Day of Infamy

By Walter Lord,

Book cover of Day of Infamy: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Book description

A special 60th anniversary edition of the bestselling re-creation of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, by the author of A Night to Remember.

Sunday, December 7, 1941, was, as President Roosevelt said, "a date which will live in infamy." Day of Infamy is a fascinating account of that unforgettable…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

3 authors picked Day of Infamy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I got this book as a teenager. As a WWII history buff, I read it cover to cover so many times that the cover wore off. This is a complete account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. From the workers dipping soup with their oily hands to eat on breaks while trying to free men from the capsized USS Oklahoma to the use of coke bottles to store donor blood, it is a gritty account of the bravery of the U.S. forces caught by surprise by the attack. While newer books on Pearl Harbor have…

From Angel's list on war that go beyond the battles.

Few authors have ever matched Walter Lord for his ability to put a reader inside a historical event as it was unfolding. In Day of Infamy he puts his readers vicariously on the ground, in the air, or aboard a ship during the Pearl Harbor attack, and through his use of eyewitness accounts draws the reader into what becomes an almost visceral experience.  While some details Lord recounts have been invalidated by more recent research (the book is over sixty years old yet is still in print!), that does nothing to detract from how convincingly he conveys the Americans’ feelings…

From Daniel's list on naval battles in the Second World War.

Lord writes in the narrative history perspective of the attack on Pearl Harbor and interviewed hundreds of people who were present at the event. The book reads like you are in it, tiny details are present, from the light hearted night of entertaining of Admirals before the attack on December 6th to the unsuccessful two-man midget submarine attack. We hear the echoes of the past as they are unfolding in real time, minute by minute, hour by hour, bomb by bomb. An event that shook the world, from the people who were there on both sides of it.

From Daniel's list on the war in the Pacific 1941-1945.

Want books like Day of Infamy?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Day of Infamy.

Browse books like Day of Infamy

Book cover of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Book cover of With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
Book cover of Guadalcanal Diary

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Japan, the navy, and the Pearl Harbor attack?

Japan 516 books
The Navy 25 books