Pearl Harbor Christmas
A World at War, December 1941
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Narrated by:
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Malcolm Hillgartner
About this listen
Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock - in some cases overseas, elation - was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody’s mind. United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen under grim Nazi occupation.
Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe.
Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.
Stanley Weintraub is a National Book Award finalist, professor emeritus of arts and humanities at Penn State University, and the author of numerous histories and biographies, including Silent Night, and 11 Days in December. Editor of a ten-volume edition on the works of George Bernard Shaw, he lives in Newark, Delaware.
©2011 Stanley Weintraub (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of America's most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank?
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Claims to be balanced... glosses over flaws
- By Us 5 Camp on 07-03-18
By: Arthur Herman
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The Jersey Brothers
- A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home
- By: Sally Mott Freeman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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They are three brothers, all navy men, who end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the war's most crucial moments. Bill is picked by Roosevelt to run his first map room in Washington. Benny is the gunnery and antiaircraft officer on the USS Enterprise, one of the only carriers to escape Pearl Harbor and by the end of 1942 the last one left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest and least distinguished of the three, is shuffled off to the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm's way.
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Brothers Unbroken
- By Gillian on 05-12-17
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The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 41 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."
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A political as well as military history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-30-15
By: John Toland
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Never Surrender
- Winston Churchill and Britain's Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940
- By: John Kelly
- Narrated by: Gordon Greenhill
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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London in April, 1940, was a place of great fear and conflict. Everyone was on edge; civilization itself seemed imperiled. The Germans are marching. They have taken Poland, France, Holland, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. They now menace Britain. Should Britain negotiate with Germany? The members of the War Cabinet bicker, yell, lose their control, and are divided. Churchill, leading the faction to fight, and Lord Halifax, cautioning that prudence is the way to survive, attempt to usurp one another by any means possible.
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A Vivid Account
- By Jean on 01-21-16
By: John Kelly
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Countdown to Pearl Harbor
- The Twelve Days to the Attack
- By: Steve Twomey
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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In Washington, DC, in late November 1941, admirals compose the most ominous message in navy history to warn Hawaii of possible danger, but they write it too vaguely. They think precautions are being taken but never check to see if they are. A key intelligence officer wants more warnings sent, but he is on the losing end of a bureaucratic battle and can't get the message out. American sleuths have pierced Japan's most vital diplomatic code, and Washington believes it has a window on the enemy's soul - but it does not.
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Technical problems in Chapter 7
- By Sheldon of Idaho on 11-24-16
By: Steve Twomey
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The Allies
- Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Unlikely Alliance That Won World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Winston Groom tells the complex story of how Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin - the three iconic and vastly different Allied leaders - aligned to win World War II and created a new world order.
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Great read
- By Kindle Customer on 05-26-19
By: Winston Groom
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Nimitz at War
- Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Only days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped Chester W. Nimitz to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. Nimitz transformed the devastated and dispirited Pacific fleet into the most powerful and commanding naval force in history. Facing demands from Washington to mount an early offensive, he had first to revive the depressed morale of the thousands of sailors, soldiers, and Marines who served under him. And of course, he also confronted a formidable and implacable enemy in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
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Great
- By Jean on 12-14-22
By: Craig L. Symonds
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1941: Fighting the Shadow War
- A Divided America in a World at War
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War, historian Marc Wortman thrillingly explores the little-known history of America's clandestine involvement in World War II before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to that infamous day, America had long been involved in a shadow war. Winston Churchill, England's beleaguered new prime minister, pleaded with Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. FDR concocted ingenious ways to come to his aid without breaking the Neutrality Acts.
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Fascinating, well worth the time to read or listen.
- By tennreader on 06-07-16
By: Marc Wortman
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Pearl Harbor
- FDR Leads the Nation into War
- By: Steven M. Gillon
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." History would prove him correct; the events of that day - when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor - ended the Great Depression, changed the course of FDR's presidency, and swept America into World War II. In Pearl Harbor, acclaimed historian Steven M. Gillon provides a vivid, minute-by-minute account of Roosevelt's skillful leadership in the wake of the most devastating military assault in American history. FDR proved both decisive and deceptive, inspiring the nation....
