Pearl Harbor and the coming of the Pacific War
Subtitle: a brief history with documents and essays
By: Akira Iriye.
Series: The Bedford series in history and culture
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 258
Subjects: Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941.; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 -- Sources.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Pacific Area.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Causes.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history.; Japan -- Foreign relations -- 1912-1945.
Description: Assembling more than thirty primary documents - including proposals, memoranda, decrypted messages, and imperial conference reports - Iriye presents diplomatic exchanges from both American and Japanese perspectives to determine how and why the United States and Japan went to war in 1941. A detailed introduction provides background on Japanese aggression in China and Southeast Asia during the 1930s and economic unrest and isolationism in the United States.

Readings add an interpretive dimension, placing Pearl Harbor in global context with essays from American, Japanese, Chinese, Soviet, German, British, and Indonesian perspectives that explain how various countries applied pressure, offered assistance, exacerbated rifts, and significantly affected negotiations and Japan's ultimate decision for war.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-247) and index.