The Bomber Mafia : a dream, a temptation, and the longest night of the second World War / Malcolm Gladwell.
"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 had a different view. This 'Bomber Mafia' asked: What if precision bombing could, just by taking out critical choke points -- industrial or transportation hubs -- cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In his podcast, Revisionist History, Gladwell re-examines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. In The Bomber Mafia, he steps back from the bombing of Tokyo, the deadliest night of the war, and asks, "Was it worth it?" The attack 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 more by averting a planned US invasion. Things might have gone differently had LeMay's predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Haywood's theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather, enemy jet fighters, and human error. 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." -- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780316296618
- ISBN: 0316296619
- Physical Description: xiv, 240 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2021.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-231) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction : "This isn't working. You're out." -- Part one : The dream. "Mr. Norden was content to pass his time in the shop." ; "We make progress unhindered by custom." ; "He was lacking in the bond of human sympathy." ; "The truest of the true believers." ; "General Hansell was aghast." -- Part two : The temptation. "It would be suicide, boys, suicide." ; "If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." ; "It's all ashes--all that and that and that." ; "Improvised destruction." -- Conclusion : "All of a sudden the Air House would be gone. Poof." |
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Genre: | History. |
Available copies
- 62 of 65 copies available at Evergreen Indiana.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 65 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adams PL Sys. - Decatur Branch | 940.54 GLA BOM (Text) | 34207002384510 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Akron Carnegie PL - Akron | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 75253000063885 | Adult Non-fiction | Available | - |
Alexandria-Monroe PL - Alexandria | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 37521531008730 | AMPL Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Attica PL - Attica | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 74231000127809 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Batesville Mem. PL - Batesville | 940.54 GLADWELL (Text) | 34706001712571 | Non-Fiction 600-699 | Available | - |
Benton Co PL - Fowler | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 34044001048360 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Bloomfield Eastern Greene Co PL - Bloomfield Main | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 36803001148993 | NONFIC | Available | - |
Carnegie PL of Steuben Co - Angola | 940.54 GLA (Text) | 33118000198006 | Adult: Nonfiction | Available | - |
Culver-Union Twp PL - Culver | 940.5449 GLADWELL (Text) | 34304000999940 | Adult - Nonfiction | Available | - |
Danville-Center Twp PL - Danville | 940.54 Gla (Text) | 32604070211673 | AD Non-Fiction | Available | - |
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"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"-- - Grand Central Pub
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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.
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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, âWas it worth it?â
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An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war
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.
AÂ New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
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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? Â
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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?"
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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.