FROM PEARL HARBOR TO CALVARY

Karl Choi earnestly narrates this memoir of Mitsuo Fuchida’s journey from Samurai of the Emperor to Soldier of Christ. This short production was released to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It’s a “three-fer”—there’s also an interview with Jacob DeShazer, who was a member of the “Doolittle Raid” and was shot down over Japan; a reading of DeShazer’s tract “I was a prisoner of Japan,” which led to Fuchida’s conversion; and an interview with DeShazer’s widow, Florence. Choi gives a subtle and dignified performance that is appropriately self-disciplined and ably displays Fuchida's sincerity. The interviews are from radio programs; they’re technically very good and have the added bonus of spontaneity. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2012]