As we solemnly mark the 75th anniversary of the devastating event that propelled the United States into World War II, Steve Twomey offers an examination of the shortcomings in the nation’s military and diplomatic systems that might have been able to lessen the carnage if they had been better organized.

With all the mistakes, missteps and miscommunications, after reading COUNTDOWN TO PEARL HARBOR one comes away wondering how we managed to win the war. Responses all around seemed to have come up short as those in positions of power dickered over the best course of action, which in many instances was no action at all.

"The narrative is followed by more than 40 pages of notes and bibliography, a testimony to the author’s thoroughness."

Despite all the warning signs, America’s leaders --- through hubris or ignorance or simple disbelief over the capabilities of the enemy --- were not as ready as they should have been given the political climate. After all, Japan made no secret of their desire for geographic dominance. The author peppers his report with passages like, “There was going to come a moment when war with Japan was no longer an abstraction that might be encountered in a far-off future, but a genuine likelihood. The trick would be to recognize that moment.”

Unfortunately, no one on the American side did so until it was too late.

The descriptions of Japan’s strategy and philosophy --- perspectives that are usually lacking from American accounts  --- are particularly interesting. That nation’s military is usually represented as having a fanatical loyalty to the Emperor, but individually there were doubts. Traveling thousands of miles in 12 days (the time period referred to in the title) was practically a suicide mission; it would be extremely difficult to traverse such a distance, engage in any type of protracted battle, and be able to return home with any degree of safety. It’s refreshing to learn the enemy’s point of view and not take at face value the way they had been portrayed --- as almost subhuman --- by the media at the time.

The distance of time has allowed thoughtful analyses on the conditions that led to the worst attack on American-held soil (Hawaii was not yet a part of the United States at that time). There are no spoilers here; Twomey uncovers no secrets. The sense of impending doom mixes achingly with a sense of increased urgency as the days before the attack count down.

Younger readers immersed in today’s technology and the ability to reach anyone anywhere in real time will no doubt be stunned by the unfathomable delay in communications all those decades ago. That’s why advance preparation was so vital, and the attitudes from certain admirals, generals, politicians and members of the Roosevelt administration --- that it would be impossible to “sneak up” on a major military power --- were so misguided.

Another sad but inevitable fact in publishing contemporary interpretations: the protagonists about whom Twomey writes are all gone, so there’s no first-person account other than from memoirs and journals. The narrative is followed by more than 40 pages of notes and bibliography, a testimony to the author’s thoroughness.