Pearl Harbor

by Randall Wallace

It was the end of innocence... and the dawn of America's greatest glory.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, War, World War II, Media Tie In

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lady An ☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly, my favorite movie so far, with The Big Fish and Labyrinth. Why? December 7th is an special date to me..not only for the attack, I used to graduate from all my scholar levels in that date. Since 2001 to 2006. And my grandma took her first communion the day after the attack, December 8th, 1941. ♥️

[Eliza]

THE MOVIE WAS BASED OFF THIS BOOK?!? WHAT??

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is my understanding that Randall Wallace wrote this book just after the movie was produced for it follows the movie exactly. I love the movie; therefore I love the book.
On page 286 there is an error when it says that the Emperor saw one of the four engine bombers. The B-25 bomber used in the raid is a two engine plane.

[Caleb G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quarter in my Cyber English class I read the book Pearl Harbor by Randall Wallace. I really enjoyed this book because it was filled with fairly mature content. I enjoyed this book much more than any other book that I’ve read this year because this book has a great storyline that is heavily focused on the military (specifically the Air Force), the reason that I enjoyed the storyline so much is because I can easily relate to a lot of thing that are going on in the storyline because I grew up in a military oriented family. Even though I could relate to most of the things going on in the storyline I couldn’t relate to the main characters. They were two farm boys who had grown up together and later joined the Air Force together. Even though I couldn’t relate to the main characters I did enjoy their personalities and loyalty towards one another.

There were a few conflicts in this book. The one that stood out to me was the conflict in which the two best friends(Rafe and Danny) are separated due to Rafe’s choice to volunteer for a special deployment, meanwhile leaving behind his best friend and girlfriend. At first this wasn’t a problem. But after some time Rafe’s girlfriend Evelyn received news that Rafe had been killed. Afterwards there was a lot of grieving between Danny and Evelyn which eventually led to the two getting together. This wouldn’t have been such a big problem if Rafe was actually dead and not on his way to see Evelyn. This is about as far as I want to go into this conflict because if I were to go any farther I would spoil the book. This conflict seems very fitting for a realistic fiction book.

My interpretation of this book's theme is that you should never let anything come between you and your friends. The reason I believe this is because the book covers all of the problems caused by Danny and Rafe fighting over Evelyn. But in the end they were both able to forgive each other and be at peace in their own ways.

I have decided to give this book five stars because it is the best book I have read so far. Mostly due to it’s realistic plot with a good balance of action and love

[Marlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books. I felt an emotional connection to each character on their journeys throughout their lives and loved seeing the different types of love spread throughout the book whether it be romantic love, familial love, the love between friends, and the love between friends that became family. I definitely will continue to read the author’s other books as well as more books about World War II.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will stick with me forever.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what to say about this book? With the 80th anniversary of the attack approaching I wanted to re-read this one. The 2001 movie is one of my favorites movies and I enjoyed this book just as much or even more. There are some details/ scenes in this book that were not in the movie. I thought that this book was very well written. The author has a way with words and his style of writing did not fail to touch me. The story was well paced and full of intriguing historical details. The characters were well developed with a lot of heart, soul and overall sincerity as people. Nothing fluffy or fake about them. The details about the attack on Pearl Harbor were harder to read than I anticipated and I am someone who has read ALOT about Pearl Harbor and WW2 in general. I think that we've probably become desentized to it 80 years later and it's easy to just see it as part of history without really thinking about just how horrific, violent and devastating it was to those who lived through it. It was a shocking, ruthless, bloody and gruesome attack that left around 2,400 Americans dead, many more wounded and the survivors had to live with the physical and emotional scars for the rest of their lives. Suely it was that generations "9/11.".This book has a permanent place on my favorites shelf and I know that I will re-read it in the years to come.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 Review 68. Pearl Harbor by Randall Wallace

Page Count : 320

Pearl Harbor is another favourite film of mine and this book is in some ways better than the film as the differences are extremely noticeable.

I love how you learn more about the characters from the film, Rafe Macauley, Daniel Walker, Evelyn Stewart (played by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale) and the other nurses.

While the book sticks to the story of the film very closely, you don't get all of the romance stuff that the film features.

