In late 1995 amid heated debate over the blame placed on Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Maj. Gen. Walter C. Short for the devastation of the attack on Pearl Harbor and their subsequent demotions, the Department of Defense ordered its own investigation into the matter. This investigation was the only official inquiry made into the appropriateness of posthumously promoting Kimmel and Short to the ranks they held prior to the attack.

This book reproduces the complete report issued by the investigators with added commentary and an explanation of what it all means by coauthors Fred Borch and Daniel Martinez. Borch was the Army's representative on the team conducting the investigation andMartinez, an acknowledged expert on the attack, gives an important historical perspective to the study. A foreword by Donald Goldstein gives further insight into what happened and why on that fateful December day.