Days of Infamy

by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

Book Overview

"Absolutely brilliant Fast paced and filled with tension and suspense. Every page resonates with the momentous events and great personalities of World War II - and scenes so carefully crafted you feel... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312363516
• ISBN13: 9780312363512
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 369 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

BRAVO!!!!

Bravo to Gringrich and Forstchen! Most will praise this book as one that effectively narrates a fictionalized account of a bloody battle between America and Japan, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like most reviewers, I greatly praise the book's ability to fictionalize the ensuing battle, while still remaining dependent upon historical events, and most importantly of course, delivering a great story. With that said, I want to focus on what makes this book deeply special and separates it from most stories - its theme and emotion. At the opening of the book, it becomes clear that the raging emotions of America and Japan are headed into a terrible battle. Thus, the book quickly introduces us to our main characters, whose perspectives we will see this battle from, including celebrated Japanese commanders like Yamamoto and Fuchida, as well as Dianne, a girlfriend of a fighter pilot within the story, among many others. As the book goes on, we go back and forth, from the White House, to command central with Yamamoto, down to Dianne (who is working on the ground, helping American units), and around various American battleships. As the bombs blast and the torpedoes fly, we feel the emotion of every character kick in. With Hawaii being mercilessly bombed in the beginning of the story, we follow our troops and feel their hunger to strike back. Yet, we also feel the emotions of our antagonist, Yamamoto - his sense of honor, his love for his Japanese troops, and his great determination, naturally, make us fall in love with an enemy we ought to hate. As the book goes on, we see everyone's lives intertwine. The narration of how ships are destroyed, airplanes are shot down, and buildings destroyed, naturally leaves us awestruck, as one moment we celebrate the destruction of a Japanese battleship, only to get depressed again as we read about the slaughtering of American fighter pilots. The story of soldiers who are left behind, both Japanese and American, is effectively told, in addition to the torture both sides inflict, as the battle wears on. Both sides are full of honor and vengeance, yet both feel deep pain - the universal emotion that seems to unite every character in the book. As a reviewer, I have never been in a war or seen a war; the greatness of this book is that, after reading it, I feel that this is the closest I have ever come to understanding what war is like and how painful it is, from all different angles. Interesting plots aside - I'm not as celebratory of Gringrich and Forstchen's achievement in fictionalizing a great turn in our world's history. Rather, I am in awe of their achievement to take us inside the world of a bloody battle, make us see all perspectives, only to leave us wishing that we never see or feel such a sight, ever, in our precious lives. My favorite line of the book would definitely be that of Commander Yamamoto, close to the end, where he reflects on his wins, loses, but most of all, his lost soldie

After Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto goes for the American carriers

With their "Gettysburg" trilogy, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen played out how the Civil War might have ended if the Confederates had won the pivotal battle between North and South in the first days of July 1863. Despite the assumptions of critics who leaped to the conclusion the authors were closet Southern apologists, the trilogy basically validated the argument that Forstchen laid out in an essay in "Alternate Gettysburgs" that Robert E. Lee and the Confederates could not have taken Washington, D.C. and that the losing the war was inevitable (although I should not that Forstchen posits a Confederate victory at Gettysburg on the second day while the trilogy he co-authored with Gingrich shifts the pivotal battlefield to Union Mills). With their World War II series, Gingrich and Forstchen take a similar approach. "Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th" rewrites history so that the Japanese surprise attack is even more devastating, and in "Days of Infamy" start playing out what happens after that point. The crucial change in the historical calculus at the heart of the first book in this series is that Admiral Yamamoto accompanies the task force and personally leads the attack, and consequently the Japanese launch a third attack wave against Pearl Harbor. By blocking the entrance to the harbor, destroying the largest dry-dock, and setting the fuel farms afire, Pearl Harbor is put out of business. I can certainly quibble with the title, because FDR was right: the day of the sneak attack was a "day of infamy," and what Gingrich and Forstchen come up with for the next few days (when the novel ends it is only December 10th) does not constitute additional "days of infamy." But I had trouble making the title of the first volume work and still enjoyed reading the book. "Days of Infamy" is the more interesting book because Gingrich and Forstchen are now making everything up instead of just setting up their point of divergence from history. The Japanese ambassador in Washington still does not get the declaration of war delivered in time, so Americans are still outraged by the attack, but the key point they focus on this time around is that the attacked missed the American carriers. Having knocked Pearl Harbor out of commission, Yamamoto wants the two carriers. Equally important, Admiral Halsey on the "Enterprise" and Rear Admiral Newton with the "Lexington" are eager to hit back despite the odds (six Japanese carriers in a battle group versus two American carriers hundreds of miles apart). There is nothing Yamamoto can do about the diplomatic foul up, but he has a plan to get the American carriers and baits a trap for them. The Americans know that it is a trap, but after what happened on December 7th they have to strike back despite the long odds. This naval chess match takes up most of the action of "Days of Infamy." I do not know as much about World War II as I do about the Civil War, but so far in these books I do not have a se

