In response to all the commentary that have come in over the last week or so, it is much appreciated, it means folks care deeply about their subject.   In part, to response to some of the criticisms, I’ll just have to say it is a work of fiction after all and not a doctoral dissertation.    Guided by Tolkien’s great maxim  “write a rousing good tale” that was our effort and at times we did bend the rules a bit, such as Yamamoto’s range of command etc.     As mentioned earlier, even some of the primary sources on the campaign of December 1941, are loaded with glaring errors, as primary sources often are, and those are adopted by secondary sources and “become fact.”    We had a number of historians, experts on naval warfare etc., review our manuscript for some of the details as mentioned in the commentaries to this blog, and apologize if we did not hit the mark correctly on some points.    But then again, it is fiction.
 
A good analogy.  I spent two years of my life doing a dissertation on an African American regiment, a good part of it, the role it played at the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864.   I guess you could say I’m one of the world’s leading experts on it and in my research discovered a number of details not known and a significant number of errors in the standard secondary works and even some of the primary.    It comes from that daily grind of what was sometimes 16hours a day, type of days.    I went nuts trying to endure “Cold Mountain,” both book and movie as but one result (besides living within minutes of where the story takes place).   We’ll take under advisement any errors noted, review, and learn.     A few are dead on, a few we could debate, I know all come from the heart which I appreciate, and please do remember we are in a fictional setting trying to learn some real world lessons.
 
Regarding MacArthur. . .hmmm. . .one is never suppose to give away what comes next, but let’s just say it is definitely a very big item on the table for the books ahead.   The debacles at the Philippines, Java Sea, and Singapore are the forgotten campaigns of our war in the Pacific because they were such stunning and humiliating defeats.     There was much that went wrong in our ill-preparedness, and in the flush of victory later, they became campaigns that few paid attention to.   Recall that John Ford, in 1945, made one heck of a movie about it  “They Were Expendable” which barely broke even because when released the war was ending and “we” did not wish to see a movie about our worst defeat. . . .”Sands of Iwo Jima,” which was far more “Hollywood” and less accurate, was far more to our taste in the years after the war.
 
I appreciate your understanding as to why I can’t post my email directly.   I hear all sorts of horror stories from those who do.   One jerk of an author I know, frankly can’t stand the guy who is ultra revisionist, did have my email address, did some open postings regarding what he claimed was a new ground breaking book of his, (with recepient’s names listed) and wham, my mailbox just exploded after his posting. 
 
Anyhow, hope my explanation to those of you with far deeper detailed knowledge is acceptable.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bill Forstchen

Apologies for not getting back to some of your questions sooner.  The last weeks with end of the school year for my daughter, a friend with emergency surgery and don’t ask me about the torture session with my dentist. . .I accused him of being trained by the Gestapo afterwards!   But actually he’s a great guy, just that I ran an allergic reaction, and other stuff, including take some flight exams, tied me up.  

The thing I appreciate most about this book is how believable it is. As with their Civil War series, Gingrich and Forstchen have crafted a narrative that sounds like it really happened. The benefit of alternate histories is their ability to make us think about how important one minor event can be to the outcome of a battle, a war, and more. As bad as the attack on Pearl Harbor was, it could have been much worse, and the aftermath could have been vastly different from what we read in the history books.

Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen have teamed up before; their trilogy of alternate Civil War history was received quite well. In that series...

Welcome to “Ask Bill!”
 
I am pleased to announce the grand opening of my new Blog thread that I created just for you.
 
Please write to me in the Comments section of this entry with all of your questions and ideas about Days of Infamy, Pearl Harbor, World War II, our Civil War book series, “active history,” or history in general!
 
I will be responding to your questions weekly… right here!
 
I have been so thrilled by all of the questions, comments and ideas that you have submitted to me that I have opened this as a forum for you to submit all of your thoughts.
 
It is always so rewarding for me as a writer to hear from such passionate and interested readers like you.
 
Thank You for being such enthusiastic fans of history.
 
I look forward to reading and responding to your comments!

Exactly one year ago I was in Hawaii for the launch of our book “Pearl Harbor.” I know, tough job. A lot of it was great fun, especially because my teen age daughter Meghan, my close buddy Bill Butterworth IV  (WEB Griffin Jr.), and Newt’s wife, Callista were with me as well. Sure between breaks we did the usual fun things you do in Hawaii, but that is not what I feel so compelled to write about today, on this the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend.

Back from the book tour. . .back to reality!

The build up to the launch of a book can be darn exciting. A long time ago I use to compare it to the anticipation a couple must feel waiting for the baby to arrive...(then I became a father and that analogy was dumped, the arrival of my daughter was far more exciting...and scary, and at least there are no critics lingering in the wings!)

The day after it is over? Well...I slept....and unlike having a new born in the house, you really can sleep.

I’ve always wanted to title an essay like that, “On the Road.”   Living in North Carolina I was always an admirer of Charles Kuralt.   

As I write this Newt and I are running around NYC promoting the launch of “Days of Infamy.”    It can get hectic, even a bit intimidating when you walk into a book store and four hundred people are lined up for copies.   Newt might be use to it, but as a writer I am a bit more of a recluse.   Another thing, of so many, that I admire about Newt is that he is inexhaustible. 

First, to Randy, and a couple of other friends who have written back so far.   Thank you!   Hope you are well and appreciate your thoughts.  I like the feedback and questions so keep them coming!
 
I wanted share a few thoughts about the writing of this book, and just things in general when it comes to a book launch, especially one co-authored with Newt.

Sure, I could drone on for boring pages about the fact that it was a heck of a lot of hard work.   What isn’t if you want to do something right?   But on the other side, it was also a lot of fun.   It’s hard to explain working with Newt.   A lot of people ask me about it, my usual answer with a grin is... 

© Callista Gingrich, Gingrich Productions

Well its a busy week already here as Newt and Callista are traveling around the country promoting the new work of historical fiction by Newt and Bill Forstchen, Days of Infamy.

Callista has been snapping photos of a few events and we've posted a photo album of the tour so far. Click here to see photos of the book tour.

There are several media appearances, including The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart tonight, so make sure you check out the Calendar to see when he is appearing on radio, tv or in-person for a book signing.

*UPDATE* Check out this video interview with Newt conducted today by John Fout at TheStreet.com.

Also here is a clip from his interview with Barbara Walters this morning.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I have dozens of stories about how Newt and I work together  when writing a book.  With our next book, Days of Infamy, I sought out a bit of a different type of research.  One of the great things about working with Newt is he can really open up doors when an historian needs a door opened.