Books of Island Interest
Pearl Harbor frenzy

By Ann. M Sato

The release of the movie "Pearl Harbor" and the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, has unleashed predictable waves of book releases. Here's a quick look at a few :

This odd little compendium is the story of one military family's post-Pearl Harbor experiences. Their tale, amateurishly told in an uneven series of essays, holds some interest. But the real draw is a collection of photographs taken by Mary Patricia O'Meara Jones, Carroll Jones' mother and a professional photographer.

While maintaining the demeanor and duties of the perfect military wife, Mary Pat Jones also acted as a stringer for the Associated Press, Life magazine and the military; she had photographs published in many major magazines and carted her children with her as she made pictures at every posting held by her husband, Rear Adm. Berton A. Robbins Jr.

Immediately following the Pearl Harbor attack, an Associated Press photographer in Honolulu, a Japanese American, found his cameras confiscated; in a rush, the wire service called on Mary Pat Jones late in the day on Dec. 7, contracting with her to document the aftermath. Some very familiar photographs, including one of a sentry in front of 'Iolani Palace, were her work. Her assignment for AP lasted just a short time, but she continued to photograph ordinary people going about their lives during wartime until August 1942, when the family returned to California.

"PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS, the Legacy of December 7, 1941" by Thurston Clarke, Ballantine Books, paperback, $15

Clarke's is the story Islanders really want to read: an account of events as people experienced them, from Japanese bomber pilots to American military personnel stationed in the Islands, from the haole elite to local nisei; it sketches in the events that surrounded the bombing and presents the human story in telling detail.

The book was originally published in honor of the 50th anniversary and has been updated and re-released to coincide with the movie hoopla and the 60th anniversary.

Although there are a few inaccuracies (Ala Moana Hotel, when the author means the Moana) and is a bit dated in spots (he doesn't seem to realize the Japanese economic bubble has burst), this book reads as seamlessly as well-crafted fiction; it's even constructed as a series of short stories with such titles as "The View from Walter Dillingham's Window" and "Mrs. Mori Talks to Tokyo." The best of the bunch.

This is the book about Pearl Harbor that the historians wish we'd read. It is the life's work of historian Gordon W. Prange, who was in a unique position to create it because, after the war, from 1946-1951, he was chief of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's G-2 Historical Section at General Headquarters, Far East Command, in Tokyo.

During that time, he was able to interview many of those involved in directing and carrying out the attack; later, he would talk with many of the key players on the American side, as well as Pearl Harbor survivors.

The voices that speak from these interviews, coupled with Prange's meticulous research, make this a work that scholars can respect and readers can enjoy. Originally meant to be a four-volume set, this edition, condensed by two of Prange's students into one bulky book, was released a year after his death in May 1980. It has been re-released in paperback in time for the anniversary.

This new picture book is the only one among the recent releases that recognizes Pearl Harbor was a place of significance before the Japanese attack. In a series of short articles and essays, Allan Seiden, a Honolulu-based photographer, writer and photographic archivist, traces the history of the 20 square miles of watery landscape the Hawaiians knew as Pu'uloa, detailing its wildlife and its use by Hawaiians and examining how it passed from fishing haven to military base.

The book also shines some light on the effects of the attack, showing how salvage efforts began literally before the smoke had even cleared and how the war affected Islanders.

The final chapter pays tribute to Pearl Harbor today, focusing on its place as a memorial (it would have been nice to bring the book full circle and include at least a short discussion of Pearl Harbor's continuing use as a military base and its future in the light of changes in military strategy).

"Fishponds to Warships" is of interest because of its unique viewpoint, its riveting and rarely seen images, and its straightforward discussions of important topics, such as the role the sugar industry played in Pearl Harbor's passing into the hands of the U.S. military, and the factors that resulted in Japan's decision to attack the United States.

But it suffers a bit from a problem that afflicts many contemporary coffee-table books: As computerized graphics programs make literally dozens of techniques quick and easy, it's a rare designer who can resist the temptation to indulge in too many of those bells and whistles at once. But when type becomes unreadable as it's laid over photos, when colorizing detracts from the power of an original black-and-white photograph, when three or four images fight for the reader's attention on a single page, form has prevailed over function.