The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
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- Create Date：2021-04-26 18:31:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Malcolm Gladwell
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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
Nate
，
Got an advance copy of Bomber Mafia through a Goodreads' giveaway。 Thank you， Goodreads！I'll be thinking about this book for a while。 It was a very different type of Malcolm Gladwell book， yet it perfectly Gladwellian。 I didn't realize that he had approached this topic in his Revisionist History podcast， since I don't listen to a lot of them， but as I was reading， I kept thinking that I felt like I was reading a podcast。In typical Gladwell fashion， he packs an amazingly rich story into a remarka Got an advance copy of Bomber Mafia through a Goodreads' giveaway。 Thank you， Goodreads！I'll be thinking about this book for a while。 It was a very different type of Malcolm Gladwell book， yet it perfectly Gladwellian。 I didn't realize that he had approached this topic in his Revisionist History podcast， since I don't listen to a lot of them， but as I was reading， I kept thinking that I felt like I was reading a podcast。In typical Gladwell fashion， he packs an amazingly rich story into a remarkably few pages， looking at something we think we know ro take for granted but from a completely new angle。 And throughout， it felt like he was calling on themes from his other books。 Bill Gates in Tipping Point。 David & Goliath lurks。 There's a bit of Markopolous' morality from Talking To Strangers。 And for good measure， there's a little Dr。 Strangelove and Catch-22 thrown in， as well。Bomber Mafia is the story of many things。 It's a story of hubris。 It's a story of unintended consequences。 It's the story if innovation。 And， it's a story of morality。 Gladwell asks， through a cast of people with very different outlooks on the world， what is the best way to wage a war？ He sets the stage by exploring the idealism of Gen。 Hansell against the pragmatism of Gen。 Lemay。 As Bomber Mafia was coming to a close， I was surprised at how my own opinions had changed over the course of the 200 pages。I guess that's the mark of a great storyteller。 Gladwell leads you through a complicated chapter at the nexus of warfare， technological change and a changing world and lets you explore what you think you knew from a completely new viewpoint。Fantastic book。 And now I'll be subscribing to Revisionist History as a result。 。。。more
Sharon
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An interesting but different slant on WW2， a short book but fully packed with interesting facts。 Well worth a read for any war fanatic
Val Robson
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I have read Malcolm Gladwell's other books and was expecting a similar style so this took me by surprise。 It is more a straight account of the activity of the U。S。 airmen known as the Bomber Mafia during WW2 and how the use of technology and different styles of leadership influenced the bombing campaigns in German and later Japan。I found it very interesting but at times a bit upsetting with the amount of details of just how callous the bombing could be。 I knew very little of the history and geog I have read Malcolm Gladwell's other books and was expecting a similar style so this took me by surprise。 It is more a straight account of the activity of the U。S。 airmen known as the Bomber Mafia during WW2 and how the use of technology and different styles of leadership influenced the bombing campaigns in German and later Japan。I found it very interesting but at times a bit upsetting with the amount of details of just how callous the bombing could be。 I knew very little of the history and geography of the things spoken about in this book and did find it fascinating and am very glad to have read it。 With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
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Ankur Sharma
，
I have mixed feelings about this book。 I am usually a great fan of Malcolm Gladwell but this book left me with a mixed feeling。 Like any other Gladwell’s book， this book also tries to peel the layers of a philosophy or an idea。 But I felt that this didn’t really finished on what it set out to say。
Richard
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I chose this book （an advance reading copy）， from NetGalley believing it was a fictional thriller set in the Pacific theatre of World War II。How wrong was I， but in a blink of an eye I had a book I couldn’t put down。 This is an account of a group of senior minds in the USA airforce who became fixated on precision bombing to reduce innocent civilian casualties and hasten the end of conflict by strategically bombing factories and war production vital for your enemy’s ability to continue to fight o I chose this book （an advance reading copy）， from NetGalley believing it was a fictional thriller set in the Pacific theatre of World War II。How wrong was I， but in a blink of an eye I had a book I couldn’t put down。 This is an account of a group of senior minds in the USA airforce who became fixated on precision bombing to reduce innocent civilian casualties and hasten the end of conflict by strategically bombing factories and war production vital for your enemy’s ability to continue to fight on。This was a group of obsessive but influential men who wanted to avoid the British approach at all costs as their aircrews were trained with computer like bombsights， and needed to raid in clear skies from high attitude。I did know that the British bombed at night while the Americans seemed to have the more dangerous daytime raids over Germany。 But I didn’t know why - this book simply explains why this was the status quo。I was also aware of Bomber Harris who led the fire bombing on Germany， and I have read about how this impacted cities like Dresden。 This book again casts a more discerning eye on this situation and outcome。I knew the Americans dropped two atomic weapons to shorten the war and bring Japan to its knees and accept surrender to save countless lives needed to invade those islands。This book is so much more; not just filling a few gaps in my knowledge but informing me， just how little I knew about the changing role of the airforce。 This development of how warplanes were deployed is quite fascinating。 The simple geography of how Japan was simply outside the range of bombers。The most compelling account is the clash of ideas and the pragmatic solutions sought to wage war on a distant enemy。 That Japanese cities were bombed beyond those I knew about， in a fashion I scarcely want to image。 The further we get from these events the less we seem to appreciate it was a different time and lacking much of the technology we now take for granted。 Block buster films have made World War II seem more real and technically adept in all things military but this book was needed for me to grasp the significance of warfare in the 1940s。It also explains the genesis of ideas and responses to events。 Why Vietnam was fought by the Americans in certain ways and how the immediacy and public opinion can stifle democracies engaging in a clean fight and fair contest。I found his book totally absorbing， history made alive and although non-fiction， it did read like a wartime thriller。 。。。more