The film focuses more on the build up to the December 7th attack and the consequences both during the attack and afterwards.

This is definitely a book I would recommend if you are a fan of the film and definitely a book I will be rereading again in the future.


5*
*****

[Francis James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book to break the monotony of what I am currently reading, three books of 600 pages, and was surprised of how I enjoyed this book. The story of two young pilots falling in love with the same nurse in the US, backdropped by the world war 2 - before, during, and after the great disaster that was Pearl Harbor bombing was a tragic yet lovely read.

[Joelle Noteboom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi boek, wel een beetje sloom

[Adelyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

(+) I liked reading about the transition of a tight friendship between a pair of boys (I always love reading about BFFs more than actual romance!) who grow together from children playing in the fields to fighting a war together. The way in which they unselfishly complement one another, and always have the other’s best interests at heart, yet are able to fight things out and argue like brothers was really heartwarming.
(+) This is a fictional account that is based on true events that happened during the war, and I think the author did convey some sense of realism without overloading the narrative with war content (which I would prefer to read in a non-fictional account instead of a story interlaced with a love triangle).
(+) I liked how there was some alternation as the writer describes the happenings in America, and in parallel the discussions that were taking place in Japan - gives a sense of why making assumptions is a bad thing.
(+) In the inevitable love triangle that would be expected from the blurb, I liked the way in which Evelyn handled the situation that transpired. I felt like she was strong enough to make the choice of what she thought was right, and instead of being wishy-washy and waiting for the situation to fix itself I liked that she took the initiative to find a solution for herself.
(-) I guess the ending was inevitable, given it is set during the war, and maybe I should have avoided this book since I don’t like sad endings…

Overall: A quick read, doesn’t drown the reader in details and the overarching storyline of how the boys interact with one another and the people around them keeps the plot moving. I suspect that someone who has seen the movie won’t enjoy this book very much, as there isn’t much by way of detail which can’t be portrayed in a typical-lengthed film, but I don’t know for sure as I haven’t seen it myself. I liked it, but there was nothing particularly memorable for me (possibly because I have read a number of other accounts on WW2) – 3 stars.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the movie which is completely why I read this book.

The romance is terrible in terms of heart wrenching. Loving two men at the same time, possibly the same amount... but probably loving the second slightly less than the first but feeling compelled towards the second because of circumstance. The movie made me howl completely.

I felt the story in the film was dealt with in such a way that the romance was the focus over the war, though there was a balance of war - romance in the film. In this book however there was a none too great balance between war story and romance and it felt that the history was the main focus, where I personally wanted to read about the romance. I felt the romance is complex and the characters as well are strong. I just think Wallace spent too long going into all the details of war, rather than taking one point of view and focusing on that, or one story and focusing on that.

In terms of a historic novel, I couldn't say how accurate this is, as I don't much care about the war, or know much about it. It is written in a way that seems plausible but how accurate really is a book that has a fictional story running through it. Surely some of it has been twisted to fit the romance.... ?

Anyway, overall it was ok. Too much history for me. Strong possibilities with the romance. Watch the movie I say.

[Ava Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not watch the movie. I found this book in the library and I picked it up because of the gorgeous Italian cover and because I knew it is a love story during the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanase, which I did not know much about. I gave the book 3 stars because of:

1) Evelyn, I really liked her as a character, I think she is strong, sensitive, introvert and also very smart.

2) The writer did his research on the topic.

3) The idea for the love story was good.

So why just 3 stars? I read that the writer wrote also the movie script ( I don't know if he wrote it before or after the novel, but I think is not important) the point is that this feels more like a movie script with longer sentences, but it lacks in depth, as if you are reading, as I said, a movie script. That being said, if you like love stories, war and if you have a fervid imagination so you can imagine your own movie, I suggest the book otherwise I think you should pick up a DVD of the movie.

