A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice

By Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan

On the seventy-fifth anniversary, the authors of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Eleventh Day unravel the mysteries of Pearl Harbor to expose the scapegoating of the admiral who was in command the day 2,000 Americans died, report on the continuing struggle to restore his lost honor—and clear President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the charge that he knew the attack was coming.

The Japanese onslaught on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 devastated Americans and precipitated entry into World War II. In the aftermath, Admiral Husband Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, was relieved of command, accused of negligence and dereliction of duty—publicly disgraced.

But the Admiral defended his actions through eight investigations and for the rest of his long life. The evidence against him was less than solid. High military and political officials had failed to provide Kimmel and his Army counterpart with vital intelligence. Later, to hide the biggest U.S. intelligence secret of the day, they covered it up.

Following the Admiral’s death, his sons—both Navy veterans—fought on to clear his name. Now that they in turn are dead, Kimmel’s grandsons continue the struggle. For them, 2016 is a pivotal year.

With unprecedented access to documents, diaries and letters, and the family’s cooperation, Summers’ and Swan’s search for the truth has taken them far beyond the Kimmel story—to explore claims of duplicity and betrayal in high places in Washington.

A Matter of Honor is a provocative story of politics and war, of a man willing to sacrifice himself for his country only to be sacrificed himself. Revelatory and definitive, it is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this pivotal event.

The book includes forty black-and-white photos throughout the text.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062405531

Anthony Summers

Anthony Summers is the author of nine acclaimed nonfiction books. The Eleventh Day, on the 9/11 attacks, was a Finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History and won the Golden Dagger — the Crime Writers’ Association’s top non-fiction award. He is the only author to have won the award twice. Educated at Oxford University, Summers traveled worldwide for the BBC, becoming a deputy editor of the flagship program “Panorama”. His books on President Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the Kennedy assassination, and Marilyn Monroe have been the basis for major television documentaries The feature film Scandal, starring John Hurt, was based on Summers’ book on the Profumo sex/espionage scandal.  

Reviews for A Matter of Honor

[deaconbernie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While some may think the phrase "Draining the Swamp" is unique to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, the fact is it could have as easily been applied to the occurrence and aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. There has been a lot written about this attack, what was known and when before, during and after, and by whom. While it is true that Kimmel and Short failed to do this and that, the fact remains the American people, through their elected representatives, failed to furnish the tools to the leaders of the Army and the Navy between November 11, 1918, and December 7, 1941. We thought we could legislate ourselves into safety if only other countries would leave us alone. "Manifest destiny" brought about a sense of purpose but one we would not fund. Beyond that, peace time spit & polish in the military created a situation where shining one's buckles had become more important than cleaning one's rifle. Form had triumphed over substance. Our military establishment became aware of Japanese codes despite the efforts of civilian leadership. When MAGIC came into our possession, it was treated as a possession rather than as a tool. The authors of this work certainly come down on the side of Admiral Kimmel and General Short for fairness sake although there is much to indicate they were the designated scapegoats. Now, 70 years after the fact, remedying the failure to treat these two men fairly is available if only a President would act ... so far, four have failed to act.