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Title details for Pearl Harbor Christmas by Stanley Weintraub - Available

Pearl Harbor Christmas

A World at War, December 1941

by Stanley Weintraub
Malcolm Hillgartner
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock—in some cases overseas, elation—was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody's mind. United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen under grim Nazi occupation.

Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe.

Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 1, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481554800
      • File size: 162368 KB
      • Duration: 05:38:15

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and continuing through the creation of the United Nations at the start of 1942, Stanley Weintraub tracks the first days of U.S. involvement in WWII. Narrated by Malcolm Hilgartner, the account has the urgency of news bulletins as it juxtaposes battles and diplomatic efforts with holiday preparations. He gives figures such as Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt appropriates tones of gravitas in a historic meeting. Bringing alive a last Christmas of plenty before wartime deprivations hit the U.S. public foreshadows the dramatic effects of WWII. The book reveals December 1941 as a key month in U.S. history. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 15, 2011
      A minor genre, the day-by-day chronicle, receives a fine addition as veteran historian Weintraub (15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, etc.) devotes a chapter each to the last 10 days of 1941 plus New Year’s Day. He describes the Wehrmacht’s epic winter debacle in Russia and Japan’s advances across Asia with dazzling detail. The primary focus, however, remains on events in Washington enlivened by the presence of Churchill, who invited himself shortly after Pearl Harbor. A reluctant Roosevelt would have preferred to use the time to organize the nation for war; nevertheless, he welcomed the prime minister. Roy Jenkins, a later cabinet member, compared Churchill “to a real-life version of The Man Who Came to Dinner.” U.S. brass worried about FDR’s susceptibility to his famous charisma—which was on full display as Churchill extended his stay in the White House, captivated the media, and delivered stirring addresses to Congress and radio audiences. Weintraub does not exaggerate what followed, but readers will enjoy his opinionated portraits of the allied leaders as they hammered out strategy, much of which was rendered irrelevant by subsequent events. Photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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