Preview
  • Ghosts of Honolulu

  • A Japanese Spy, a Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
  • By: Mark Harmon
  • Narrated by: Mark Harmon, Leon Carroll
  • Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (238 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Ghosts of Honolulu

By: Mark Harmon
Narrated by: Mark Harmon, Leon Carroll
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Read by the author.

"A fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account." — Publishers Weekly

A U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; a Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet. On December 7, 1941, their hidden stories are exposed by a morning of bloodshed that would change the world forever. Scrutinizing long-buried historical documents, NCIS star Mark Harmon and co-author Leon Carroll, a former NCIS Special Agent, have brought forth a true-life NCIS story of deception, discovery, and danger.

Hawaii, 1941. War clouds with Japan are gathering and the islands of Hawaii have become battlegrounds of spies, intelligence agents, and military officials - with the island's residents caught between them. Toiling in the shadows are Douglas Wada, the only Japanese American agent in naval intelligence, and Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy sent to Pearl Harbor to gather information on the U.S. fleet.

Douglas Wada's experiences in his native Honolulu include posing undercover as a newspaper reporter, translating wiretaps on the Japanese Consulate, and interrogating America's first captured POW of World War II, a submarine officer found on the beach. Takeo Yoshikawa is a Japanese spy operating as a junior diplomat with the consulate who is collecting vital information that goes straight to Admiral Yamamoto. Their dueling stories anchor Ghosts of Honolulu's gripping depiction of the world-changing cat and mouse games played between Japanese and US military intelligence agents (and a mercenary Nazi) in Hawaii before the outbreak of the second world war.

Also caught in the upheaval are Honolulu's innocent residents - including Douglas Wada's father - who endure the war's anti-Japanese fervor and a cadre of intelligence professionals who must prevent Hawaii from adopting the same destructive mass internments as California.

Ghosts of Honolulu depicts the incredible high stakes game of naval intelligence and the need to define what is real and what only appears to be real.

©2023 Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll (P)2023 Harper Select
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Ghosts of Honolulu

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    138
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    133
  • 4 Stars
    49
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    151
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Really enjoyed the true account of these individuals during WW2. Very factual, now I am interested in more information on the people and places mentioned in the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mark Harmon

Very interesting piece of history. Told a lot about the beginning of NCIS and about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent historical review of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.

An excellent historical review of the environment, people and activities around the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. A very insightful yet depressing revelation of human and political actions that related some very shameful and destructive actions of the US Government.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ghosts of Honolulu

Wonderful Take on the attack on Pearl Harbor not heard before. Narrator Mark Harmon did a good job

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Steeler book

I learned so much about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This book was informative and entertaining.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I liked new insights into what happened on the island.

I enjoyed the new-to-me information, but like others commented, I had a hard time with the narration. Mr. Harmon is a good actor, but whatever happened here, it wasn't good. I decided that maybe my reading speed got messed up, but it didn't matter how I adjusted it it just did come out well. I would have been better off reading the hard copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I just didnt know this history.

I went to school with many Japanese Americans but they did not share with non Japanese. Too soon? WWII seemed l8ke ancient history to someone born post-war. It wasn't. I am grateful for this personalized history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Little Known Corner of the War

Although the Japanese Consulate spy is generally well known, the activities of the nisei in Honolulu have been less documented. Regarding the spy, Yoshikawa, and his accomplices Kuhn and Kotoshiroda, the result was complete failure. Yoshikawa escaped under diplomatic cover then avoided punishment in Japan. Kuhn was deported to Argentina (with other nazis?) and traitor Kotoshiroda became a pillar of the nisei community in Honolulu. The best nugget of information was the mention of Kuhn’s 17 year old daughter as Goebbel’s mistress. The whole family got exiled as far away from Germany as possible to protect Goebbels.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Choppy

I slugged through this but it didn’t flow well at all. The short chapters make it hard to follow. There’s too much information that doesn’t need to be included. It reads more like a textbook and doesn’t paint a picture of what’s going on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The recent history of Hawaii

The narrator butchered the pronunciation of Hawaiian and Japanese words and it detracted what could have been a great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!