Harry Niles is an American by birth, brought to Japan by his missionary parents somewhere around 1920, perhaps a little before. His father's zeal left him largely unsupervised, living with his alcoholic Uncle Orin in Tokyo, and Harry, running in the streets with Japanese boys, became more Japanese than gaijin.
In this book, we read of Harry's adventures on the title date. Niles, a self-professed con man, owner of a night club, successful gambler, has come into possession of information about the Japanese military's plans, and a peculiar point of view as regards them.
Harry's luck is legendary, and propels him through the amazing plot in the day and hours leading up to the invasion of Pearl Harbor. I'm sure that historians could argue over the accuracy of the time and place, but however fantastic the story might be, I read this from cover to cover in a short time. It is suspenseful and fascinating.
LA Times book review
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