---
product_id: 18828829
title: "At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor"
price: "356 Lei"
currency: RON
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.ro/products/18828829-at-dawn-we-slept-the-untold-story-of-pearl-harbor
store_origin: RO
region: Romania
---

# At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor

**Price:** 356 Lei
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- **What is this?** At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
- **How much does it cost?** 356 Lei with free shipping
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- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ro](https://www.desertcart.ro/products/18828829-at-dawn-we-slept-the-untold-story-of-pearl-harbor)

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## Description

desertcart.com: At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor: 9780140157345: Prange, Gordon W., Goldstein, Donald M., Dillon, Katherine V.: Books

Review: Fantastic and Informative! - I'm really glad that I read this book. I never knew just how far back Yamamoto and the rest were planning this attack. I also didn't know the sheer scale of the blunders and miscommunications in Washington that allowed the attack to go forward almost without a hitch. I found the book well structured with the lead up to the attack extremely well and thoroughly explained; The attack itself very well illustrated right at the 50% mark of the page count; and, the rest of the text devoted towards the aftermath and investigations. I highly recommend this book to any person interested in the Pearl harbor attack.
Review: Amazing detail delivered in great storytelling. - I'm at the 70% mark after a marathon session with my tablet. I cannot put this down! I wanted to write this review before I forgot. This remarkable book is an achievement because it contains both all of the detail you would expect from such a well-researched project and great writing: the author really brings out the personalities in a great piece of storytelling. What really stands out is the way he simultaneously tracks developments in Japan and the US throughout 1941, moving back and forth from the Japanese officers and politicians to their American counterparts. As Yamamoto and a small circle of colleagues start to get serious about the seemingly impossible dream of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Americans keep pondering what the Japanese would do if negotiations broke down. Again and again the idea of some sort of attack on Pearl Harbor is brought up and then forgotten. The frustration a typical American reader is likely to feel cannot be overstated. Epic frustration. The detailed examination of the Japanese planning is good not only for those who want to learn about this operation but also, to be coolly objective, it's simply a good case study of people turning over a problem (or opportunity) and looking at it from almost every angle. The contrast between the Japanese and the Americans could not be more stark. To demonstrate how thorough this book is: I bought it on the off chance that I would find an answer to my own question, which was, did the Japanese not realize that it was possible that sunken ships would simply be hauled out, repaired, and sent out to fight the Japanese again? This is the cost of trying to sink ships in the shallow waters of a harbor (with all those repair facilities right there) instead of out in the (for all intents and purposes) bottomless ocean. Anyway, I was sure Yamamoto had considered this (especially since the shallow harbor presented a problem for the Japanese torpedoes). The author did not disappoint. He shows in a couple of places in his narrative how this issue vexed one of the Japanese officers in particular, who was hoping that some of the ships would be parked in a much deeper harbor not too far away. The other harbor was included in the planning, but he was to be disappointed that morning when reconnaissance discovered nothing there. But they did plan for this disappointment: because of the shallow water at Pearl, their mission was not merely to sink the battleships, but to destroy them beyond all hope of repair. An important distinction affecting the detailed instructions given to the pilots. Even so, when one reads the Japanese side, there is a frustration that mirrors the one you might feel while reading the American side of the story: even Yamamoto acknowledged, explicitly, that an operation against Pearl could only be a delaying tactic in a war that America would certainly win. This is something that the Japanese worried about but seemed to have no answer for. The answer might have been in Washington, where Japanese diplomats seemed to be honestly trying to keep the peace, and voiced their frustration with their own government and military for an insistence on imperialist adventures.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #151,237 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #102 in WWII Biographies #415 in World War II History (Books) #1,428 in U.S. State & Local History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (534) |
| Dimensions  | 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches |
| Edition  | Anniversary Edition |
| Grade level  | 12 and up |
| ISBN-10  | 0140157344 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0140157345 |
| Item Weight  | 1.95 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 912 pages |
| Publication date  | December 1, 1982 |
| Publisher  | Penguin Books |
| Reading age  | 18 years and up |

