Beyond Pearl Harbor

“The perspectives and much of the scholarship contained in this work are new. A significant collection, it is certainly worth any thoughtful readers’ time.”—Journal of Military History

“Beyond Pearl Harbor provides a deeper, broader, and more strategic view of what has traditionally been assumed to be a purely American event.”—Parameters

"This is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the Pacific war."—New York Military Affairs Symposium

“Initial American reaction to the Pearl Harbor attack emphasized surprise and the failure of military intelligence. Pearl Harbor has become a symbol of American national unity in the face of external threat. The Japanese see the attack as the beginning of the end, the inescapable path toward atomic destruction and a new world order. Beyond Pearl Harbor reveals a world of different understandings beyond these. Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino, Australian, and transnational understandings point to a clash of empires rather than a binary national conflict. The authors bring to the foreground long-effaced narratives and suggest a much needed postcolonial perspective.”—Michael Myers, author of The Pacific War and Contingent Victory: Why Japanese Defeat Was Not Inevitable

“Bailey and Farber have gathered a collection of insightful, original essays that deepen and broaden our understanding of the impact of the Japanese attacks on December 7, 1941. Standard interpretations focus almost exclusively on the destruction at Pearl Harbor. Collectively these essays challenge that narrative and offer a refreshing new perspective that will change forever the way future historians think about that infamous day. This is a bold, imaginative, and absolutely essential book.” —Steven M. Gillon, author of Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation into War