ISLE PAGES
Brilliant work on
Pearl Harbor attack
Reviews by Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin"Pearl Harbor, The Day of Infamy -- An Illustrated History,"
by Dan Van Der Vat, paintings by Tom Freeman (Basic Books, $39.95)
The Pearl Harbor bandwagon is getting so crowded that readers can pick and choose their references among all the titles being released. This is simply the best one we've seen. Van Der Vat's scope of research is not only impressive, it's superbly distilled down into clear, well-written prose that expresses not only the details, but the staggering scope of the surprise attack.
This is coupled with extremely well-chosen pictures, maps, sidebars and informational graphics, and everything is welded together with Freeman's meticulous paintings interpreting moments not captured on film. This is visual and literary historiography at its best. At the moment, "Pearl Harbor, The Day of Infamy" is the best single-volume, layman's history of the attack available. There's no competition.
"The Pearl Harbor Murders,"
by Max Allan Collins (Berkley, $6.99)
It's late 1941, and popular singer Pearl Harada is found murdered on the Niumalu Cottages beach. Was the killer one of her many swains, or maybe that shifty German spy Otto Kuehn? The man caught in the middle is "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs (now there's an idea!). Collins, who also wrote murder mysteries located on the Titanic and the Hindenberg, has crafted an enjoyable lark, using real and fictional characters, set in pre-war Honolulu. He's done his research and the details ring true. Burroughs, by the way, was the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's war correspondent during World War II.
"
Pearl Harbor, The Movie and the Moment,"
(Hyperion, $35)
This slickly produced companion volume to the movie is full of pictures of scenes that aren't in the movie, has lots of dumb typos and historical errors, is loaded with offhand racism (Cary Tagawa is called a "Japanese actor," for example, but Ben Affleck isn't called a "Caucasian actor," is he?) and gives scant information about the sophisticated filmmaking trickery, but it does feature lots of photos shot by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who apparently was saving money by hiring himself as set photographer. The book is primarily a big sloppy valentine to director Michael Bay, who is pictured on nearly every page. His relatives will be thrilled.
"Red Sun,"
by Richard Ziegler and Patrick Patterson (Bess Press, $11.95)
This interesting book is a "fictional history," which means, don't be fooled into thinking you're buying a novel. This is structured like a history text, with vignettes and oral histories that add weight to the events. The catch is that what happens here is a Japanese invasion of Hawaii following the Pearl Harbor attack. The authors use logic and deductive reasoning to describe their fascinating scenario, and the book ought to make for some lively debates and discussions. Or an epic war game.
"Hawaii Goes to War -- The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor,"
by Wilbur D. Jones and Carroll Robbins Jones (White Mane, $14.95)Despite the murky printing, indifferent layout, a dreadful, poorly trimmed cover and clunky writing, this book is one of the real pleasurable surprises of this year's Pearl Harbor bookshelf. One of the authors was a little girl during the attack, her father was a naval officer and her mother an Associated Press photographer, and the book is filled with pictures and vignettes about wartime Hawaii that have never been seen before. It's always great to learn or see something new on this well-traveled path.
"Pearl Harbor Ghosts -- The Legacy of December 7, 1941,"
by Thurston Clarke (Ballantine, $15)This reissue of Clarke's 1991 book includes an updated forward. Although Clarke is a master of re-creating the long-ago ambience of pre-war Hawaii, he also never heard a tall tale he couldn't repeat.
Richard Ziegler and Patrick Patterson, authors of "Red Sun," will sign copies of their book on these dates: MEET THE AUTHORS
Today: Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange, noon to 1 p.m.
Friday: Fort DeRussy Museum, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: Waldenbooks Windward Mall, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Waldenbooks Pearlridge, 3 to 5 p.m.
May 27: Borders Waikele, noon to 1 p.m.; and Schofield Army Exchange, 3 to 4 p.m.
May 28: Hickam AFB Exchange, 11 a.m. to noon; Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall, 2 to 3 p.m.
May 31: Bestsellers Downtown (Patterson only), 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
June 2: Hawaii State Library Main Branch, 10 to 11:30 a.m.; Waldenbooks Ala Moana, 2 to 3 p.m.
June 3: Kaneohe Marine Exchange, noon to 2 p.m.
Click for online
calendars and events.
