War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War

Not only was this the battle that brought the United States into the Second World War, but it also became the American rallying cry. Americans often used the attack on Pearl Harbor as "proof" of Japanese "treachery." The events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, especially the debates on what could the US have done to prevent the attack, is beyond the scope of the book. However, Dower does address many of the racial sentiments that the US held toward the Japanese, indicating how racism itself contributed to the US's lack of preparation. In essence, the US government and military leaders did not view the Japanese as much of a threat. From that perspective, not only would the Japanese not dare attack the US, but they were also incapable of doing so simply because the Japanese were incompetent and unable to master the methods, tactics, and weapons of modern warfare. 

Yellow Peril was the fear that the combined populations of China, Japan, and the rest of Asia would threaten Western supremacy and effectively destroy European colonialism. The Western world feared Asiatic forces eradicating European culture—such as art, science, philosophy, etc.—as the Europeans did not view the Chinese and Japanese as possessive of anything truly cultural.