“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
It’s a day many remember down to the very last detail – Dec. 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor was attacked the Japanese, costing almost 2,500 American lives. The events that led up to the attack have been scrutinized many ways trying to place blame. However, sometimes in war, you are surprised and America was surprised that day. Jeff Shaara makes the events leading up to Pearl Harbor come to life in this historically accurate novel where one of the main characters is a young man from Florida who enlists in the Navy.
I have read many of Shaara’s books (To The Last Man is one) and when I saw that his newest one was about Pearl Harbor, I knew it would be powerful. I had to wait several weeks for To Wake The Giant to become available as an ebook from my local library. My husband read it, too, and found it just as heartbreaking as I did.
Shaara tells the story by covering key events in the year leading up to the attacks. His characters are both Japanese and American, including President Roosevelt, so both sides of the story are told. Shaara creates conversations that could have taken place so the reader feels like he or she is actually watching the events unfold. The description of the actual attack through the eyes of a sailor on the USS Arizona is something everyone should read at some point in their lives. It is very descriptive, but very accurate.
To Wake The Giant be an important book for any high school student studying WW2 to read. It would also be good to read before visiting the Pearl Harbor memorial, which we hope to do in a few years.
What is the most powerful book you’ve read about WW2? Share in the comments!