Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to the Franklin Roosevelt president ial library and museum. I would like to welcome you to todays program. As you know, today is pearl harbor day. And i would like to take just a moment to recognize those who have served. If theres any veterans or active duty servicemembers, please rise so we can acknowledge your service. Thank you very much. [applause] today is a day that marked the transition of america from an isolationist nation to a global superpower, and there are few days in World History like december 7th because of what it meant for the world we live in today, really, in so many ways. Were very fortunate to be able to honor today with a wonderful program, a new book thats just come out. How many of you are members here . If youre a member, raise your hand. Wow, look at that. Thats great. Your support makes these programs possible. It is because of members and our trustees like you that we can do these programs. Cliff lobby, our Program Manager put on 58 programs here at the library which is very impressive. [applause] because of your support, we can have these programs for free. It is a way for us to give back to the community because we feel so strongly that fdr loved this area. He wanted to be used in this way. We are honoring his wishes. Anyway, so our speaker today is a journalist and he taught at harvard and he was involved with georgetown, but hes also written a number of very interesting books. Hes the author of perfect which is a book about don larsons world series, anybody remember that, Perfect Pitch world series. Raise your hand. Rewrote a book called promise and performance about john f. Kennedy he wrote a book called promise and performance about john f. Kennedy. He then wrote a novel about john f. Kennedy, about his assassination. He wrote a fiction and nonfiction book, betting they are a good combination. He wrote a book called empire, about the man who sently built essentially built cbs and his rise to power parallels fdrs period radio into television and probably one of the most fascinating and certainly most powerful media moguls in america. Another book on a Supreme Court justice. He has a deep grounding in 20th century American History which allows him to give a fresh perspective to the book hes going to talk about today, terror, tension, and the american ambassadors struggle to avoid pearl harbor. This is a very complicated periods and a very complicated story about how president roosevelt was trying to navigate this transition from america being an isolationist neutral country when he wanted to get into this war, but he didnt really want to get into the war with japan because he wanted to get into the war with germany, but of course american policy was forcing a decision one way or another. You are going to hear a fantastic story. The book is there will be a book signing afterwards. Please welcome lou paper. [applause] thank you all for coming. When paul said he was going to introduce me, i had only one request, i said i dont care if its true or not, just make me look good. [laughter] and think i he did a great job. And i think he did a great job. I do want to thank paul and cliff for the invitation to be here. Its a great honor. Im very privileged and very flattered to have received the invitation. Being here has a special meaning for me. When i was a little boy, my father talked to me all the time about president roosevelt. And the reason my father talked to me about president roosevelt was because i had been stricken with polio as a little boy, and my father wanted me to know that poll owe polio would not prevent me from being a success in life. He had no better example of course than president roosevelt. I was very fortunate. My polio was not as severe as president roosevelts. And later when i got a little older, my father brought me here to the library and the museum. It was a very special trip. I was awe struck by the place. And i can only say i wish my father could be here with me today. I think he would really enjoy it. But enough about these personal matters. Pearl harbor, weve all seen that film of president roosevelt standing in the well of the United States house of representatives, on december 8th, 1941, saying that december 7th, 1941, is a date that will live in infamy because of japans surprise attack on the u. S. Naval base at pearl harbor. Theres no evidence that president roosevelt or his cabinet knew in advance specifically that japan would attack pearl harbor. But they should not have been surprised that japan would attack the United States. In november 1941, only a few weeks before pearl harbor, joseph grew sent two telegrams to secretary of state kordell hall, warning him that japan was prepared to launch a suicidal war against the United States and that Armed Conflict could come with dangerous and dramatic suddenness. So who was joseph grew . How did he know that . In november, 1941, joseph grew was 61 years old, tall, lean, bushy eyebrows, a full moustache. He had been an american diplomat, for almost 40 years. And he had been americas ambassador to japan should i be using this one . Can you hear me better now . Oh, okay. So i recognized i was using the wrong microphone. In any event, joseph grew had been an american diplomat, for almost 40 years. He had been americas ambassador to japan for almost ten years. There were four factors that led grew to send those two telegrams to secretary of state kordell hall in november 1941. The first factor was a the japanese economy. The United States had imposed economic sanctions on japan in an effort to curb japans military aggression in china and in Southeast Asia. Those economic sanctions had crippled the japanese economy. Rice was being rationed. There was no gasoline for cars. The few cars that traversed tokyo streets had to be