All the gallant men An American sailor's firsthand account of Pearl Harbor

Approaching the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Stratton's (one of the few survivors) memoir, cowritten with Gire (Windows of the Soul), offers an intimate account of his experiences on the USS Arizona and beyond. The narrative begins with a look at his childhood, explaining how a need for employment during the Great Depression compelled many of his generation to join the service and how that attitude changed after Pearl Harbor. It then sets the context and time line of the attack and shares the accounts of various shipmates. Thoughtful yet concise, Stratton relates his subsequent recovery and return to duty and analyzes the encounters that have helped to shape his life. Stratton's story parallels those of many servicemen. The details may change, but the mental and physical challenges are often similar: survivor's guilt, vengefulness, and difficulties in accepting and granting forgiveness. VERDICT Gire corroborates Stratton's accounts while allowing the author's powerful voice to shine through this volume that will sit nicely alongside other World War II memoirs and firsthand tales of combat. It would work well as a YA introduction to Pearl Harbor and to frontline servicemen's experiences. See also Gordon Prange's At Dawn We Slept and "Pearl Harbor, 75 Years Later," LJ 9/15/16.-Maria -Bagshaw, Elgin Community Coll. Lib., IL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.