I actually read these books this past summer, but when I discovered that December 7th was on a day I usually do a post, the timing was just too good to ignore. ;-)

A couple of excellent shows on the History Channel about Pearl Harbor sent me on the hunt for books. The first to arrive was a short, juvie biography: Doris Miller: Hero of Pearl Harbor, by Bill O'Neal. (His mom was expecting a girl, and, liking the name, kept it. He would often go by the name 'Dorie'). Needing a job, Dorie joined the Navy. At that time, African Americans were only allowed to work in the mess, but fortunately, he had been watching the gunners at work. When the attack came on December 7, 1941, he took over one of the guns, firing at the incoming planes until he was out of ammunition. Yes, this was written for young readers, but it's a nice bio of a remarkable man. Perry told me Doris Miller shows up in the movie 'Tora! Tora! Tora!', but is unnamed.

The holiday season is coming, but this will be a holiday like no other. Pearl Harbor Christmas: a World at War, December 1941, by Stanley Weintraub is a time line history of the days following the attack in Hawaii to January 1, 1942. I like how the author covered, well, many things. From what the enemy was planning and doing, to soldiers on leave (with good food. And beer. Lots of beer.). Soldiers in Germany were only allowed to play one song (O Tannenbaum). Archibald MacLeish, then director of the Library of Congress, requested permission to move many of the founding documents to safe storage in Fort Knox. Plans were made to cover the war on several fronts, not all were sound plans. I loved the description of Churchill flying in to D.C., which was all lit up, after he'd been in black out conditions for years in London. One line, from an old hymn, took on special significance.

Seems Churchill was not familiar with the hymn 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and was moved by the line 'in the dark streets shineth'. There was a reference to it in a speech he made, (along with one from Franklin Roosevelt) in those dark days of December 1941. Author David McCullough wrote a nice history of those speeches, combined it with the stories behind 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' as well as wonderful archival photos to create a companion book to a concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I've not seen the concert, but In the Dark Streets Shineth: a 1941 Christmas Eve Story was a powerful, reflective read. (And it seems, that while Churchill might have sung lustily, he was not always in tune)!

Reading Hermit With Dog