Pearl Harbor : Final Judgement

by Henry C. Clausen, Bruce Lee

In 1944, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, knowing that high-ranking members of the military had falsely testified before the various bodies investigating the attack on Pearl Harbor, selected a then-unknown major by the name of Henry C. Clausen to undertake a new investigation. From November 1944 to September 1945, Clausen traveled more than 55,000 miles and interviewed over a hundred U.S. and British Army, Navy, and civilian personnel. He was given the authority to go anywhere and question anyone under oath, from enlisted personnel right up to George C. Marshall, the chief of staff. He ultimately presented an 800 page report to Stimson -- a report that revealed a massive operational failure by the United States to use the priceless intelligence signals that it had obtained months before Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is the "final judgement" -- the story behind Clausen's investigation and a blistering account of his conclusions.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, Historical, War, Nonfiction, American History

485 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Doris]

First I need to say that I found this book to be extremely boring. I found myself nodding off frequently while reading, so it took longer than I would have liked.
Being curious to know more and understand events surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I felt that this book would reveal information that I hadn't heard before, and I was correct in that assumption.
After Pearl Harbor the US Army held a review of the actions taken by various officials and officers during the days leading up to Dec. 7th. Henry Clausen was part of that board at that time. He felt at that time that some of the people questioned were not being entirely truthful or were willing to blame others in order to protect themselves. The conclusion at that time placed most of the blame on Chief of Staff Marshall.
In 1944, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, knowing that officers had perjured themselves during the Army investigation, decided to conduct a new investigation of the events. He picked Clausen, a former civilian lawyer, to lead the investigation and gave him authority to go anywhere and question anyone he needed, no matter who or what rank, to try and get at the truth.
Clausen carried top secret documents in a pouch worn under his uniform. If he found himself in an area where capture was a possibility, he was to pull the trigger connected to the pouch and blow himself up so that our enemies would not get hold of the papers inside the pouch. Clausen traveled widely, talking to people who had testified at the Army Board hearing, showing the top secret papers when needed and taking statements.. His conclusions were then written up and presented to Congress.
Based on his investigation, Congress came to many conclusions which have changed the way top secret information is handled and the way our military forces share information.

[C. G. Telcontar]

Not really essential reading on the topic, this is for junkies who are well immersed in the PH saga and know the personalities and debates. Clausen and Lee are clear writers who can move what is in truth a very desert dry story along at a good clip to keep you turning pages. Backtracking through various witnesses, necessary repetition of particular points from different people's perspectives and a double shot worth of self congratulation and 'Aren't I a clever fellow?' moments could really bog down the reading ordinarily but the style is light and airy enough to prevent any eye rolling or yawns.

He's got a few good tidbits in here for juicy gossip as well as perhaps a genuine scoop on one reason for the dropped pass on the morning of 12/7 from DC to PH. The chapter with the congressional testimony is the hardest to get through, both for content and the self praise he dishes out, letting you know just how clever he is in front of a panel full of senators.

Worthwhile if you can't get enough Pearl Harbor in your library.

[Mike Boyer]

A Very Sobering and Lucid Book on the Pearl Harbor Event

The primary author of this book, was the person responsible for going all over the world to interrogate and investigate the reasons for the Pearl Harbor disaster.
His efforts were thorough and precise.
His findings were passed on the the Secretary of War and subsequently to the congressional committee which officially made recommendations to correct the military deficiencies that led to the disaster. And the congressional committee came down hard on their recommendations.
The authors did an amazing job of organizing and conveying the command and internal issues at Pearl Harbor.
If anyone wants to know the real causes for the debacle, it is clearly stated in this book.
A great summation and book covering an important piece of history.

Excellent read.

[Bill hart]

Hollywood creates Pearl Harbor

After watching Hollywood's "Tora, Tora, Tora" many years ago I felt General Short and Admiral Kimmel were made scapegoats for the Pearl Harbor fiasco, now I know better. The truth of how things went wrong is easy to understand how it happened yet still hard to believe those in charge could be so dense. The only problem I had with the book is because of its length I'd put it down after awhile and would pick it up later only to have problems trying to remember who was who.

[Jim Garrett]

This is a historical book and it is meant to document a period of history, not excite the reader. Being that is the case I say it did it's job. Yes it is boring. But at the same time it is a very important book. I think it does a good job of showing our military is not quite as lilly white as we want it to be, that they will cover up their mistakes if they can. He explains the deception well. After all, intelligence sources and methods must be protected.

[Arthur Rohloff]

While the book reads like it was written by a lawyer (which it was), the fact remains that this lawyer was the investigator for the congressional ordered investigation and authorized by Henry Stimson to probe anywhere and everywhere. Clausen lays out a compelling case for the failures of Kimmel and Short, the intelligence community, the inter-service rivalry, and lack of oversight by Washington.

[Tom Darrow]

A very workman-like book on Pearl Harbor. Well researched, but not ground-breaking. The authors do take a very self-promotional tone, as if their conclusions are, in fact, ground-breaking. That gets a bit old.

