In July 1941 the United States, after a decade of worsening economic relations, announced a total embargo against Japan. The embargo had actually begun in 1940 with a so-called moral embargo under which U.S. exports of planes and war material to Japan were barred. In early 1941 Washington squeezed the Tokyo government further by unofficially tightening exports of petroleum. By December 1941, over 90 percent of Japan's oil supply was cut off, as was nearly 70 percent of its overall trade. From contemporary source documents, this is a detailed look at the U.S.-led embargo and how it contributed to Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor and declare war on the United States.

In 1945 a joint committee of the US Senate and House of Representatives was appointed to investigate and hear testimony from a variety of military and civilian leaders about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Brought together here is a cross-section of the relevant testimony from the Congressional committee's 39-volume report. Witnesses recount events leading up to the war, American espionage efforts, the failure of radar, the penetration of the Japanese diplomatic codes, and the performance of the military.

In 100 A.D., Christianity was practiced only by a small, oppressed minority. Three hundred years later, these facts had changed dramatically, and Christianity had gone beyond simple approval and acceptance to become one of the world's major religions. But this change did not happen easily. The imperial government of Rome, intellectual tradition and battles within the church itself influenced the transformation. Every viewpoint had its champions and opponents, some of whom had a decisive influence on what shape the church would take. Whether they were ""defenders of the faith"" or those whom history later labeled heretics, they were part of the early evolution of Christianity. Focusing on the years 100-400 A.D., this volume discusses the beliefs and behaviors of more than 50 key and representative figures who played a role in the transformation from primitive Christianity to early Medieval Catholicism. Beginning with the 2nd century Church, it examines the influence of imperial rulers such as Constantine, proponents of the intellectual tradition including Gregory of Neocaesaria and Julius Africanus, and early Bible translators such as Tatian, Origen and Jerome. The work provides an overview of each person's life and in-depth treatment of their influence on the controversies and issues that divided the community of faith over time. The process behind these divisions as well as the typical reactions of different personalities is also a part of this fascinating look at Christian history.

There is a body of religious literature, most of which was written centuries after the New Testament, that attempts to provide supplemental or alternative accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. The most exhaustive alternatives to the New Testament come from orthodox circles, and are often ""imaginings"" that try to fill holes in the canonical gospel accounts of Jesus' life. This work investigates the origins and nature of noncanonical accounts, both orthodox and heretical, and analyzes representative samples. For the infancy and childhood of Jesus, the author uses as a framework five major narratives that have survived: Infancy Gospel of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, History of Joseph the Carpenter, Pseudo-Matthew, and the Arabic Infancy Gospel. For the years of Jesus' ministry, there is less material that significantly deviates from or supplements the canonical material surviving. In regard to the arrest, trial, and resurrection of Jesus, only a few writings survive.