What I'm reading . . .

Pearl Harbor, by Steven M. Gillon.

While there have been many accounts of Pearl Harbor and the start of America's participation in WWII - Prang's book* remains one of my all-time favorite reads, period - surprisingly few have taken us to the White House and showed what happened behind the scenes on that fateful day.

Historian Steven M. Gillon's new book, which came out in October from Basic Books, does just that. It gives some insight not only into the start of the war but Roosevelt and America in general.

A quick, brisk read, it's aimed primarily at a general audience, but specialists and buffs who want to get a quick perspective or refresher on FDR and the day won't be disappointed either.

Among many other things, Gillion quickly dispenses with the notion - bizarre to anyone who knows anything at all about Roosevelt - that the President knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked. At the same time, he shows that FDR and the military knew something was going to happen. The real failure was one of imagination - too many people simply didn't think an attack on Pearl Harbor was possible.

Unfortunately, history shows such failures are endemic and enduring.