This landmark study was first published in English by the Naval
Institute in 1955 and was added to the Classics of Naval Literature
series in 1992. Widely acknowledged for its valuable Japanese
insights into the battle that turned that tide of war in the Pacific,
the book has made a great impact on American readers over the years.
Two Japanese naval aviators who participated in the operation provide
an unsparing analysis of what caused Japan's staggering defeat.
Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first air strike on Pearl Harbor,
commanded the Akagi carrier air group and later made a study of the
battle at the Japanese Naval War College. Masatake Okumiya, one of
Japan's first dive-bomber pilots, was aboard the light carrier Ryujo
and later served as a staff officer in a carrier division. Armed with
knowledge of top-secret documents destroyed by the Japanese and
access to private papers, they show the operation to be ill-conceived
and poorly planned and executed, and fault their flag officers for
lacking initiative, leadership, and clear thinking. With an
introduction by an author known for his study of the battle from the
American perspective, the work continues to make a significant
contribution to World War II literature.
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