fitted with charcoal engines. Imported coffee was also unavailable. It had been replaced by another brew, about which the New York Times correspondent said it was better not to ask too many questions. There was a second factor that led grew to send those telegrams to secretary of state kordell hall, in november 1941. That was the japanese mindset. Grew knew that a crippled economy would lead to a sense of desperation among the japanese. And a sense of desperation would lead to war. It was all part of that samurai doordie spirit that still prevailed in japan. Grew knew that for japanese leaders, annihilation through a suicidal war with the United States was better than the humiliation of succumbing to american pressure. Theres a story which illustrates that japanese mindset. In the fall of 1941, grew received word from the American Embassy in china about a japanese soldier who had been captured by chinese troops in the fighting there. The japanese soldier came from a well to do family. And he wanted his family back in japan to know that he was alive and well. Grew passed the word on to the japanese government, and he soon received a reply. The japanese government said that neither it nor this mans family were interested. As far as they were concerned, that japanese soldier was dead because, said the government, any japanese soldier who had allowed himself to be captured had dishonored his family and dishonored his government. There was a third factor that led grew to send those telegrams to kordell hall in november 1941. And that concerned the japanese leaders ability to control the japanese population. If i was writing a book about nazi germany, i would not have to tell you about the brutality of the government. Japan was also a very repressive society. Secret police were everywhere. Surveillance was pervasive. No dissent was allowed. An indiscrete word uttered to a friend, a neighbor, a family member, and a person could find themselves arrested, thrown in jail, and subjected to horrific torture. Grew understood the up shot of all this. If japanese leaders issued a command, to launch a suicidal war against the United States, the japanese people would obey that command, and they would fight to the death. Theres a fourth factor that led grew to send those telegrams to hall in november of 1941. And that revolved around discussions which japanese representatives were having in washington, d. C. , with secretary of state kordell hall, about a possible agreement between japan and the United States to resolve the differences between the two countries. Notwithstanding that samurai doordie spirit, japanese leaders recognized the risk of war with the United States. And so they supported an initiative in the spring of 1941, to have discussions with hall, in washington, to see if the two countries could reach an agreement. For his part, secretary of state kordell hall knew there was virtually no chance of japan and the United States reaching an agreeme agreement. Hall regarded japan as one of the Worst International desperados in the history of mankind. He subscribed the view that no promises of the japanese on paper would be worth anything. But hall could not tell that directly to the japanese representatives who came to washington, d. C. Why . Because in the spring of 1941, americas military capabilities were woefully inadequate. And so president roosevelt and the military chiefs, urged hall to drag those conversations out with the japanese as long as possible, to give the United States time to bolster its military capabilities and to defer or delay any conflict in the pacific for which the United States was not prepared. Thats what hall did, from the spring to the summer to the fall of 1941, he spent untold hours talking with japanese representatives about an agreement that he knew probably would never come to fruition. By the fall of 1941, grew reported to hall, from tokyo, that japanese leaders were very frustrated about the lack of progress and the discussions and that the japanese leaders were beginning to sense that the United States was not really interested in an agreement and that the United States was merely playing for time. But for japan, time was running out. In those months before pearl harbor, grew made many recommendations to president roosevelt and secretary of state kordell hall about things they could do that might avoid the war that grew saw coming. Very few of grews recommendations were acknowledged. None was accepted. Why . Because back in the United States, and especially in washington, people could not believe that japan would directly attack the United States. The United States was so much larger in terms of population and resources, people in washington and elsewhere thought it would be utterly stupid for japan to directly attack the United States. And so grew would later write that american policy in those months before pearl harbor, was completely inflexible and that his reporting to the government from tokyo was like throwing pebbles into a lake at night. When pearl harbor occurred, as you might imagine, joseph grew was very frustrated and very bitter because he felt that the Roosevelt Administration had squandered a chance to possibly avoid war. When pearl harbor did occur, grew and the other members of the American Embassy in tokyo were immediately arrested and taken as prisoners of war. They were all placed in the American Embassy in tokyo, for about six months, while japan and the United States worked out a Diplomatic Exchange agreement, so that american diplomats in japan could return to the United States and japanese diplomats in the United States could return to japan. During the six months that he was held as a prisoner of war, joseph grew wrote a 60page report that detailed his criticism of american policy in the months before pearl harbor. Grew planned