[Camie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker are two daring young pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps who grew up as close as brothers and learned to fly as cropdusters in Tennessee. Shortly after Rafe falls in love with Evelyn a U.S. navy nurse , with rumblings of war on the horizon, he decides to enlist in the fighting in Europe, leaving behind both Evelyn and Danny. Meanwhile Evelyn and Danny get transferred to Pearl Harbor , which appears to be a peaceful paradise at that time. The story unfolds as war comes to Pearl Harbor and everyone's lives are forever changed. For me this was "edge of your seat" action combining shocking surprise, defeat and victory, along with a heart rending romance that helps you "care" more about the characters. I remember seeing this movie years ago with Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale. Hope I can find it, and watch it again. 4.5 stars

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like the story itself, but the thing that annoyed me about this book is that I felt like I was reading the movie. It was pretty much word for word, sceen for sceen between the page and the film. This isn't surprising since the author worte the screenplay for the movie...

[Salome Pachkoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of love triangle. Easy to read.

[Julie Randolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful blend of history and fiction, love and war.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who let an explosion loving director make a romance film? We all know that December 7, 1941 was the day of infamy, and this film seems to prove it otherwise.

In 1923 Tennessee, two young boys, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, play together in the back of an old biplane, pretending to be soldiers fighting the Germans in World War I. After Rafe's father lands his biplane and leaves, Rafe and Danny climb into the plane and Rafe accidentally starts it, giving the boys their first experience at flight.

Eighteen years later, in January 1941, Danny and Rafe are both first lieutenants under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (a RAF outfit for American pilots during the Battle of Britain). A nurse named Evelyn meets Rafe and passes his medical exam despite his dyslexia. That night, Rafe and Evelyn enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day.

Danny, Evelyn and their fellow pilots and nurses are transferred to Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, Rafe flies in numerous dogfights with the RAF against the Luftwaffe, becoming a flying ace, but is shot down over the English Channel and presumed to be killed in action. Danny gives Evelyn the news and she is devastated. Three months later, Evelyn and Danny develop feelings for each other. On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his aircraft crash. He goes to the Hula bar where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds Rafe in the bar with the intention of making things right, but the two get into a fight.

Early the next morning, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy begins its attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona is obliterated with when an armor-piercing bomb detonates the ship's forward ammunition magazine, literally lifting the bow out of the water. The USS Oklahoma capsizes after several torpedoes strikes her, trapping hundreds of men inside. The USS West Virginia suffers severe damage. One bomb mortally wounds Captain Mervyn S. Bennion. Cook Dorie Miller, with no training with firearms, mans a .50 caliber machine gun and shoots down a Japanese plane. The USS Nevada makes a run for the sea, becoming a primary target during the second wave.

Danny and Rafe drive away in search of a still standing airfield, while Evelyn and the other nurses rush for the hospital. The nurses struggle to give emergency treatment to hundreds of injured. Rafe and Danny manage to get in the air in two P-40s. After causing four planes to crash into each other and another getting shot down by ground fire, the two shoot down seven Japanese Zeros. After landing, the two donate blood before helping rescue men out of the capsized USS Oklahoma.

The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Day of Infamy Speech to the nation and asks the US Congress to declare a state of war with the Empire of Japan. The survivors attend a memorial service to honor the numerous dead, including fellow nurses and pilots. Later, Danny and Rafe are assigned to travel stateside under newly promoted Lt. Colonel Doolittle for a secret mission. Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe that she is pregnant with Danny's child and that she will remain with Danny.

Upon their arrival in California, Danny and Rafe are both promoted to Captain and awarded the silver star. Doolittle asks them to volunteer for a top secret mission, which they both accept. During the next three months, Rafe, Danny and other pilots train with specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers. In April, the raiders are sent towards Japan on board the USS Hornet, and are informed that their mission will involve bombing Tokyo and then landing in China. However, the Japanese discover them early, forcing the raiders to launch from a longer distance than planned. After a successful bombing run against Tokyo, the raiders crash-land on Japanese-occupied territory in China in a rice paddy. The Japanese Army pin down Rafe's plane, but Danny's crew flies over and shoots the Japanese patrol before crashing.

Danny is shot during the attack by Japanese patrols while the other pilots, Red and Gooz, kill off the remaining Japanese patrolmen. Before dying, Danny tells Rafe that he will have to be the father. Upon his return home, a visibly pregnant Evelyn sees Rafe getting off the aircraft, carrying Danny's coffin. Afterward, Evelyn and Miller are awarded medals, while Rafe is awarded his medal by President Roosevelt. Rafe and Evelyn, now married, visit Danny's grave with Danny and Evelyn's infant son, also named Danny. Rafe and baby Danny then fly off into the sunset in the old biplane that his father once had.

