Dawn of Infamy: A Sunken Ship, A Vanished Crew and the FInal Mystery of Pearl Harbor

Dawn of Infamy: A Sunken Ship, A Vanished Crew and the Final Mystery of Pearl Harbor by

Stephen Harding    280 pages

The day that will live in infamy, December 7, 1941 as FDR said, holds  horrendous memories for  military personnel, their families and also Americans everywhere.   The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning by Japanese pilots led to the United States entering WWII.   But just prior to that attack from above, an American cargo ship was attacked by Japanese submarine I-26.   Had there been clearer lines of communication the radio disc jockey from San Francisco who heard the cargo ship, "Cynthia Olson's" S.O.S. might have been able to change the course of the war, but, sadly by the time he got the message to the appropriate people,  Pearl Harbor was in flames.    The Japanese commander and his crew of I-26 were celebrating their victory in sinking the first American ship that would start the war with the UlS.    The cargo ship was hauling a shipful of lumber to Hawaii and was half-way between Seattle and Honolulu when it was struck.   They had no idea why an American vessel would be fired upon other than ,maybe the Germans didn't realize they were American (and therefore neutral to the war at that time).   They immediately hoisted the American flag only to be continually fired upon.    The lumber buoyed the cargo ship so it did not sink immediately.   The Japanese crew went to breakfast to celebrate their good luck thinking the ship would be on the bottom of the ocean when they were done.   When they returned and checked they were astonished the ship was still afloat (not knowing the cargo inside it).   They then fired two torpedos.  The first torpedo causing the ship to list the second taking it down in a fiery death.    The Japanese commander had jumped the gun a bit because they were told not to engage in fighting until after the bombers had hit Pearl Harbor.   The Japanese Emperor wanted it to be a total surprise attack and didn't want the Americans to go on alert ahead of their attack.   Documents were fudged to put the time as happening just after the Pearl Harbor ambush so the original shooter did not go down in historical documentation as being the shot that began the war with the U.S.    THe Japanese claimed to have assumed the Americans had time to get in their life boats and get away.   They did not claim to have captured anyone alive and taken them prisoner.   They did not claim they shot all survivors found as was done thereafter.   But, no survivors in lifeboats nor bodies were found floating amid the flotsom when retrieval efforts were executed.   None of the American civilian crew working with the military to deliver the lumber to the base were ever heard from again after the initial SOS.    Harding tells what he has found out about the event.    A WWII mystery finally getting some light shed on it.   Good book.   WWII buffs will really enjoy it.   It makes me wish I had talked to my Dad more about his time in the Aleutian Islands.   Good book.  I highly recommend it.   .  

  - Shirley J.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris  257 pages

David Sedaris is one of my most favorite authors.   His take on life is the  stuff behind the closed door in your house with all that junk hiding that he throws open the door and tells everything about with such wit and truth.   He could make the telling of anything funny and does it with such joie de vivre.   He can find a funny way of sharing anything and often does so with his family as his topics, or his lover, or basically anyone and anything including being the butt of his own jokes in such a hilarious way, I hate to come to the end of his books.   He is fabulous!  No matter what he is talking about the story comes out in such a way that you will find yourself laughing out  loud.   Be it tales of his younger brother, Paul, who out of all the siblings turned out to be a redneck but may just have the most normal family life of them all.   From giving directions to a Norwegian group of seniors while at the same time trying to eradicate a mouse, to the fellow who while David was cleaning his house insisted on David letting him take his blood sugar to so many other stories.  David lifts up the rug to show all the stuff that has accumulated there then stops to discuss the stories attached to each,, all of which are worthy of a stand-up routine on Comedy Central.   Bravo, David Sedaris for another wonderful book.   Yes, I recommend this book to middle-schoolers on up.   Even the iffy parts are funny and not as bad as you might think.  Another best seller for David Sedaris.

 - Shirley J.

Shrill

Shrill by Lindy West    272 pages

Lindy West is a speak loud and never hold your peace gal that I like a lot.  Not speaking up is a form of acceptance and too much of that goes on in the world.   Lindy West is speaking up, speaking her peace and not backing down.   She doesn't pussyfoot around tough topics, her weight - she says she is fat - she does not go with the plus-size term, she stands up for women and calls male comedians out when they do rape jokes - rape is not funny and maybe if those making the jokes had first hand knowledge of the experience they might not choose to go there nor want anyone else to.   She is the target of an unimaginable load of torment and slurs in the internet sectors.    She is brave and must have thick skin made of cast-iron to endure the onslaught of extreme threats and negativity she gets on a daily basis.  She doesn't back up from internet trolls who hide behind their monikers threatening her, her sexuality, her body even some going so far as to impersonate her dead father saying how disappointed he is in her.  She talks about her life growing up shy then losing her inhibitions and finding her voice to give value to herself and also to other women.   She is funny, charming, honest -she shares the stories of her failed relationships, her abortion, etc,  and even when tackling the hard stuff she comes out open and honestly and can find something to mentor the reader on in all things.  She will at times make you laugh out loud and at others make you wonder how in the world she endures.    Well spoken.   For middle schoolers on up.  O.K. at times her speech is a bit salty but the lessons she teaches more than makes up for the off cuss word.   One of my new favorite authors.