
- 656 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was largely focused on the war in Europe, but when planes dropped out of a clear blue sky and bombed the American naval base and aerial targets in Hawaii, everything changed in an instant. December 1941 takes you into the moment-by-moment ordeal of a nation waking to war.
In December 1941, bestselling author Craig Shirley celebrates the American spirit while reconstructing the events that called it to shine with rare and piercing light. Shirley puts readers on the ground and the thick of the action.
Relying on daily news reports from around the country and recently declassified government papers, Shirley sheds light on the crucial diplomatic exchanges leading up to the attack, the policies on the internment of Japanese people living in the U.S. after the assault, and the near-total overhaul of the U.S. economy to prepare for war.
Shirley paints a compelling portrait of pre-war American culture--from the fashion and the celebrities to common pastimes. His portrait of America at war is just as vivid, highlighting:
- The surge in heroism, self-sacrifice, mass military enlistments, and national unity
- The prodigious talents of Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley
- Troubling price-controls and rationing, federal economic takeover, and censorship
Featuring colorful personalities including Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, and General Douglas MacArthur, December 1941 highlights a period of profound change in American government, foreign and domestic policy, law, economics, and business, chronicling the developments day by day through that singular and momentous month.
December 1941 features surprising revelations, amusing anecdotes, and heart-wrenching stories, and also explores the unique religious and spiritual dimension of a culture under assault on the eve of Christmas. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the closest thing to war for the Americans was uncoordinated, mediocre war games in South Carolina.
Less than thirty days later, by the end of December 1941, the nation was involved in a battle for the preservation of its very way of life--a battle that would forever change the nation and the world.
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Information
Table of contents
- COVER PAGE
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT PAGE
- DEDICATION
- CONTENTS
- FOREWORD
- PREFACE
- CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 2: THE SECOND OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 3: THE THIRD OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 4: THE FOURTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 5: THE FIFTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 6: THE SIXTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 7: THE SEVENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 8: THE EIGHTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 9: THE NINTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 10: THE TENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 11: THE ELEVENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 12: THE TWELFTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 13: THE THIRTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 14: THE FOURTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 15: THE FIFTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 16: THE SIXTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 17: THE SEVENTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 18: THE EIGHTEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 19: THE NINETEENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 20: THE TWENTIETH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 21: THE TWENTY-FIRST OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 22: THE TWENTY-SECOND OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 23: THE TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 24: THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 25: THE TWENTY-FIFTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 26: THE TWENTY-SIXTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 27: THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 28: THE TWENTY-EIGHTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 29: THE TWENTY-NINTH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 30: THE THIRTIETH OF DECEMBER
- CHAPTER 31: THE THIRTY-FIRST OF DECEMBER
- EPILOGUE
- NOTES
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ABOUT THE AUTHORS
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- INDEX
- PHOTOS