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rehash that excludes faults of FDR
- By mike hammer on 10-31-11
By: Steven M. Gillon
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Pearl Harbor
- From Infamy to Greatness
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Published in time for the 75th anniversary, a gripping and definitive account of the event that changed 20th-century America - Pearl Harbor - based on years of research and new information uncovered by a New York Times best-selling author.
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Poorly researched, author loses credibility.
- By TBM on 12-23-18
By: Craig Nelson
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A Higher Form of Killing
- Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare
- By: Diana Preston
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In six weeks during April and May 1915, as World War I escalated, Germany forever altered the way war would be fought. On April 22, at Ypres, German canisters spewed poison gas at French and Canadian soldiers in their trenches; on May 7, the German submarine U-20, without warning, torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania, killing 1,198 civilians; and on May 31, a German Zeppelin began the first aerial bombardment of London and its inhabitants.
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Very Informative
- By Anonymous User on 05-24-23
By: Diana Preston
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The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
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US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
What listeners say about Pearl Harbor Christmas
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- botch
- 08-15-13
FDR WAS NO SAINT
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
The slant towards making the racist socialist, FDR, appears to be a saint, and responsible for everything good that happened in America and overlooking all the evil and bad things he did, aside this was a good book.
What did you like best about this story?
brings to light the history of how hard things were in 1941.
Would you listen to another book narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner?
yes
Was Pearl Harbor Christmas worth the listening time?
yes
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1 person found this helpful
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- Rodney
- 01-15-22
A fun read
I will agree with another reviewer, in that this book is mostly useful if you already know the subject to a decent degree. But I've read literally hundreds of WW2 books, and I'm now to the point that I enjoy day by day breakdowns of events. This isn't really that detailed,it's only 5+ hours, so that alone lets you know how limited this is going to be, but I enjoyed listening to it.
I will also agree, however, with the author being fully in love with that wantabe dictator and socalist FDR. Also, like all good FDR foot soldiers, he hates MacArthur. Outside of that, I think he does mostly a fair job with most things, and that comes based off a lot of reading of otherbooks.
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-07-13
History that's actually interesting
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This tells the story of what happened to various people in the month or so after Pearl Harbor. It reads like a naritive of news events but in an interesting and provocative format. It takes the reader to several theaters of war and deffinately gives the essence of what people who were living must have heard and felt. History doesn't get better than that!
What does Malcolm Hillgartner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narator give the piece a sence of what those living it heard.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
This was a book that I did listen to in one sitting. I couldn't put it down!
Any additional comments?
Try Professor Weintraub's other war book "The Last Great Victory" If you liked this you'll like that too.
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- Ann Malokas
- 11-29-11
Pearl Harbor Christmas
Not much has been written about this early period of the US entry into WWII. This fills in many of those blanks.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ted
- 05-21-24
A once-over-lightly wartime potpourri
There are a lot of books like this, and they’re always fun. Weintraub has clearly culled news items, letters, passages from published memoirs, etc., all relating to that wartime Christmas season. The book is global in scope, including glimpses of the Philippines, Singapore, and Russia, but with an emphasis, of course, on Churchill’s visit to the White House. The book probably wasn't very hard to write, and WW2 buffs won’t find much new, but it’s certainly entertaining. Notable — but also not surprising — is the highly unflattering portrait of Douglas MacArthur, lying to the nation as well as to his own troops and even making stock market moves in the midst of retreat.
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- albert
- 01-30-12
not quite as advertised
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
would not, unless they knew the real subject. This is NOT about Pearl Harbor, but the politics in late December in Washington. It also poorly connected the events described.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
Book just trails off on a certain date
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Narrator was just ok, could have made it more interesting.
Did Pearl Harbor Christmas inspire you to do anything?
not really. as a pacific war history buff, I just moved on.
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2 people found this helpful