Bibliograph

Joe Rochefort's war, the odyssey of the codebreaker who outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, Elliot Carlson

Type

Label

Joe Rochefort's war, the odyssey of the codebreaker who outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, Elliot Carlson

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 542-556) and index

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

mapsillustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Joe Rochefort's war

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

713188215

Responsibility statement

Elliot Carlson

Sub title

the odyssey of the codebreaker who outwitted Yamamoto at Midway

Summary

Elliot Carlson's biography of Capt. Joe Rochefort is the first to be written of the officer who headed the U.S. Navy's decrypt unit at Pearl Harbor and broke the Japanese Navy's code before the Battle of Midway. The book brings Rochefort to life as the irreverent, fiercely independent, and consequential officer that he was. Readers share his frustrations as he searches in vain for Yamamoto's fleet prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but share his joy when he succeeds in tracking the fleet in early 1942 and breaks the code that leads Rochefort to believe Yamamoto's invasion target is Midway. His conclusions, bitterly opposed by some top Navy brass, are credited with making the U.S. victory possible and helping change the course of the war. The author tells the story of how opponents in Washington forced Rochefort's removal from the decrypt unit at Pearl and denied him the Distinguished Service Medal recommended by Admiral Nimitz. In capturing the interplay of policy and personality and the role played by politics at the highest levels of the Navy, Carlson reveals a side of the intelligence community seldom seen by outsiders

Table Of Contents

Introduction : the riddle of Joe Rochefort -- Trolley to San Pedro -- Mustang -- Odyssey of a codebreaker -- Fleet gadfly, Tokyo whiz -- The Admiral's confidant -- Assignment Pearl Harbor -- A most unusual place -- Rochefort's world -- Shadowing Yamamoto -- Encounter with Kimmel -- Ill wind -- Comedy of errors -- Air raid Pearl Harbor! -- The long wait for JN-25(b) -- Pearl Harbor aftermath -- Strike up the band -- Koryaku Butai -- Not a very glorious incident -- The dungeon comes alive -- A silk purse out of a sow's ear -- King comes calling -- Something is brewing -- Five days in May -- Rochefort's war -- Affirm fox is confirmed here -- Nimitz comes around -- Our man in Tokyo -- By any and all means -- Remedial action -- Drydocked -- Epilogue : the medal

Classification