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1942 (2009)

by Robert Conroy(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0345506073 (ISBN13: 9780345506078)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Ballantine Books

review 1: I'm a little surprised by the inconsistency in reviews of this book. I thought the author, Robert Conroy, had a great knowledge of the history of the tragedy that was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He also had a great vision of what might have been.Without giving away too much of the plot, the book opens just before the attack. Conroy goes to great lengths to show how the lack of cooperation between Army and Navy set up Pearl Harbor for the attack. This is all well documented history.He diverges after the attack. Rather than withdraw, allowing the US to enter the war in the Pacific, the Japanese return, taking out the fuel storage effectively cutting off any chance for the US to bring more ships in as there would be no way to refuel.What I found particularly int... moreeresting in this account was the sheer brutality of the Japanese warriers of that time. The laws of Bushido, of the Samurai, allowed for no remorse. Kill or be killed was the mantra. This caused the Japanese to look down upon others as inferior and lesser in their abilities. Although they saw the vast numbers of Americans who could certainly overwhelm the much smaller forces of the Japanese, they refused to believe they could be defeated in battle.Since so many of the inhabitants of Hawaii were either Japanese or were descended from Japanese, or were asian (the Hawaiians), they could be see the potential that these people would no longer consider themselves part of the Japanese society or culture. This miscalculation in great part along with their arrogance led to their ultimate defeat.I was very impressed with Mr. Conroy's writing style and knowledge of the subject. In fact, I've already started and almost finished another book in his series, 1945. My only suggestion for the author is this. While I am certainly not a prude by any standards, there are several scenes where main characters engage in sexual activity that seems out of place in the book. I'm not sure if these were included to interest some of his readers, or to lean to the whim of his publishers, or if he chose to do so on his own. Sex is fine in books when it makes sense. But, I saw little reason for some of these parts of the book other than for the sake of bringing sex into the book.All in all, I loved the book and will continue to enjoy more of Mr Conroy's works in coming months.
review 2: A good bit of "what if?" historical fiction. It's based on a real concept of a proposed Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor's fuel supplies that didn't occur during the real attack. The book then follows a navy officer stateside, an army officer in Hawaii, a couple of civilians in Hawaii and the Japanese commanders. The book can be a bit graphic in places, when covering the torture of prisoners, and cheesy when it covers a few love making scenes. Otherwise, it's a solid book. Toward the end, when the Americans begin to turn the tables on the Japanese, the do so with a combination of the battle of Midway and the Japanese Operation Ten-Go. less

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