To Wake the Giant

As Japan expands its war in China and turns towards Southeast Asia, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull use economic pressure while attempting to avoid a premature conflict. Isoroku Yamamoto develops a carrier strike against Pearl Harbor despite his belief that a long war with the United States would be disastrous. In Hawaii, Joseph Rochefort and other intelligence officers try to interpret incomplete signals.

The diplomatic and operational story is joined to the experience of sailors aboard the Pacific Fleet, including men who regard Hawaii as a safe assignment. On 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft transform strategic calculation into immediate catastrophe. The novel examines planning, warning failures and personal loss rather than treating the attack as an inexplicable surprise.