Okay, now about this film. It's a very rare movie that acknowledges the Chinese front actually existed. While the film's cinematography looks nice, Tora! Tora! Tora! and Midway already did this decades earlier and both films are way better, making this film a rip-off, and in addition Michael Bay's direction is not very good. Allegedly, Michael Bay wanted to do something similar to the former but with more modern special effects, but the studios insisted on several historical inaccuracies and the love triangle to cash in on the surprise success of Titanic. The first 45 minutes thankfully have none of Michael Bay's trademarks, like no explosions or helicopters flying in front of dramatic sunsets.

While Mako, Jon Voight, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Dan Aykroyd give pretty good performances, the acting seems otherwise terrible, especially from Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale; additionally, Rafe, Danny and Evelyn are very bland and undeveloped characters.

When the attack on Pearl Harbor actually begins, Rafe and Danny are asleep in a car parked in the country. The main characters don't even take part in the film's central event, at least, not until later in the attack...The attack scene focuses on Battleship Row and the airfields and completely forgets about the sinking of the USS Utah on the other side of the harbor. At least the attack itself is a good action scene, even if it's disrespectful to the event's historical importance and an extremely inaccurate depiction of the actual sequence of events. During the attack scene Rafe and Danny are shoehorned into the role of two real-life heroes of the attack. As a result these two men, Second Lieutenants George S. Welch and Kenneth M. Taylor, are not even mentioned.

The film unfortunately has little involvement with Pearl Harbor for the majority of the runtime (the runtime is, even from today's standards, overlong at 183 minutes--3 hours and 3 minutes--with practically nothing interesting going on in this movie and only forty-five minutes of the three-hour film are about the battle, making the pacing so lazy and terrible), being mostly focused on an extremely dull love triangle, making the title misleading and the advertising false. Even the depiction of the Battle of Britain as being hopeless until an American pilot turned up did not go down well with British audiences, who were already not particularly pleased with Hollywood's tendency to write themselves into things the British did (see for example U-571). The military in this film is shown to look like undisciplined idiots, because it takes rather too much effort showing the U.S. forces as innocent and shocked, to the point they act more like confused children rather than trained fighting men when the attack comes. And the conclusion is lazy, with the love triangle resolved by the Japanese killing the male actor who didn't get top billing. Not only the film disrespects to much history and the fallen soldiers, it doesn't even honor it!

While the film did not vilify the Japanese as much as some had expected, they are still shown doing Inscrutable Foreign Things (such as planning the attack in a giant open-air pond) rather than planning in boring normal buildings as they actually did. There is a sequence of the Japanese launching a protracted strafing run against the hospital and dropping bombs there, which is very inaccurate and did not happen: the medical station was hit by gunfire (though this may have been AA gun rounds falling out of the sky or gunfire from the handful of planes engaged in dogfights) and one medical staff member was killed, but no bombs were dropped. Especially not on a random car in the hospital's parking lot, there were much more important targets for their limited supply of bombs.

As usual for a movie that has the involvement of Michael Bay, there are scenes that will make even the most patriotic American roll their eyes, particularly the shot of a massive United States of America flag billowing majestically in the water as the USS Oklahoma sinks. In several scenes, absolutely no effort is made to disguise the USS Constellation, a very obviously modern Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier, variously standing in for the IJN Akagi and USS Hornet. Not much more effort is made to disguise that the 8-gun, 4-turret USS West Virginia is being played by the 9-gun, 3-turret USS Missouri, or that most of the ships that appear in non-CGI shots of the harbor are mothballed modern vessels built decades after the attack. The ship scenes also have a few plot holes, such as: when the ship is attacked, one of the sailors comes out of the ship while he's only wearing a towel and brushing his teeth; and when the ship starts to sink, one of the sailors says that he can't swim, so how does a sailor in the Navy not know how to swim?