A fascinating exploration of Pearl Harbor as a battle instead of a raid

I enjoy Newt Gingrich's non-fiction books, but this is the first of his fiction books that I have read. Not because I had anything against Newt's fiction, but because I don't generally read very much fiction. However, I found this book to be even more enjoyable than I had anticipated. In fact, it makes me want to read the first book in this series, which I had inadvertently missed. Gingrich and Forstchen take history with a couple of well chosen "what ifs". In this case, if Yamamoto had made multiple attacks on Hawaii and a battle out of the attack on Pearl Harbor instead of a raid. This book opens late on December 7, 1941 in Washington and ends at 10 pm in Washington D.C. on December 11, 1941 with a phone call from Winston Churchill to FDR. The story takes lots of interesting turns, but stays close enough to real history to show a number of interesting photographs in the book from actual historical events. Gingrich and Forstchen call their suppositions "active history" and is not only interesting, but makes for interesting conversation. Everyone likes to play the what if game, but too many do it without much information about the realities behind what they are supposing. These authors take us rapidly from Washington to Hawaii, to both Japanese and US warships, up into various airplanes, and into the lives of soldiers and civilians on both sides. The action is written very well and the writing keeps the story moving. The characters are well written and the dialogue sounds like it is coming from the mouths of people in real situations in 1941. At least, what I think it would have sounded like in 1941 because I wasn't born until just after the Korean War ended. However, I know how that generation spoke. I also liked the way the book never creates a favored side that gets unrealistic breaks to win. Both sides make their best moves and make gambles. Some of them pay off and some lead to disaster. We follow some soldiers and ships to their sad deaths and see the men who suffered in these battles on both sides. Of course I am rooting for the United States, but the book doesn't seem to cheat in favor of the U.S. in its narrative. The Japanese are treated with dignity and respect, which seems right nearly 70 years on. The war is not made a pain free game in any way. Everyone it touches suffers, but we see bravery and attention to duty on both sides, but in different ways. Really, the book is quite fascinating in its attention to detail. While you may not agree with the assumptions the authors have made in creating their fiction of the matched battles between Halsey and Yamamoto, that really is part of the fun. Frankly, I think these books would make a terrific miniseries. If you like war stories and intelligent and informed what-if scenarios, I am sure you will enjoy this book and its predecessor. I did. Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Second in a Great Alt History Series

The first book in this series, Pearl Harbor, was just the opening act in a days long horror that will set the Pacific ablaze as two of World War II's greatest commanders, Yamamoto and Bull Halsey, clash in the greatest naval battle never to have happened. It is the narrative genius of Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen that makes one think that the battle in Days of Infamy must have happened. Days of Infamy is also a meditation on one of the essential truths of war. Whatever the issues, whatever the cause, whatever the failure that led up to it, the one thing that is true of every war, especially World War Two, is that young men die decades before their time. There is plenty of such death in Days of Infamy, much of it heartbreaking. In Days of Infamy young pilots take off from the pitching deck of a carrier with the dawn, knowing that very likely they will not live to see the dusk. Some face that prospect with resolution, some with terror. Even more horrendous than the terror of battle thousands of feet over the Pacific, taking minutes or even seconds to resolve, is the horror of the aftermath. Days of Infamy tells about burning ships, taking on water, and crews desperately trying to keep them afloat and operational, or at least moving toward some form of refuge. Death by fire or death by water is the fate of too many long after the din of battle stills. In Days of Infamy Gingrich and Forstchen have done it again, as they did with their epic Gettysburg trilogy, and have captured what war is like, in all of its horror and glory, by showing the reader events in another World War Two that never happened, but might have.

"What if" things had been done differently at Pearl Harbor?

I previously picked up a copy of Pearl Harbor by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. Much to my surprise, it was far better than I expected, and gave me a greater appreciation of Pearl when we visited Hawaii last year. I was recently contacted by the publicist for an advanced reader copy of their follow-on novel Days of Infamy. Of course, I accepted. :) As with Pearl Harbor, it's a well-written historical novel that looks at how the Japanese/American conflict might have played out if the Japanese had made a few different choices in their strategy. The novel covers a four day period after the initial two attack waves on Pearl Harbor. In this alternative history, the Japanese lead a third wave over the islands along with a coastal bombardment with two of their battleships. This has everyone thinking that an island invasion might be imminent, when in reality it's a ploy to draw out the carriers that fortunately happened not to be docked in Pearl during the attack. Due to a complete and total destruction of the communication facilities, there is little intel that the US can use to figure out where the Japanese fleet is, how large it is, and what their plans might be. Likewise, the Japanese don't know where or exactly how many carriers the US has available or where they were if not docked at Pearl. It's a chess match between Halsey and Yamamoto that involves millions of tons of naval and aerial equipment, tens of thousands of lives, and quite possibly the fate of the free world. The story also involves James Watson, a cryptographer who lost a hand in an earlier conflict, and is not well-equipped to be part of a battle zone. His wife and mother-in-law are Japanese, and that brings an additional burden to his work. The social backlash against *all* people of Japanese descent in the US is starting to whip up, and he can't guarantee that those he loves will be safe from marauding bands of thugs seeking revenge. Since the timespan covered in this installment of the story is much smaller, there's not as much character development as there was in the first episode. More of the action is focused on the battle strategy and the actual attacks from both sides. Still, there is plenty of personal material here to keep you interested in the characters. Watching people overcome (or be overwhelmed by) their prejudices is a strong theme covered. I was also struck by how much warfare has changed since then. It was possible back then to be within 100 miles of each other and still not know what was going on. Now with satellite imagery and other technology, war is fought at a completely different level. If you haven't yet read Pearl Harbor by these two authors, do so before this book comes out. That will lay the groundwork for what continues here. For fans of alternative historical novels, this is a great read.