The Pearl Harbor Papers: Inside the Japanese Plans

This book, which contains many Japanese primary-source materials, was edited by the co-authors of At Dawn We Slept (with the late Gordon Prange).  It takes us behind the scenes (from 1935 to the training for Pearl Harbor in the fall of 1941).

Included are monographs by Minoru Genda (the Commander who envisioned the attack and believed that air support was critical even in a land operation), letters from Isoroku Yamamoto (the Admiral who conceived the operation and pushed for its approval) and shipboard diaries (which provide details about the radio-silence voyage to Hawaii, the attack and the return trip). 

In addition, the book contains a formerly secret report which analyzes the successes and failures of Japan's naval operations.  As Publishers Weekly puts it:

Perhaps the most remarkable document is an extended report titled "An Intimate Look at the Japanese Navy," in which "official" Japanese historian Masataka Chihaya reviews the imperial Navy's successes and failures, assesses tactics and weapons used in the war and concludes with a devastating critique of leadership blunders...A veritable treasure trove for scholars and Pacific War buffs, this collection also includes the after-action map prepared for Emperor Hirohito, which has only recently been recovered.

Credits

The Pearl Harbor Papers:  Inside the Japanese Plans

By  Donald M. Goldstein (Editor) and Katherine V. Dillon (Editor).

Potomac Books (December 1, 1999)

Publishers Weekly quote - Copyright 1993, Reed Business Information, Inc., and made available online, courtesy Amazon.com.