Naval History
Reviews of The Attack on Pearl Harbor:
It is not often that one can say that an outstanding book transforms our knowledge of a well –known event but this can be said of Alan Zimm’s Attack on Pearl Harbor….groundbreaking…sets straight the record of a key historical event…essential reading…
Zimm’s conclusions will remain definitive for the foreseeable future… So, by all means, reread Gordon Prange’s At Dawn We Slept, but definitely read Alan Zimm’s Attack on Pearl Harbor for a fuller and more up-to-date understanding of an event that changed history and continues to fascinate.
…an engrossing study, particularly for those considering themselves well-read on the topic … For a variety of reasons, including the provocative nature of many of Zimm’s fact-built arguments, this reviewer does not hesitate to recommend…
…very thorough …as an analysis of the raid from the Japanese point of reference it is very intriguing and goes far to display the old axiom “every plan changes (or falls apart) once the enemy is encountered
…examines every aspect of the attack and uses operations research techniques to critique the planning and performance of the Japanese forces and compare the results with expectations.
…the first militarily professional description of the Pearl Harbor attack, and for those who are serious about military history and operations, it is a joy to read… a superb military analysis of the attack…not only rendered all other histories of Pearl Harbor obsolete, it has set the bar high got other histories of the Pacific War.
…uses modern methods of operational analysis to determine exactly how the Japanese planned and executed the great raid…a worthy, useful analysis…
For seven decades, conventional wisdom has extolled the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as brilliant in its planning and execution… masterful analysis topples that pillar of Pacific War history… with its amazing depth of meticulous research and analysis, this forceful book is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Pearl Harbor.
An interesting analysis of the strategy and tactics involved. Instead of “the most daring and brilliant naval operations of all time”, Zimm demonstrates that the Japanese carrier strike force did not plan the attack very well, nor did they train effectively for it… an interesting new “look” at this opening gambit in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
…nothing previously published has offered such a close examination of Japanese strategy…an in depth study of the Japanese planning, preparation and execution of the attack with particular focus on factors not thoroughly considered by other historians, if at all…full of revelations that counter common perceptions…detailed analyses that lead to a much better understanding of what the Japanese did, why they did it and especially how the attack was very nearly an abject failure instead of a stunning success.
Anyone with a serious interest in understanding the Pearl Harbor attack in its many aspects, both for what actually happened and for what might have happened under alternative circumstances, should read this new book for the invaluable analytical rigor and intellectual exploration that it brings to the subject.
Alan D. Zimm applies his considerable professional experience in operations research and combat simulations design to a novel assessment of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. It is an ambitious undertaking to fins something new to say about one of the most analyzed military engagements in history, but Zimm has managed to do so…must reading for any serious student of the Pacific War.
…takes a very interesting approach…an arguably better and clearer analysis of what the Japanese did, could have done, and should have done. An amazing amount of detailed research … very valuable work.
…takes a very interesting approach…analyses the known facts and data using modern research techniques. The result is an arguably better and clearer analysis of what the Japanese did, could have done, and should have done. An amazing amount of detailed research on the part of a very fastidious individual has gone into this very valuable work.
What Alan Zimm has done is to use Japanese information and not the uncorroborated thoughts of Mitsuo Fuchida, who is now well known for being “careless with the truth”. With this information, Zimm has carried out a bottom up analysis of the attack in the first eight chapters covering the strategic and operational setting, the targets (and it is clear that these were the Pacific Fleet’s battleships and not the aircraft carriers), the weapons and weapon- target pairings, the war games, planning, training, rehearsals, briefings etc followed by the execution of the attack. He goes on to assess the attack, the attle damage and the folklore…..clearly this is not a primer for someone wishing to learn about the Pearl Harbor Attack . Rather, it is a thorough analysis of many aspects of the attack, completely overturning conventional wisdom.
Readers will be left with a great deal to think about and consider new aspects of the attack that are illuminated in Zimm’s book. This excellent analysis is a definitive critique of the Japanese planning and execution of the attack. For any serious student of the Pacific War, the volume makes for fascinating, “must” reading and should be included among the very best books on the Pearl Harbor attack.
This is a very impressive contribution to the literature on Pearl Harbor. Zimm makes a very convincing argument for his view that the Japanese plan was flawed in many ways, but was saved by a combination of luck and the skill of the crews of the few torpedo bombers that actually hit important targets.
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