At Dawn We Slept

Gordon W. Prange (1910-1980) served during World War II as an officer in the naval reserve and, during the occupation of Japan, served in the General Headquarters as a civilian. He was chief of General Douglas McArthur's G-2 Historical Section and director of the Military History Section. He taught history at the University of Maryland from 1937 until his death.

Prange's exhaustive interviews of people on both sides enable him to tell the story in such personal terms that the reader is bound to feel its power....It is impossible to forget such an account. —The New York Times Book ReviewDiligent, thorough, and evenhanded...At Dawn We Slept is the definitive account of Pearl Harbor. —Chicago Sun-Times“Fast-paced and engrossing . . . if any book can be called ‘definitive,’ At Dawn We Slept deserves the accolade.”—Los Angeles Herald Examiner“It will be the single, essential work on the subject from now on.”—Houston Chronicle“An unparalleled historical achievement . . . the account reads with the intensity of a suspense novel.”—Milwaukee Journal“From first to last—responsible, intelligent, absorbing . . . the book is most outstanding.” —Kirkus Reviews

• At Dawn We Slept - Gordon W. Prange with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon IntroductionPrefacePart I: Prelude1. "Cancer of the Pacific"2. "On a Moonlight Night or at Dawn"3. "Difficult But Not Impossible"4. "No Credence in These Rumors"5. "You Hurt the President's Feelings"6. "That Must Henceforth Bear Responsibility"7. "Our First Concern Is to Protect the Fleet"8. "The Hotbed of Espionage"9. "In Rather a Spot"10. "The Most Likely and Dangerous Form of Attack"11. "How Can Air Power Be Used Most Effectively?"12. "The Real Power and Potentialities"13. "With Guarded Approval"14. "The Strongest Fortress in the World"15. "Critical in the Atlantic"16. "The Kiss of Death"17. "Japan's Foreign Policy Will Not Be Changed"18. "As If He Were Beyond Penalty"19. "We Want Hustlers!"20. "Plenty of Potential Dynamite"21. "A Cunning Dragon Seemingly Asleep"22. "Prophetic in Its Accuracy"23. "Present Attitude and Plans"24. "A Very Strong Fighting Spirit"25. "Resolved to Go to War"26. "Waves and Winds So Unsettled"27. "A Serious Study"28. "The War Games"29. "Time Was Running Out"30. "But What About the Pacific?"31. "A Significant and Ominous Change"32. "No Matter What the Cost"33. "Now the Clouds Were Raised"34. "The Power, the Purpose and the Plan"35. "Pearl Harbor Will Be Attacked"36. "We Should Be on Guard"37. "As One with the Combined Fleet"Part II: Action38. "Other Kind of People"39. "Based on Deception"40. "In the Hands of God"41. "Complete War Preparations"42. "Ringing Bells and Banging Drums"43. "I Swear to Be Successful"44. "A Situation Full of Dynamite"45. "Things Are Automatically Going to Happen"46. "Wherever It Might Be Found"47. "Cleave the Enemy in Two!"48. "A Match for Anything Afloat"49. "That Was the Monkey Wrench"50. "To Be Considered a War Warning"51. "Our Diplomats Will Have to Be Sacrificed"52. "The Vacant Sea"53. "Glory or Oblivion"54. "Great Unease in All of Our Minds"55. "Sure Indication of War"56. "Another Straw in the Wind"57. "On a Keg of Dynamite"58. "This Means War"59. "The Japs Are Planning Some Deviltry"60. "An Awful Urgency"61. "Tora! Tora! Tora!"62. "Sound General Quarters"63. "They Caught Them Asleep, by God!"64. "Oh, How Powerful Is the Imperial Navy!"65. "The Chance of a Lifetime"Part III: Aftermath66. "An Excitement Indeed"67. "Our Flag Was Still There"68. "Clouds Over Mountains"69. "Not on the Alert"70. "Dereliction of Duty"71. "The Ashes of a Bitter Past"72. "Something Ought to Be Done"73. "Full and Fair Disclosure"74. "We Have a Job to Do"75. "Errors of Judgment"76. "We Want the Truth"77. "A Partisan Matter"78. "The Evidence Piles Up"79. "A Fighting Chance"80. "Fixing the Blame"81. "The Verdict of History"AfterwordAppendixNotesAbbreviations Used in TextSource MaterialList of Major PersonnelThe Pearl Harbor InvestigationsSelected BibliographyRevisionists RevisitedIndex