An impressive number of real aircraft were assembled for the production, including some veteran planes modified for Tora! Tora! Tora! But the P-40s are computer-generated. The computer-generated imagery has aged poorly, with the computer-generated P-40s very obviously not having movable control surfaces. On the other hand, the practical effects, such as the three full-scale battleship bows, are very good. The sound effects are also actually good and even won the Academy Awards as well.

The film commits a litany of historical errors, from relatively minor issues like incorrect variants of aircraft being present, through things they ought to have noticed like a background building with "Est. 1953" painted on it, a brief shot of the USS Arizona Memorial in the background during a scene that takes place months before the attacks, or a glimpse of a 1990's vintage Amtrak Genesis locomotive during one of the scenes on the train, right up to to main-sequence impossibilities like Rafe joining an Eagle Squadron before any Eagle Squadrons were actually flying and at a time when he would have to have deserted from the US Army Air Forces in order to do so. It would be even more impossible for this same pilot to end up as part of the Doolittle Raid. There's even extremely clumsy noticeable product placement, with Coca-Cola bottles (logos carefully pointed at the camera) being used to collect blood for transfusions.

There are also some very strange contradictions such as Rafe cheating at the eye test using a note, even though his problem is that he is dyslexic and so the note would be no easier for him to read than the eye chart. And speaking of Rafe cheating, Rafe, in addition to being bland and undeveloped, is a very cocky, hot-tempered and unlikable protagonist hated by fans for being both, Gary-Stu and creator's pet.

Stiff, laughable dialogue, including the infamous "I think World War II just started!", a line so manifestly stupid it was changed in international releases. Jon Voight's reading of the famous "Day That Will Live In Infamy" speech, otherwise, is rousing, though the following scene of him standing up from his wheelchair is cringeworthy.

I give it an average rating, but it inspired me to do better on historical events than Michael Bay here. At least the scene where Pearl Harbor is actually attacked is amazing. The film itself is just another big-ass Hollywood blockbuster that promises so much and delivers so little. Until its release it was thought of as "the most realistic war movie ever", and although parts of the attack on Pearl Harbor will make you wince it in no way compares to how horrific the opening of Saving Private Ryan was. For me anyway, this hardly had any realism at all, the dog fight scenes reminded me of Star Wars or Independence Day or something. A friend of mine once said that this looked like it would be less like Saving Private Ryan and more like Titanic, and its much like Titanic in a couple ways: it's too long, it tells a love story with the historic events as a backdrop, and everyone knows the boat sinks at the end. But this flick fails on the drama side in a big way. It just didn't seem to work. And just when you think its over, it goes for another hour to show the Americans as heroes getting their revenge. This thing is jam packed with clichés and enough good old American corn to make you choke, yet it just didn't do it for me. That said though the big attack scene was outstanding and had some amazing FX and kinda made it all worthwhile, but how come that scene had great FX yet the President had such a remarkably fake chin?! I kinda wonder how historically accurate it is and what someone who was actually there would think of it. It wasn't a complete bore or anything, but I, and probably everyone else, expected so much more.

