In this judicious portrait of a courageous general and deeply-flawed man, commonly ranked as either one of the world's greatest generals or greatest examples of cowardice, military historian Connaughton seeks out the truth between these extremes. Digging into MacAuthor's personal life and political relationships, as well as the strategic play leading up to the Japanese attack, this is a fascinating study of the crisis of leadership as well as a focused study of one of the pivotal moments in WWII. A powerful, terrible story, told in exacting detail' - Kirkus (STARRED)'