Searching, first biography of the man many blame for the disaster at
Pearl Harbor * Examines the wider issues,
demonstrating that Short was not solely responsible * Establishes Short as a
principled man of honour.
Walter C. Short is remembered as the US Army general who parked his
aircraft wing-tip to wing-tip, making them easy targets for Japanese pilots
attacking Hawaii on 7 December 1941. Posterity has dealt
him and his Navy counterpart, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, a harsh indictment,
presenting them as either fools or scapegoats for Washington officials
attempting to hide their own errors. In this long-overdue biography, Short
emerges as an honourable yet flawed man.
Charles Anderson’s balanced portrayal acknowledges that Short bore
responsibility for certain charges made against him, but it also provides ample
evidence that his superiors worked hard to blame him and Kimmel as a way of
abnegating their own culpability. It also offers readers a new understanding of
the larger issues involved. A single day undid an exceptional career, but it did
not undo Short’s personal sense of dignity, honesty and loyalty to the
institutions and leaders who were partly responsibility for the debacle. This
biography is published in co-operation with the Association of the United States
Army.
