The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
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- Create Date：2021-03-31 02:33:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Malcolm Gladwell
- ISBN：0316296619
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Summary
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。
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。
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
Girish
，
"Without persistence， principles are meaningless。 Because one day your dream may come true。 And if you cannot keep that dream alive in teh interim， then who are you？" War stories are a new genre for those used to Macolm Gladwell's unique brand of nonfiction。 And yet， this book is something that keeps you invested as it is presented as a bit more than a piece of history。 Curtis Lemay and Haywood Hansell are opposite ends of a spectrum in the high adrenaline combat Air Force。 While one is a celebr "Without persistence， principles are meaningless。 Because one day your dream may come true。 And if you cannot keep that dream alive in teh interim， then who are you？" War stories are a new genre for those used to Macolm Gladwell's unique brand of nonfiction。 And yet， this book is something that keeps you invested as it is presented as a bit more than a piece of history。 Curtis Lemay and Haywood Hansell are opposite ends of a spectrum in the high adrenaline combat Air Force。 While one is a celebrated hero， the other was an idealist whose principles allowed him to be sidelined in the annals of history。 The book starts with a very real problem。 People growing up on cartoons and movies see planes dropping bombs/shooting targets as if done through cross hairs。 But the problem the Bomber Mafia was trying to solve has both physics and moral angles。With battles in the air having the power to win you the war， can we do precision bombing to help reduce the casualties of war？ If you have ever tried to throw a can from a moving car into a thrash can - you would understand the math/physics behind it。 Just that， with bomber B29s the problem is infinitely more complex with visibility， weather conditions and anti-aircraft guns to combat with。The annals of WW-II is replete with cities razed to ground across all countries （though advertised， thanks to popular media/winning side account， only the Allied cities）。 Kurt Vonnegut's seminal book Slaughterhouse five took the allied bombing （pointless） of Dresden through the POV of Prisioners of war。 This was not a standalone incident。 The mushroom cloud of atomic bombs downplays the role of air strikes which annihilated the cities with a view to break the morale of the forces。 The book in that backdrop is a story of idealism。The Bomber mafia under Hansell are out to minimize the destruction and focused on throwing a spanner in the works of war。 Their promise， their journey gets delivered a bit too late for it to have any significant bearing on the war。 But the story deserves to be told。What I enjoyed in addition was the narrative consistency that made facts being the backdrop of a compelling story。 Loved it and I would recommend it to history buffs！ Note: I would like to thank Penguin Press UK （Sarah Wright） and the Netgalley for providing the ARC of the book。 The book is getting released on 27th April。 。。。more
Jim Hanks
，
Although books on the second World War are in plentiful supply， Malcolm Gladwell has found a quirky， fresh insight into air warfare and how small decisions led to big changes in how battled would take place。 Malcolm Gladwell has a knack for making any subject very interesting through his research and his ability to see things others cannot。 The book， though short， is packed with detail and intriguing throughout。
Khaled Saeed
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