Days of Infamy

Twice this century, the Library of Congress has sent fieldworkers throughout the nation to collect the reactions of Americans to a surprise attack. The first time was December 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The second was almost sixty years later, on September 12, 2001. Extensive selections from both sets of tapes will get their first-ever broadcast in Days of Infamy. The two crises and our reactions provide a mirror on our national character and how it has changed over two generations.

In 1941, Americans vowed to enlist, ration, and buy war bonds. In 2001, Americans vowed to pray, fly flags, write checks to the Red Cross and 'get back to normal.' Days of Infamy combines the recorded reactions with music and insights from prominent Americans who lived through Pearl Harbor and 9/11 - including journalists Russell Baker and Helen Thomas and artists Pete Seeger and Albert Murray. It is an astonishing look at our nation and culture in crisis across sixty years. [Produced by American Radio Works (MPR) & The Center for Documentary Studies]