[Trang Phạm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Từ lúc còn nhỏ mình hay cùng ba theo dõi chương trình thời sự vào lúc 19g hàng ngày đặc biệt là phần tin tức quốc tế, nhà thì có một tấm bản đồ thế giới to, sách thì có bảy kỳ quan thế giới cổ đại nên mình rất thích thú với lịch sử thế giới. Nhưng phải thú nhận rằng có một sự nhàm chán không hề nhẹ về các giờ lịch sử thời còn đi học vì chúng khá khô khan, dài dòng và sau cả chục năm học sử thì hiện tại mình chỉ nhớ được 2 sự kiện là 02/09/1945 và 30/04/1975 vì đơn giản là được nghỉ làm vào dịp này. Từ khi đọc sách mình lại rất thích các thể loại sách về đề tài gì cũng được nhưng có gắng vào câu chuyện các yếu tố về địa chính trị, lịch sử. Trân Châu cảng là một quyển như thế.
Trận Trân Châu cảng có thể chỉ làm nền cho chuyện tình tay ba đầy nồng cháy, lãng mạn, da diết và có phần tréo nghoe của Rafe, Danny và Evelyn. Tuy nhiên, các yếu tố lịch sử, chính trị lại khắc sâu vào tâm trí, mình biết tên những nhân vật liên quan đến trận chiến như Roosevelt - tổng thống Mỹ đương nhiệm, Yamamoto - Kiến trúc sư trưởng của trận Trân Châu cảng, nguyên nhân và diễn biến trận đánh, nhớ buổi sáng ngày 07/12/1941 - buổi sáng diễn ra trận tập kích, nhớ hơn 2.400 người chết, hơn 1.200 người bị thương, cảm nhận rõ ràng và chân thực những mất mát, nỗi thống khổ của những nạn nhân (điều mà những giờ học sử không đem đến được).
Một điểm mình rất thích ở tác phẩm là dù phản ánh mong muốn chiến thắng, đánh một trận cho Mỹ thiệt hại thật to lớn, dù miêu tả sự hiếu chiến và mong muốn trả đủa sau khi bị không kích bất ngờ thì tác phẩm vẫn giàu tính nhân văn. Có những đoạn mô tả về Tướng Yamamoto hay phi công Nhật đang thả bom hay cuộc trò chuyện của Tổng thống Roosevelt và tùy tùng của ông, hay suy nghĩ của Tướng Doolittle, họ điều biết chiến tranh là khó tránh khỏi nhưng trong thâm tâm vẫn mong muốn những người lính của họ được bình an, không muốn nhìn thấy cảnh máu của dân thường, của phụ nữ và trẻ con đổ xuống nhuộm đỏ màu đất.
Lúc đầu mình cứ thắc mắc tại sao Rafe lại xung phong ra trận khi Mỹ vẫn đang bình yên nhưng gấp trang sách cuối cùng thì mình cũng hiểu được phần nào. Lý tưởng của một người lính thật cao cả, họ mang trên mình sứ mệnh của quốc gia, của dân tộc, họ hy sinh tình cảm cá nhân để có thể bảo vệ cho đồng đội, đồng bào.

[Hannah Mossbarger · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like this movie, you'll enjoy the book because they're pretty identical. One of the things that made the book more meaningful for me was the little details provided in Rafe and Danny's friendship through the years that deepens your sense of the brotherly love and bond they had with one another. You get more insight into the personal thoughts of the characters.Their characteristics seemed to balance each other out in a way that they were able to develop a dependence on one another that constructed the foundation of their history and childhood. Danny's love for Evelyn has always seemed more pure and sincere than Rafe's for some reason, maybe because of his devotion to Rafe and simultaneous desire to live honestly. I also found the ending scene to be so much more sad than in the movie (which made me cry too) because of Rafe's flashback to seeing Danny as a child dragged by his Dad when he's being dragged away by the Japanese. I think that moment kind of encapsulates the way that Rafe sees Danny and feels a need to protect and defend him, which can be seen at other points in the story too, like when Rafe tries to convince him to not go on the secret mission. Danny, it seems, views Rafe as a leader and has extreme devotion to him. Ultimately, the sacrifice required for friendship is the most beautiful thing about this story because they are both able to uncover the marrow of their friendship and get back to the source of their closeness despite personal wounds.

[Lea Kielsholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeg lærte en masse af bogen, som jeg ikke vidste i forvejen. Det er tydeligt, at forfatteren har sat sig ind i de historiske detaljer. Det har forvirret mig lidt hvad der har været fiktion, og hvad der er sandt. De tre hovedkarakterer er fiktive, men ellers er rigtig mange virkelige mennesker på forskellig vis inddraget i historien.
Jeg har ikke set filmen og kan ikke sammenligne med den.
Men bogen er ikke et litterært mesterværk. Måske fordi forfatteren primært skriver filmmanuskripter? Jeg synes den er fuld af floskler og sætninger a la "hun måtte mærke dybt efter i sit hjerte mens hun kiggede på solnedgangen der var lige så smuk som kærligheden hun følte" og ting i den stil. Jeg synes det er plat. Men plottet er godt, og det er interessant at se hvordan forholdet mellem de tre hovedpersoner udvikler sig.
Det er tydeligt at mærke forfatterens begejstring for USA og USAs militær. Han får det også til at fremstå som om anden verdenskrig først for alvor gik i gang, da USA involverede sig - men angrebet på Pearl Harbor skete altså to år efter at krigen startede i Europa. Den "attitude" irriterede mig igennem hele bogen.
Udmærket bog hvis man vil lære lidt om angrebet på Pearl Harbor, men ikke en man læser to gange.

