.

This is not just another book about Pearl Harbor. It is the story of Joseph Grew, America’s ambassador to Japan, and his frantic effort in the months before the Pearl Harbor attack to orchestrate an...


A Note From the Publisher

The final book will not include endnotes in the text. Instead, the Notes section -- located after the text -- will include words from a quotation and identify the page on which the words appear.

The final book will not include endnotes in the text. Instead, the Notes section -- located after the text -- will include words from a quotation and identify the page on which the words appear.


Advance Praise

In the Cauldron tells one of the great overlooked stories of World War II. Lew Paper delivers a riveting tale with deep research and compelling prose.” — Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig.

“Lew Paper’s In the Cauldron is simply the best treatment of Ambassador Joseph Grew and the run-up to the Pacific War. Engaging writing and thorough research make the book a must read for both the historian and the general audience.” — Sidney Pash, author of The Currents of War: A New History of American-Japanese Relations, 1899-1941

“Just when we think we understand all there is to know about Pearl Harbor, along comes Lew Paper with a riveting and superbly researched tale of the American ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, struggling to get word to Washington that an attack could be near. Telegrams of deceit, deception and delay speed back-and-forth across the Pacific during the final months before December 7, 1941. Even though we know the outcome, the reader feels the suspense and tension and cheers on the determined Grew to get through before the bombs drop.” — Richard Moe, author of Roosevelt’s Second Act: The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War

“Suffused with the atmosphere of Japan on the eve of World War II, In the Cauldron shines new light on a once murky episode. Through the eyes and words of Joseph Grew, Washington’s Ambassador to Japan, Lew Paper has produced an insightful account of the diplomatic standoff that preceded the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thanks to the breaking of the code the Japanese foreign ministry used to communicate with its negotiators in Washington, President Roosevelt and his advisers often knew Japan’s plans before even the negotiators did. Yet, as is now well-documented, Washington failed to share vital intelligence with U.S. military commanders in the Pacific. And, as Paper now shows, it kept Ambassador Grew in the dark too, frustrating his efforts.  In the Cauldron is a first-rate addition to the history of the period.” — Anthony Summers & Robbyn Swan, authors of the Pearl Harbor history A Matter of Honor

“Lew Paper has produced the gripping story of Joseph Grew, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, as he fervently worked to prevent war between the United States and Japan. While Grew is the center of the story, Paper also brings to life the array of Japanese and American leaders with whom he interacted. The book is incisive and vividly portrays the different perspectives and pressures which confronted these decision-makers.” — Ira Shapiro, former U.S. trade negotiator with Japan, and author of The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis

“A lucid and engaging narrative of misguided US-Japanese diplomatic negotiations. The writing is smooth and easy to read. This is a book that should be read by a wide audience.” — Noriko Kawamura, author of Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War

“Lew Paper's In the Cauldron is a compelling narrative of events leading up to Pearl Harbor. Even though we know the end, the book is hard to put down. Being a US ambassador is a tremendous privilege but can be very challenging. Read this book and you will see why.” — Mark Gitenstein, Former Ambassador to Romania

In the Cauldron tells one of the great overlooked stories of World War II. Lew Paper delivers a riveting tale with deep research and compelling prose.” — Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life and ...


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Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781621576310
PRICE US$29.99 (USD)
PAGES 438

Average rating from 7 members


Featured Reviews

My previous understanding of WWII's war in the Pacific started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which is where many books more or less start. I had no idea that the U.S. ambassador knew where things were headed (at least to this degree) and had tried so hard to avert war.

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