to give that report to president roosevelt and secretary of state hall when he returned to the United States. But it never happened. When grew returned to the United States, in august, 1942, he showed the report to secretary of state kordell hall. Hall glanced at the report. Hall immediately saw that the report criticized decisions which hall had made in the months before pearl harbor. Hall immediately demanded that grew destroy that report. As a subordinate official in the state department, grew felt he had no choice but to agree to halls demand. And so he destroyed that report. I should add theres no evidence that president roosevelt knew about the report or its destruction. For his part, grew never publicly acknowledged the destruction of the report. Even when he was asked in a postwar congressional hearing, whether he had prepared any report to give to hall, upon his return to the United States. Thank you for that indulgence. So how did i come to write this book about joseph grew and pearl harbor . About six years ago, i was going to write a book about america in 1941. It was a pivotal year for the country. Franklin d. Roosevelt had been inaugurated for an unprecedented third term as president. The uaw had signed its first contract with a car manufacturer. The new york yankees joe dimaggio, 56 consecutive games, a record which still stands and of course japan attacked pearl harbor. In the course of my research, i came across the name of joseph grew and his effort to orchestrate an agreement between japan and the United States to avoid the war he saw coming. I was intrigued, and the more i researched, the more i realized that grews story had never been told. And so i switched gears to tell that story. In writing this book, i wanted to bring the characters alive for the reader. Take president roosevelt, hes an essential figure in this drama. When you see roosevelt, standing on the well, of the United States house of representatives, on december 8th, 1941, saying that december 7th, 1941, is a date that will live in infamy, he looks so strong. He sounds so vibrant. And yet as we discussed, heres a man who had been stricken by polio and couldnt walk. I was thinking about it when i was writing the book. You and i we get up in the morning, we go to the bathroom, we do our business, we come back, we get dressed, we go about our day. Roosevelt could not do all of that without assistance, and that assistance wasnt going to be provided by his wife eleanor. She had her own bedroom down the hall in the white house, and more than that she was almost always traveling. Instead roosevelt relied on a valet. Roosevelt had two valets during his 12 years in the white house. And i thought wouldnt it be great if i could find some commentary from those valets about what roosevelt was like in those private moments with his valet . I was able to find that commentary. I learned that in those private moments with his valet, roosevelt almost always displayed a sweet, amiable disposition. Roosevelts valet in december 1941, was arthur pityman, a big black man, a chief petty officer in the United States navy. Pityman was also a very goodlooking guy. Although pityman was married, roosevelt liked to tease pityman about being a ladys man. Every time roosevelt would tease him about being a ladys man, pityman would respond one does not refute the chief executive, mr. President. I wanted to provide that same intimacy in talking about joseph grew. To do that, i talked to many members of his family, his grandchildren, his cousins, his great grandchildren. They told me many stories that were very useful. One story stood out because it displayed grews diplomatic skills and his stature. It was january 1949. Grew was asked to provide some remarks at a dinner in honor of general george c. Marshall, who was retiring as secretary of state. General marshall had been chief of the army during world war ii. After the war, truman appointed him as secretary of state. Now, in january of 1949, general marshall was going to retire to his farm in virginia, with his wife. In the audience was general dwight d. Eisenhower and his wife. Im sure you all know that general eisenhower is the one who led the allied invasion of normandie. In his closing remarks, in honor of general marshall, grew said all he wants to do is retire to his farm in virginia with mrs. Eisenhower. As soon as he said that, people began to laugh. Grew immediately recognized his mistake and quickly and coolly said, my apologies to the general. At that point, general eisenhower blurted out which general . [laughter] i did not rely solely on discussions with members of grews family. I also had access to a lot of documents. No document was more important than grews diary. This guy was incredibly disciplined. Through his long diplomatic career, almost every evening during the week and on weekends, he would sit at his desk, his pipe clenched between his teeth, his smith corona typewriter in front of him, and he would write out what had happened, what had been said and what he had thought in the previous day. I had access to thousands of pages of grews diary. I knew almost everything he did, everything he said and everything he thought in those months before pearl harbor. I knew what time he got up in the morning. I knew that his favorite scotch whiskey was Johnny Walker red. And i knew too about his very deep feelings about his wife alice. In fact, in many respects, this book is a love story. When joseph grew married alice perry, in 1904, she was a tall, vivacious beautiful woman with long dark hair. Alice came from a prominent family in boston. But she had little formal education because the family was always travelling. But alice was very smart. And she had a lot of opinions, and alice wanted to share those opinions with her husband. And he was willing to listen. G