The researchers who conducted the interviews for this project have done very critical work that may be better appreciated in the decades to come. Most of the men who survived the Japanese POW camps have since died, and the opportunity to obtain first-hand accounts diminishes greatly as time goes by.

All aspects of POW life are presented in a carefully edited compilation of interviews with over 100 former prisoners. It is a tough, but necessary, read that overwhelms one with the senselessness of Japanese brutality. I don't think that a better account could possibly exist and I wish that this was required reading for any history curriculum covering the war.

Since the 1980's it has become far more popular among some in America to criticize the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war rather than the true barbarity of the Japanese. A book such as this, relying on first-hand accounts as it does, may curb the revisionists for at least a few more years.

Veritas - the truth. That is what this book presents from the best evidence possible - eyewitnesses. While this volume does not address the precursor events that led to this milestone event in world history, the accounts from the eyewitnesses are riveting. If your imagination can put you in their place, a cold sweat is sure to follow. The accounts are congruent with the personal stories my dad has related. He was aboard the USS Dale DD-353 on that fateful day, and thankfully was not even injured. Drs. Marcello and LaForte must be congratulated for compiling and chronicling such important recollections while they are still available. Their work on the Oral History collection at the University of North Texas will be a gold mine for those interested in avoiding the mistakes of the past. Keep America alert! - Remember Pearl Harbor