{"product_id":"dead-reckoning-the-story-of-how-johnny-mitchell-and-his-fighter-pilots-took-on-admiral-yamamoto-and-avenged-pearl-harbor-isbn-9780062448514","title":"Dead Reckoning: The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe definitive and dramatic account of what became known as\u003cbr\u003e\"Operation Vengeance\" -- the targeted kill by U.S. fighter pilots of Japan's\u003cbr\u003elarger-than-life military icon, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the naval genius who\u003cbr\u003ehad devised the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e “AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NO DRILL.” At\u003cbr\u003e7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center\u003cbr\u003etyped what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history, as\u003cbr\u003ethe Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on U.S. bases on Hawaii.\u003cbr\u003eIn a little over two hours, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, propelling the\u003cbr\u003eU.S.’s entry into World War II.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDead Reckoning\u003c\/em\u003e is the epic true story of the high-stakes operation undertaken\u003cbr\u003esixteen months later to avenge that deadly strike – a longshot mission hatched\u003cbr\u003ehastily at the U.S. base on Guadalcanal. Expertly crafting this \"hunt for\u003cbr\u003eBin Laden\"-style WWII story, \u003cem\u003eNew\u003cbr\u003eYork Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author Dick Lehr recreates the tension-filled events\u003cbr\u003eleading up to the climactic clash in the South Pacific skies – frontline moments\u003cbr\u003eloaded with xenophobia, spycraft, sacrifice and broken hearts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Lehr goes behind\u003cbr\u003ethe scenes at Station Hypo on Hawaii, where U.S. Navy code breakers first discovered\u003cbr\u003eexactly where and when to find Admiral Yamamoto, on April 18, 1943, and then chronicles\u003cbr\u003ein dramatic detail the nerve-wracking mission to kill him. He focuses on Army\u003cbr\u003eAir Force Major John W. Mitchell, the ace fighter pilot from the tiny hamlet of\u003cbr\u003eEnid, Mississippi who was tasked with conceiving a flight route, literally to\u003cbr\u003ethe second, for the only U.S. fighter plane on Guadalcanal capable of reaching\u003cbr\u003eYamamoto hundreds of miles away – the new twin-engine P-38 Lightning with its\u003cbr\u003efabled “cone of fire.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven unprecedented\u003cbr\u003eaccess to Mitchell’s personal papers and hundreds of private letters, Lehr\u003cbr\u003ereveals for the first time the full story of Mitchell’s wartime exploits up to the\u003cbr\u003eface-off with Yamamoto, along with those of key American pilots Mitchell chose\u003cbr\u003efor the momentous mission: Rex Barber, Thomas Lanphier Jr., Besby Holmes, and\u003cbr\u003eRay Hine. The spotlight also shines on their enemy target –Admiral Yamamoto,\u003cbr\u003ethe enigmatic, charismatic commander in chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet, whose\u003cbr\u003ecomplicated feelings about the U.S.—he studied at Harvard—add rich complexity. In\u003cbr\u003ethis way \u003cem\u003eDead Reckoning \u003c\/em\u003eoffers at\u003cbr\u003eonce a fast-paced recounting of a crucial turning point in the Pacific war and keenly\u003cbr\u003edrawn portraits of its two main protagonists: Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect\u003cbr\u003eof Pearl Harbor, and John Mitchell, the architect of the Yamamoto’s demise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDead Reckoning\u003c\/em\u003e features\u003cbr\u003eblack-and-white photos throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Dead Reckoning\u003c\/em\u003e is a thrilling true story of courage, honor and derring-do that builds to a tremendous climax. Among Dick Lehr’s many gifts is a rare ability to depict world-shaking events on a human scale. This is a master work of narrative history.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Lost in Shangri-La and Fall and Rise: The Story of 9\/11\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"\u003cem\u003eDead Reckoning\u003c\/em\u003e is the riveting story of how the U.S. sought to kill Japanese naval admiral Isoroku Yamamato for his diabolical masterminding of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Major John Mitchell and his avenger flyboys emerges in these pages as true-blue military heroes of the Greatest Generation ilk.  The amount of new research Lehr has undertaken about Operation Vengeance is breathtaking.  Highly recommended!\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDouglas Brinkley\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Lehr packs the narrative with intimate looks at both men’s personal lives, debates among U.S. and Japanese leaders over military strategy, and the history of “targeted kill” operations. Even the most dedicated WWII buffs will learn something new from this granular account.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Lehr is a gifted raconteur….Many readers will know how the intercept turns out (for the uninitiated, the book’s title…is a giveaway), but Mr. Lehr’s telling of it has the excitement of a Steve McQueen car chase.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eDead Reckoning\u003c\/em\u003e tells this white-knuckle tale and sheds new light on an important, albeit little-remembered turning point in the war....[Lehr] maintains palpable tension throughout. It is a surpassingly improbable feat that these young Americans flyboys accomplished, led by ace pilot and mission planner Major Johnny Mitchell.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An evenhanded history of the hunt for the mastermind of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor....A sympathetic, exciting portrait of both American and Japanese warriors caught up in 'targeted-kill operations.'\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lehr’s skills as a journalist dig deep into the lives of Yamamoto and Mitchell, shining light on the public and private life of each. Anyone interested in World War II, and especially the war in the Pacific, will find this account fascinating.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888857411813,"sku":"NP9780062448514","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062448514.jpg?v=1730229967","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/dead-reckoning-the-story-of-how-johnny-mitchell-and-his-fighter-pilots-took-on-admiral-yamamoto-and-avenged-pearl-harbor-isbn-9780062448514","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}