## Images

![At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81S8JrmtKFL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic and Informative!
*by J***N on December 21, 2025*

I'm really glad that I read this book. I never knew just how far back Yamamoto and the rest were planning this attack. I also didn't know the sheer scale of the blunders and miscommunications in Washington that allowed the attack to go forward almost without a hitch. I found the book well structured with the lead up to the attack extremely well and thoroughly explained; The attack itself very well illustrated right at the 50% mark of the page count; and, the rest of the text devoted towards the aftermath and investigations. I highly recommend this book to any person interested in the Pearl harbor attack.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing detail delivered in great storytelling.
*by T***S on November 18, 2017*

I'm at the 70% mark after a marathon session with my tablet. I cannot put this down! I wanted to write this review before I forgot. This remarkable book is an achievement because it contains both all of the detail you would expect from such a well-researched project and great writing: the author really brings out the personalities in a great piece of storytelling. What really stands out is the way he simultaneously tracks developments in Japan and the US throughout 1941, moving back and forth from the Japanese officers and politicians to their American counterparts. As Yamamoto and a small circle of colleagues start to get serious about the seemingly impossible dream of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Americans keep pondering what the Japanese would do if negotiations broke down. Again and again the idea of some sort of attack on Pearl Harbor is brought up and then forgotten. The frustration a typical American reader is likely to feel cannot be overstated. Epic frustration. The detailed examination of the Japanese planning is good not only for those who want to learn about this operation but also, to be coolly objective, it's simply a good case study of people turning over a problem (or opportunity) and looking at it from almost every angle. The contrast between the Japanese and the Americans could not be more stark. To demonstrate how thorough this book is: I bought it on the off chance that I would find an answer to my own question, which was, did the Japanese not realize that it was possible that sunken ships would simply be hauled out, repaired, and sent out to fight the Japanese again? This is the cost of trying to sink ships in the shallow waters of a harbor (with all those repair facilities right there) instead of out in the (for all intents and purposes) bottomless ocean. Anyway, I was sure Yamamoto had considered this (especially since the shallow harbor presented a problem for the Japanese torpedoes). The author did not disappoint. He shows in a couple of places in his narrative how this issue vexed one of the Japanese officers in particular, who was hoping that some of the ships would be parked in a much deeper harbor not too far away. The other harbor was included in the planning, but he was to be disappointed that morning when reconnaissance discovered nothing there. But they did plan for this disappointment: because of the shallow water at Pearl, their mission was not merely to sink the battleships, but to destroy them beyond all hope of repair. An important distinction affecting the detailed instructions given to the pilots. Even so, when one reads the Japanese side, there is a frustration that mirrors the one you might feel while reading the American side of the story: even Yamamoto acknowledged, explicitly, that an operation against Pearl could only be a delaying tactic in a war that America would certainly win. This is something that the Japanese worried about but seemed to have no answer for. The answer might have been in Washington, where Japanese diplomats seemed to be honestly trying to keep the peace, and voiced their frustration with their own government and military for an insistence on imperialist adventures.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very detailed and fascinating read
*by C***E on October 8, 2015*

A very detailed and fascinating read. The first part, which shows how the Japanese prepared for thew attack for over a year, really shook me. It truly was a "sneak attack", and the descriptions of the highly capable men who panned and executed it is chilling. Their idea was to knock America on it's ass until they had establish their empire! All of this happened as they "negotiated" for peace! It also shows that while lack of vigilance was part of the problem, America's biggest challenge was preparing for two massive wars with fascist expansionists who felt they had a right to conquer and pillage vast swaths of land. There simply weren't enough ships and planes in 1941 to do the job. The second part, which covers the attack itself and its aftermath, covers familiar ground. The third part, covering American investigations of the attack, is rather tedious. But it is well written and a real education!

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*Product available on Desertcart Romania*
*Store origin: RO*
*Last updated: 2026-02-14*