Days of Infamy by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen, William R. Forstchen, Albert S. Hanser (Editor), Albert S. Hanser (Editor)

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Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen have already offered a fresh take on World War II with their novel Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th, 1941. This "active history" shows how one decisive change can alter the course of even global events. In the case of Pearl Harbor, that change was the reassignment of Admiral Yamamoto to direct the attack. In Days of Infamy, American naval leaders struggle to counter, or at least neutralize the masterful strategies of the Japanese commander. Riveting history with a difference.

From the Publisher

Gingrich and Forstchen’s now critically acclaimed approach, which they term “active history,” examines how a change in but one decision might have profoundly altered American history. In Pearl Harbor they explored how history might have been changed if Admiral Yamamoto had directly led the attack on that fateful day, instead of remaining in Japan. Building on that promise, Days of Infamy starts minutes after the close of Pearl Harbor, as both sides react to the monumental events triggered by the presence of Admiral Yamamoto. In direct command of the six carriers of the attacking fleet, Yamamoto decides to launch a fateful “third-wave attack” on the island of Oahu, and then keeps his fleet in the area to hunt down the surviving American aircraft carriers, which by luck and fate were not anchored in the harbor on that day.

Historians have often speculated about what might have transpired from legendary “matchups” of great generals and admirals. In this story of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the notorious gambler Yamamoto is pitted against the equally legendary American admiral Bill Halsey in a battle of wits, nerve, and skill.
Days of Infamy recounts this alternative history from a multitude of viewpoints---from President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and the two great admirals, on down to American pilots flying antiquated aircraft, bravely facing the vastly superior Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. Gingrich and Forstchen have written a sequel that’s as much a homage to the survivors of the real Pearl Harbor attack as it is an imaginative and thrilling take on America’s entry into World WarII.

Praise for the first audiobook in the Pacific War Series, Pearl Harbor:

"A thrilling tale of American's darkest day."
--W.E.B. Griffin

"Masterful storytelling that not only captures the heroic highs and hellish lows of that horrific day which lives on in infamy--it resonates with today's conflicts and challeneges."
--William E. Butterworth IV, New York Times bestselling author of The Saboteurs

Robert Conroy - Library Journal

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has spawned multitudes of what-if scenarios. In the authors' previous book, Pearl Harbor, what might have happened if the attack on Pearl Harbor had been pressed harder was answered: it would have been catastrophic for the United States. This sequel graphically and plausibly tells what could have happened if the Japanese and U.S. fleets had found and battled each other in the desperate days following the attack. Skillfully combining historical characters with fictional ones, Gingrich and Forstchen have crafted a riveting, exciting, and realistic novel of World War II. Curiously for an alternate history, it does not change events much. There is a feeling of inevitability that diminishes any sense of surprise, as fictional events don't seem to evolve all that differently from actual history. The authors' Civil War trilogy did come to a conclusion; thus, readers will wonder if there will be future books and a subsequent, but different, end to the Pacific War. Recommended for larger collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ1/08; 250,000-copy first printing.]

Product Details

• ISBN: 0312363516
  
• ISBN-13: 9780312363512
• Format: Hardcover, 384pp
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Pub. Date: April 2008
• Sales Rank: 2,565