Ratings36
Average rating3.9
A “truly compelling” (Good Morning America) New York Times bestseller that explores how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war—from the creator and host of the podcast Revisionist History. In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?” Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.
Reviews with the most likes.
I know very little about ww2–enough to be dangerous but by no means an expert. As always, Gladwell takes a complex topic, the shift in bombing strategy regarding Japan, and makes it accessible. This is a morally and historically interesting read.
Great story-telling from the author. Engaged in this entertaining story from beginning to end.
This is basically a long episode of his podcast. Which, fine, but it shouldn't have been a book. It doesn't feel like a Gladwell book- it feels like an episode of Revisionist History. And a third of the book being clips did not work for me - the audio quality is usually poor so I would rather the author just read the quote in most cases. I think Gladwell got a little too into using direct clips in the podcast and is blurring the lines too much here - a book should have a lot more from the author themself. This book honestly just felt like a cash grab, my least favorite of Gladwell's stuff by a large margin.