This Is No Drill is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on NAS Pearl Harbor–then one of two naval air stations on the island of O'ahu. Since the station served as a base for long-range patrol aircraft, the Japanese aimed to put NAS Pearl Harbor out of action to prevent U.S. planes from searching for their carrier force. The work of these three scholars focuses on descriptions of actions in the air and on the ground at the deepest personal and tactical levels, from both the American and Japanese perspectives, with many of the photos from Japanese sources appearing in print for the first time.

This accumulation of data and information makes possible an intricate story that is unparalleled in its scope. The interwoven narratives of both sides provides the sort of in-depth understanding of the events at NAS Pearl Harbor that would have been impossible to present previously.