The final secret of Pearl Harbor;: The Washington contribution to the Japanese attack: Theobald, Robert: Amazon.com: Books

Many of the arguments Admiral Robert A. Theobald makes in this book have been fleshed out further by the research of later writers. In particular, readers familiar with Stinnett's "Day of Deceit" (2000) and Gannon's "Pearl Harbor Betrayed" (2001) will find many of the same arguments, though in a more condensed fashion, here. The difference, of course, is that Theobald was writing in 1954. And he brings to the table not only the viewpoint of a professional naval officer, but also one who was in fact present in a relatively senior position (Commander, Destroyers, Battle Force) at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. His argument is that Roosevelt deliberately backed the Japanese into a position where they had no choice but to launch an attack on the Pacific Fleet -- a fleet that was deliberately weakened, and denied critical information, by orders of the President.

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Herman D. Schiller
The truth about what really happened on 7 December 1941
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2020
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Here's the controversial book on the true story of the Japanese "surprise" attack on Pearl Harbor that every American must read. The book was not allowed to be written until 1954, thirteen years after the attack. Written by the US Naval admiral who was in command of Naval Forces at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, the book outlines precisely how President Roosevelt was responsible for the attack, having "lured" the Japanese into it. Some people regard the book as a conspiracy theory, but I personally believe the authors. A fantastic book for anyone, especially for those who want to know the truth about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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history from a participant
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2014
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The author was a big wig at pearl harbor. He had to wait until many government documents became declassified. He shows that President Roosevelt and the big wigs in Washington knew about the attack but did not warn the military leaders there.

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Mark A. Johnson
Described as very good only average
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2022
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Book book did not include the dust cover

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amazing book but couldn't finish it b/c of the powers ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2018
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amazing book but couldn't finish it b/c of the powers that be knew and sacrifices these poor men and women

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Salt1907
Well written and informative
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017
An interesting and well-written account of the attack and the events that led up to it. There were many mistakes by officials in Washington and a few scapegoats afterward. This book is essential to a full understanding of what happened.

The Pearl Harbor attack continues to capture the imagination of the American public and continues to be the subject of books, movies and documentaries. Of all of the resources on this subject, this book is closest to the center of what happened.

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Michael Snyder
He was a close friend of Kimmel and a right-wing conservative who hated FDR for his "socialist" domestic policy
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2016
I have read book after book on the Japanese decision to attack Pearl Harbor. Not one explains how a Japanese attack on the US brought it to war with Germany. This one fact makes all these conspiracy theories fantasies.
Two things to know about VADM Theobald. He was a close friend of Kimmel and a right-wing conservative who hated FDR for his "socialist" domestic policy. He wrote his book with an agenda.
Moreover, he wrote his book in 1954, before the declassification of a number of American, British, Japanese and German records. As an example of the problem, Morrison credited USS Narwhal with sinking IJNS Koga at Midway. Within 20 years, further study withdrew that credit.
But again, the book fails on two accounts.
First, Kimmel never ensured that his Army counterpart understood that his primary mission was the defense of the Fleet in harbor, not the defense of Hawaii, not defense against sabotage nor training. He failed to push the issue of having Army AA batteries deployed to protect the harbor. Kimmel set up his battleships for sinking by air attack. He ignored warnings that torpedoes could be used in shallow harbors, like the British did at Taranto in 1940. He was offered barrage balloons and nets but didn't install them. He brought the entire fleet into port, because he had sent his 2 available carriers to deliver Marine aircraft to Wake and Midway. He failed to coordinate with Bloch and the Army to at least patrol the most likely sectors for an approach of a Japanese attack. There were more than sufficient PBYs and Army bombers to do this. He pulled his personnel from the ADC so that only a young Army LT was on duty when the report from the radar station came in. All this despite what amounted to a direct order to prepare for a Japanese attack. The SecNavy, SecWar, CNO, and CSA sent a joint readiness message on 27 November 1941, to both him and LTG Short. It said, "you are to consider this a war warning". Everything the two men did from that point should have been focused on defending the fleet and island and executing their responsibilities under the Rainbow 5 OPLANS. But, now, 40 years later, it became apparent that ADM Kimmel was not content to execute limited defensive operations. He created WPL-46, a plan to bait the IJN's battle fleet into a Pacific Jutland somewhere south-west of Wake. He wanted his battleships able to quickly sortie out of the harbor, not take time getting through torpedo nets or fueling. He was more concerned with getting the fleet to sea than defending it port. And he had all the operational intelligence that Washington had. No valid proof exists that anyone from FDR down knew the IJN would attack Pearl Harbor.
Second and more important, FDR knew that the greatest threat to the US was Germany. The last thing he wanted was a Japanese attack diverting the American people from that central fact. There was absolutely NO political reason for Germany to declare war. The Tripartite Pact was a defensive alliance. It committed the signers to defend each other in case of attack. When Germany attacked Poland, Italy waited until late 1940 to declare war on Britain and France. Japan declared its neutrality. If the Pact was what some writers and reviewers have claimed, both Italy and Japan should have joined the war with Germany, Italy in 1939 and Japan in 1940 when it joined the Pact. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Japan stayed neutral. Hitler had every right to turn around and do the same back to Japan. Again, on 8 December 1941, the US was only at war with Japan, not Germany. Only when Hitler, for reasons only known to him, declared war on the US on 10 December 1941 did the US enter the war against Germany. If Hitler had not declared war on the US, the US would have gotten deeply involved in a Pacific war, unable to intervene as it did from November 1942. And that is why every conspiracy theory is BS.

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The final secret of Pearl Harbor;: The Washington contribution to the Japanese attack Hardcover – January 1, 1954

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The truth about what really happened on 7 December 1941

history from a participant

Described as very good only average

amazing book but couldn't finish it b/c of the powers ...

Well written and informative

He was a close friend of Kimmel and a right-wing conservative who hated FDR for his "socialist" domestic policy

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The final secret of Pearl Harbor;: The Washington contribution to the Japanese attack Hardcover – January 1, 1954

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5.0 out of 5 stars The truth about what really happened on 7 December 1941

5.0 out of 5 stars history from a participant

2.0 out of 5 stars Described as very good only average

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book but couldn't finish it b/c of the powers ...

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and informative

3.0 out of 5 stars He was a close friend of Kimmel and a right-wing conservative who hated FDR for his "socialist" domestic policy

The truth about what really happened on 7 December 1941

history from a participant

Described as very good only average

amazing book but couldn't finish it b/c of the powers ...

Well written and informative

He was a close friend of Kimmel and a right-wing conservative who hated FDR for his "socialist" domestic policy