[Maggie Mopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una historia que ya conocía de ver la película, pero aun así me pareció que Randall Wallace implementa una narrativa muy sencilla y llevadera con descripciones muy buenas en la parte de los enfrentamientos aéreos, haciendo que una entre de lleno en el combate y que me resultará muy fácil seguir los acontecimientos históricos que iban surgiendo a lo largo de toda la novela. Me gusto como desarrollo las personalidades de los tres protagonistas porque están bien definidas y me gusto que dejará ver el espíritu no solo de hombres y mujeres, sino de una nación entera que afrontó con entereza, valentía y coraje los acontecimientos vividos. Creo que lo único que si me parece que falta es que profundice un poco en la relación que tenía tanto Rafe como Danny con Evelyn, ya que eso si me parece que queda muy difuminado y no tiene tanta presencia, pero no es molesto porque quiera un libro de romance sino para que no se sintiera tan poco elaborada esos lazos que parece que surgieran casi de la nada y porque creo era necesario que se viera mejor reflejado porque esa mujer realmente tenía esa inmensa presencia en la vida de esos dos amigos. Sacando eso, me pareció un libro magnífico sobre un hecho histórico no tan mencionado y que tuvo realmente un giro en lo que iban a hacer los siguientes eventos de la guerra.
3,7 ✰

[Leighann Garber · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's hard to say that a book about war is light, but it kind of is. the characters are simple, the plot follows the pearl harbor attack and the Doolittle raid (something I had forgotten about and know very little) intertwined with a love triangle. Many of the characters are real historical figures, the ships are all real ships.

the love triangle is a nice story, sad and wrought but ends in a satisfying way, weirdly enough. the ending seems to wrap things nicely, a bit too quickly. the nuances of war are simplified to a large extent and there are little mentions given to things like Dorie and the treatment of Chinese by Japan that could have made a longer more detailed story, or stories of their own, but it did its job. I think this was released in 2001, so an easy patriotic story was appreciated. I remember watching the movie and enjoying it

I needed something a little light after The Last Ship, but it will stay with me for a long time

[Mark Brandwein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl Harbor was a fantastic read. The book had its similarities to the movie, however, the book actually explains more of the beginning of World War Two. I highly recommend this book for all ages to read. We lost a lot of servicemen and civilians during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Enjoy our History.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this book on my trip to Hawaii. Yes I’ve seen the movie, but not since it was originally released. It was emotional for me because I was there on December 7th, at Pearl Harbor, and even had the privilege of meeting a few of the survivor veterans. I enjoyed the book and being there while reading the book made it all the more emotionally gripping.

[Tuffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I’ve seen the movie but I couldn’t remember it anymore. I started reading the book, and when I reached the middle part, I’m itching to watch the movie again and see if they did justice to the book.

I loved it. I admire Rafe and Danny’s friendship...or you could call it brotherhood.

This book was written beautifully. It will stir up some emotions.

[Tamara Van dishoeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

de film kende ik al en heb ik al eens gezien maar had het boek nog nooit gelezen. het verhaal van twee vrienden tijdens wereld oorlog twee en vooral om hun relatie met een vrouw. en de aanval van Pearl Harbor die erg ingrijpend was. net als het film was het vanuit meerdere personen geschreven waaronder de twee vrienden maar ook de jappen. wil de film nu wel weer een keer kijken.

[Nicole Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a grate way to learn a very important part of America's history and how we entered WW2. Also a amazing story of two friends becoming war buddies and the amazing connection and loss that brings.

[Amy Gay · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about this moment of history from the author's perspective, since I did not live through this event. His writing style was not a favorite of mine though so I'd just stick to the movie.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the movie and of course I loved the book that was based on the movie. However, if you are expecting to find out something more or if there were any differences, then know that the book is 99% exactly what the movie was.