I wish Gingrich would stop this running for office nonsense (yes, we DESPERATELY need a change from the current administration, but not Gingrich, imho) and write more! ( )

The first 2/3 of this book should probably have been titled "Path To Pearl Harbor", as it requires the reader to take a much more patient approach to the events of December 7, 1941. Once this patience is mastered, the reader is then treated to a very personal set of events that describe the actions of key characters and their motivations through the years to the inevitable collision on that fateful Sunday morning. The last 1/3 flies by (no pun intended) as the reader really identifies with the characters as those terrifying events unfold. Gingrich and Forstchen really give life to key historical figures such as Yamamoto, Fuchida, and Genda as a large part of the book is from the Japanese point of view. The attack through the eyes of Fuchida (one of the pilots and the mastermind of the mission) is one of the most riveting things I've ever read. ( )

I wish Gingrich would stop this running for office nonsense (yes, we DESPERATELY need a change from the current administration, but not Gingrich, imho) and write more! ( )

I am not impressed with this book. The introduction suggests that it takes a new perspective looking at the Pearl Harbor attack from the Japanese view. Yes, much of it (though not all) is written in a Japanese voice i.e. characters and key players. However, there is simply no new information of any historical significance. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the Pearl Harbor events or having ever seen the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" will see this book as a rehash. Even the created characterizations are cardboard cutouts of the standard historical stereotypes. ( )

The characters in this book were flat. Come on! The amount of emotional fodder generated by WWII and Pearl Harbor was ginormous. Gingrich apparently was unable to tap into that, and gave us cardboard characters, who were very shallow. I gave up about 1/2 way through the book. We all know how Pearl Harbor ends, so make us care about how we got there from the Japanese perspective. Great idea for a book, crappy execution. ( )