Sharyn
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I had never heard of Malcolm Gladwell before seeing this book on NetGalley。 Wow， it's a fanastic history of American air tactics and the men behind them。 Unbelievable in many places， but it's history and not fiction。 Very well written and researched。 As a history buff， especially military history， I shall be looking for more books by the author - and also hopefully listening to his podcasts。 With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title I had never heard of Malcolm Gladwell before seeing this book on NetGalley。 Wow， it's a fanastic history of American air tactics and the men behind them。 Unbelievable in many places， but it's history and not fiction。 Very well written and researched。 As a history buff， especially military history， I shall be looking for more books by the author - and also hopefully listening to his podcasts。 With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title。 。。。more
Lauren Carruthers
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Such a great book。 Pulled me in as I'm a huge Gladwell fan anyway and true to form， he's taken a subject I never realised could be interesting， found this incredible wee angle on it and BOOM。 Couldn't put it down。 Read it compulsively over 24 hours。 Brilliant。 Very thought provoking。 Will leave you pondering questions you didn't even know you wanted to ask。 Such a great book。 Pulled me in as I'm a huge Gladwell fan anyway and true to form， he's taken a subject I never realised could be interesting， found this incredible wee angle on it and BOOM。 Couldn't put it down。 Read it compulsively over 24 hours。 Brilliant。 Very thought provoking。 Will leave you pondering questions you didn't even know you wanted to ask。 。。。more
Janet
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Date reviewed/posted: April 10， 2021Publication date: April 27， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in Date reviewed/posted: April 10， 2021Publication date: April 27， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。The internationally bestselling author returns with an exploration of one of the grandest obsessions of the twentieth century'The Bomber Mafia is a case study of how dreams go awry。 When some shiny new idea drops from the heavens， it does not land softly in our laps。 It lands hard， on the ground， and shatters。'In the years before the Second World War， in a sleepy air force base in central Alabama， a small group of renegade pilots put forth a radical idea。 What if we made bombing so accurate that wars could be fought entirely from the air？ What if we could make the brutal clashes between armies on the ground a thing of the past？This book tells the story of what happened when that dream was put to the test。 The Bomber Mafia follows the stories of a reclusive Dutch genius and his homemade computer， Winston Churchill's forbidding best friend， a team of pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard， a brilliant pilot who sang vaudeville tunes to his crew， and the bomber commander， Curtis Emerson LeMay， who would order the bloodiest attack of the Second World War。In this tale of innovation and obsession， Gladwell asks: what happens when technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war？ And what is the price of progress？Okay， once again I am reviewing a book that people will ask for left， right and centre that I did not like。。。at all。 Maybe it is because I find war to be both evil and stupid。。。I can see his point but it will pain me to recommend this to people asking "about the new Malcolm Gladwell"。As a librarian， if I do not learn something new or get engaged in the characters， I make a decision: I did not truly read/finish the book （I skimmed through it） as there are too many good ones out there to read and review。 That also applies to just being a lover of books --- if it isn't interesting， on to the next one！We all have the right to like different books， right？？ （And descriptions I did not have to edit with Grammarly！） 。。。more
Mana
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Malcolm Gladwell as a brilliant storyteller offers a fresh， innovative approach to WW2 history。 Bomber mafia as he calls it， group of renegade pilots and others， such as scientists and politicians， have an idea to make a bombing so accurate that all wars could be fought entirely from the air。Gladwell asks us what is a price of progress in a thought and in a technology and where can obsession leads us。 Is it just a way to destruction or redemption？Interesting and compelling read， especially for a Malcolm Gladwell as a brilliant storyteller offers a fresh， innovative approach to WW2 history。 Bomber mafia as he calls it， group of renegade pilots and others， such as scientists and politicians， have an idea to make a bombing so accurate that all wars could be fought entirely from the air。Gladwell asks us what is a price of progress in a thought and in a technology and where can obsession leads us。 Is it just a way to destruction or redemption？Interesting and compelling read， especially for all history lovers。 。。。more
Jan
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Basically， air power proponents were like surgeons （"cure anything and everything with a knife"） and bombing proponents like neurosurgeons （"fixing God's mistakes and better than any other surgical branch"）。 Pretty much the history of how the military went from ground wars to air wars and theoretically narrowing the drop zones of bombs （pipe dreams）。 It is well researched and focuses on several specific mechanical engineers and physicists， especially those who appear lost to history。I requested Basically， air power proponents were like surgeons （"cure anything and everything with a knife"） and bombing proponents like neurosurgeons （"fixing God's mistakes and better than any other surgical branch"）。 Pretty much the history of how the military went from ground wars to air wars and theoretically narrowing the drop zones of bombs （pipe dreams）。 It is well researched and focuses on several specific mechanical engineers and physicists， especially those who appear lost to history。I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Little， Brown and Company via NetGalley。 Thank you。 。。。more
Phoebe
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I will always want to read Malcolm Gladwell's writing。 I will always want to read Malcolm Gladwell's writing。 。。。more
Adelusi
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Amazing read
Lloyd Fassett
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3/30/21 Goodread suggested it to me because I've read Malcolm Gladwell before。 3/30/21 Goodread suggested it to me because I've read Malcolm Gladwell before。 。。。more
Girish
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"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
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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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