[George]

Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, realizing that high-ranking members of the military had provided false testimony, decided to reopen the investigation by bringing in an unknown major by the name of Henry C. Clausen. Over the course of ten months, from November 1944 to September 1945, Clausen led an exhaustive investigation. This is Clausen's account of that investigation , his findings, etc, which was classified as top secret so not available to the public until declassified. This is Clausen's appraisal of why American armed forces met the Japanese attack asleep providing the details of massive intelligence failure, debunking the various conspiracy theories that have evolved since the attack and providing the evidence that shows how the US military missed so many signals and how it could have avoided the events of that fateful day.

[Lawrence]

Lotr of documents and interviews, but a boring read.

[Dan]

The title is a bit of a head fake - this is not a book about Pearl Harbor. This book is about how the Americans were surprised in Dec 7. If follows the investigations of a trial lawyer who became an Army lawyer and how he worked to set the record straight on who knew what and when and why the system to defend Hawaii and the system of sharing intercepted Japanese military and diplomatic messages fell victim to inter-service rivalry and failures in personnel and doctrine. In many ways, it's about the need for organizations like the National Security Agency/Central Security Service and combatant commands to enable the collection and dissemination of intelligence and directives to avoid future Pearl Harbors. The writing makes it a slow read, but it is worthwhile.

[Kevin Wallace]

Outstanding book!

Started this on 7 Dec, on the anniversary of the attack. Quickly became impressed with the author's research during the war and presentation now! Excellent book on a key event in our nation's history. Must read if you are interested in WWII. Definitively puts to rest any conspiracy theories about what lead to the attack.

[Sean O'Hara]

This is one of the most important books ever written about Pearl Harbor. Henry Clausen was appointed by Secretary Stimson to investigate the Army's failures at Pearl Harbor after a review board had turned out a partisan report that seemed aimed at pinning the blame on George Marshall while exonerating General Short. Clausen found that several witnesses had perjured themselves to keep the fact that the US had broken Japan's diplomatic codes secret. Clausen was granted access to MAGIC, which let him get the real story from the people involved, and it quickly became clear that Short had sufficient information to put his command on a heightened alert in early December, but because he was intractably wedded to a peacetime outlook, he failed to comprehend the danger he faced.

Of course the revelation of the perjury and the different versions of testimony out there is one reason there are so many conspiracy theories about Pearl Harbor -- and indeed, if you look at Amazon reviews, you'll see quite a few negative reviews from conspiracy theorists denouncing Clausen for perpetrating a coverup.

The downside of the book is that it's presented not as a narrative of what happened leading up to and during the Japanese attack, but rather as an account of Clausen's investigation. Because the witnesses were scattered to the farthest reaches of the world, Clausen approached them in the order most convenient to him, meaning that people stationed in DC were at the top of his list, then he made sweeps through the Pacific and Europe to meet up with witnesses overseas. The result is that the investigation jumps all over the place -- one witness will talk about decoding the fourteen part message that arrived in Washington on the night of December 6/7, then the next will talk about intelligence gleaned from the British on Japanese fleet movements in late November, then a third will discuss the state of radar in Hawaii. If you don't already have a decent understanding of what happened at Pearl Harbor, this is going to be an incoherent mess. At the very least, you have to watch Tora! Tora! Tora! before reading the book to give an idea of who everyone is and what their role was.

[Johnny]

If you are expecting to find surprising evidence or confirmation of some conspiracy of the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor from American aircraft carriers with Roosevelt and Churchill in the lead plane, then this book is not for you. If on the other hand want to read the account of a former Federal prosecutor who traveled around the world to interview the major participants and sloughing through large amounts of intercepts to find out what went wrong with on December 7th, then this book is for you.
I came at this already familiar with the premise that it was in large part due to bad coordination between the services and their civilian bosses as well as peacetime military mindset. As has anybody who has listened to Dr. Joe Caddell's seminars on intelligence failures. But it was nice to read about the journey of the man that put it all together and as an extra bonus, many of intercepts he carried with him and he felt integral to the disaster at Pearl Harbor are included in this edition

[Steve Johnson]

Some complain that the author appears to be somewhat self-congratulatory in this book. That is a valid criticism but it does not detract from the overall content. The author makes a compelling case that primary responsibility for the disaster at Pearl Harbor rests with the Army and Navy leadership at Pearl. Having read extensively on the subject, and having spent 23+ years in Army intelligence, I believe the author is correct in his analysis of the leadership and intelligence failure that lead to the success of the Japanese attack on 7 December, 1941. Serious students of the event would do well to read this book.

[William Webb]

To be read after Gordon Prange's Pearl Harbor trilogy, after John Toland's "Infamy" and after Cmdr. Stafford's "And I was there." Claussen was given plenipotentiary powers by Secretary of War Stimson to investigate Pearl Harbor in 1944-45 and this book solves many of the mysteries surrounding that momentous day. A must read.

[Betsy]

Disappointing book with too much favoritism towards certain individuals. Clausen was also annoying in his self-congratulatory attitude.