Another excellent addition to the History Smashers series. The main myth this book busts is that Pearl Harbor was a completely unexpected surprise attack and "no one could have seen it coming": on the contrary, many people predicted it, but either their warnings were disregarded or didn't reach the right people in time. In addition, the people in charge at Pearl Harbor were more concerned with local sabotage than with a Japanese attack, assuming Japan would attack the Philippines first, and lined up all the planes in one area, making them an easy target.

Messner does not shy away from the racism, fear, and ignorance that led to the creation of Japanese "internment" (prison) camps in the U.S. [See also: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei] She also makes connections for the reader from past to present, showing how we can (and should) learn from history. The text is accessible, and most page spreads include additional elements, like a photo, illustration or map, or series of graphic novel panels; Dylan Meconis does an excellent job with these.

p. 116-117: Americans of Japanese descent ended up being blamed for the attack even though they had absolutely nothing to do with it. You might be wondering how that could happen when there was no evidence at all.
But it was - and still is - common for entire groups of people to be unfairly blamed when something goes wrong. This is especially true of immigrants, people of color, and those who are part of religious minorities.

p. 121: Really, these "internment camps" were prison camps. But the government called them internment camps because it sounded nicer. When we use gentler language to make something bad sound better, that's called a euphemism.

Back matter includes a detailed timeline, author's note, and additional resources to explore (books, websites, museums), a bibliography, image credits, and an index. There's also a sneak peek of the first few pages of The Mayflower.

One quibble: on p. 135, Messner writes that "the rest of the world wouldn't understand the full extent of the horror [of the German concentration camps] until Allied soldiers marched into the camps near the end of the war. While knowledge of the Holocaust and the concentration camps might not have been widespread during the war, many people in Allied government positions DID know the truth at the time. ( )