Letter to Houghton Mifflin Company

November 19, 2008



Houghton Mifflin Company
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116



To Whom It May Concern,


Pearl Harbor was a major historical event which led the United States into World War II. After scrutinizing the minimal information provided on Pearl Harbor in the text book World History: Patterns of Interaction, which is published by your company, I am writing to suggest some changes in the content for future editions.

Most textbooks make little to no reference to the fact that the United States had prior knowledge of the coming attack from Japan, the author of your passage at least mentions the de-coded message. However, the United States government had been forewarned by multiple other sources as well. Gordon Prange’s book, At Dawn We Slept, and Roosevelt’s Secret War, by Joseph Persico, describe the numerous secret intelligence reports that warned the U.S. government of Japan’s plans. Had these intelligence reports been treated appropriately by our government officials, they would have been prepared for the encounter with the Japanese. The President of the United States and the Superior Officers of our Armed Forces withheld this information in order to gain support from the American public on the entry into World War II.

I feel that the information I have presented here should be included in future publications of this textbook because the whole story should be taught instead of the typical account of a surprise attack.


Sincerely,



Blaine Hudson
350 Coal Creek Road
Redstone, Colorado 81623