Before dawn breaks over the Pacific, young Japanese pilots don the scarves of ancient warriors-and in the early light of Sunday morning an American radarman picks up an approaching air force, only to be told by his superiors that the planes are U.S. B-27s. A few hours later, Pearl Harbor is in flames, and America's naval fleet lies in bloodied ruins. From a renowned team of military historians, here is the gripping, blow-by-blow chronicle of how it happened: from the chance conditions that allowed the Japanese a perfect approach, to a housewife's account of the first assault wave, from a ship's cook manning machine guns to survivors swimming through flaming, oil-slicked water. Told from both the Japanese and American points of view, "December 7, 1941" reveals the diplomatic intrigue, the brutal fighting, the panic that followed the attack, and the disbelief, anger, and determination that gripped an America suddenly at war.

Part 1. "Something was going to happen." "Time was running out" -- "Just another Saturday" -- "An air of tenseness" -- "A wonderful evening" / Part 2. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" "That rather hectic morning" -- "About to launch a blow" -- "To the point of attack" -- "Suitable dawn for the epoch-making day" -- "We've made it!" / Part 3. "The sky was full of the enemy." "Japanese! Man your stations!" -- "Great ships were dying" -- "Through the smoke and flames" -- "A terrible hour" / Part 4. "Under constant and continuous attacks." "This is not drill" -- "Somebody is going to pay for this" -- Tearing the place to pieces" -- "Bedlam and bombs and bullets" -- "It's the real thing, boys" / Part 5. "A tragic hour." "A heart-breaking scene" -- "What is going to happen next?" -- "We wanted to fight" -- "Terrible, simply terrible" / Part 6. "Back to their battle stations." "The Japanese bombers swarmed down on us like bees" -- "The desperate urgency" -- "A mass of twisted wreckage" -- "This time our aim was better" -- "A mixed-up affair" / Part 7. "A date that will live in infamy." "They didn't have their right bearings" -- "What a welcome sight!" -- "Rumors were coming in fast and furious" -- "Everybody thought the Japanese would be back" -- "Jumpy and trigger-happy" -- "At last came dawn" -- "Hostilities exist" / Table of comparative times / Cast of characters / Abbreviated chronology of key events relating to Pearl harbor.