In the Cauldron: Terror, Tension, and the American Ambassador's Struggle to Avoid Pearl Harbor

Summer, 1941. Japan and the United States are locked in a battle of wills. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic sanctions are crippling Japan.  Rice is being rationed. Consumer goods are limited.  And oil shortages threaten the capabilities of Japan’s vast military machine. America's noose is tightening around Japan's neck—but the country's leaders refuse to yield to American demands. In this cauldron of boiling tensions – months before the Pearl Harbor attack – Joseph Grew, America's ambassador to Japan, offered many recommendations to break the deadlock.  Having resided and worked  in the elegant U.S. embassy in the heart of Tokyo for almost ten years, Grew understood what Roosevelt and his administration back home did not: that the Japanese would rather face annihilation than endure the humiliation of surrendering to American pressure. But the President and his administration saw little need to accept their ambassador’s recommendations.  The administration’s policies, they believed, were sure to succeed.  And so, with increasing urgency, Grew tried to explain to the President and his administration that Japan’s mindset could not be gauged by Western standards of logic and that the administration’s policies could lead Japan to embark on a suicidal war with the United States “with dangerous and dramatic suddenness.” Relying on Grew’s diaries, letters and memos, interviews with members of the families of Grew and his staff, and an abundance of other primary source materials, Lew Paper presents a gripping story of Ambassador Joseph Grew’s effort to halt the downward spiral of Japan’s relations with the United States. Caught in the middle of a life-or-death clash between East and West powers, Grew had to wrestle with an American government that would not listen to him – and simultaneously confront an increasingly hostile environment in Japan, where pervasive surveillance, arbitrary arrest, and even unspeakable torture by Japan's secret police were constant threats.  In the Cauldron is a story filled with hope, fear, anger, and frustration. More than that, it is a story that has never been told. It is sure to cast a new light on Pearl Harbor  and raise questions whether the Japanese attack  could have been avoided. 

About the Author :
Lew Paper has authored five books -- John F. Kennedy: The Promise and the Performance; Brandeis: An Intimate Biography; Empire: William S. Paley and the Making of CBS; Deadly Risks (a novel revolving around the assassination of John F. Kennedy); and Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen. Lew's articles and book reviews have appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The American Scholar. He is a former Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a former Teaching Fellow in Government at Harvard College.

Review :
"In the Cauldron tells one of the great overlooked stories of World War II. Lew Paper delivers a riveting tale with deep research and compelling prose." "In the Cauldron tells one of the great overlooked stories of World War II. Lew Paper delivers a riveting tale with deep research and compelling prose." "Lew Paper’s In the Cauldron is simply the best treatment of Ambassador Joseph Grew and the run-up to the Pacific War. Engaging writing and thorough research make the booka must read for both the historian and the general audience." "Lew Paper’s In the Cauldron is simply the best treatment of Ambassador Joseph Grew and the run-up to the Pacific War. Engaging writing and thorough research make the booka must read for both the historian and the general audience." "Lew Paper's In the Cauldron is a compelling narrative of events leading up to Pearl Harbor. Even though we know the end, the book is hard to put down. Being a US ambassador is a tremendous privilege but can be very challenging. Read this book and you will see why." "Lew Paper's In the Cauldron is a compelling narrative of events leading up to Pearl Harbor. Even though we know the end, the book is hard to put down. Being a US ambassador is a tremendous privilege but can be very challenging. Read this book and you will see why." "Just when we think we understand all there is to know about Pearl Harbor, along comes Lew Paper with a riveting and superbly researched tale of the American ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, struggling to get word to Washington that an attack could be near. Telegrams of deceit, deception and delay speed back-and-forth across the Pacific during the final months before December 7, 1941. Even though we know the outcome, the reader feels the suspense and tension and cheers on the determined Grew to get through before the bombs drop.” "Just when we think we understand all there is to know about Pearl Harbor, along comes Lew Paper with a riveting and superbly researched tale of the American ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, struggling to get word to Washington that an attack could be near. Telegrams of deceit, deception and delay speed back-and-forth across the Pacific during the final months before December 7, 1941. Even though we know the outcome, the reader feels the suspense and tension and cheers on the determined Grew to get through before the bombs drop.” "Lew Paper has produced the gripping story of Joseph Grew, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, as he fervently worked to prevent war between the United States and Japan. While Grew is the center of the story, Paper also brings to life the array of Japanese and American leaders with whom he interacted. The book is incisive and vividly portrays the different perspectives and pressures which confronted these decision-makers." "Lew Paper has produced the gripping story of Joseph Grew, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, as he fervently worked to prevent war between the United States and Japan. While Grew is the center of the story, Paper also brings to life the array of Japanese and American leaders with whom he interacted. The book is incisive and vividly portrays the different perspectives and pressures which confronted these decision-makers." "A lucid and engaging narrative of misguided US-Japanese diplomatic negotiations. The writing is smooth and easy to read. This is a book that should be read by a wide audience." "A lucid and engaging narrative of misguided US-Japanese diplomatic negotiations. The writing is smooth and easy to read. This is a book that should be read by a wide audience." "Suffused with the atmosphere of Japan on the eve of World War II, In the Cauldron shines new light on a once murky episode. Through the eyes and words of Joseph Grew, Washington’s Ambassador to Japan, Lew Paper has produced an insightful account of the diplomatic standoff that preceded the attack on Pearl Harbor. . . . In the Cauldron is a first-rate addition to the history of the period.” "Suffused with the atmosphere of Japan on the eve of World War II, In the Cauldron shines new light on a once murky episode. Through the eyes and words of Joseph Grew, Washington’s Ambassador to Japan, Lew Paper has produced an insightful account of the diplomatic standoff that preceded the attack on Pearl Harbor. . . . In the Cauldron is a first-rate addition to the history of the period.”