The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
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- Create Date：2021-05-14 10:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Malcolm Gladwell
- ISBN：0316309850
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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
Larry Roberts
，
Airplanes don't need or use a tailwind to take off。 They take off into the wind to maximize the air speed and flow over the wings and thus the lift for takeoff。 Once airborne a tailwind is helpful getting from A to B quickly。 For landing a pilot wants to be headed into the headwind to maintain lift and enable a lower ground speed at touchdown。Also， it would have been interesting to hear from the Japanese hierarchy how the atomic bombs effected surrender when the fire bombing had not。 Was it just Airplanes don't need or use a tailwind to take off。 They take off into the wind to maximize the air speed and flow over the wings and thus the lift for takeoff。 Once airborne a tailwind is helpful getting from A to B quickly。 For landing a pilot wants to be headed into the headwind to maintain lift and enable a lower ground speed at touchdown。Also， it would have been interesting to hear from the Japanese hierarchy how the atomic bombs effected surrender when the fire bombing had not。 Was it just Hirohito's decision to stop the slaughter？ Much of his military leadership thought a fight to the death by their entire population was the only honorable way to the end。 。。。more
John
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Superbly researched and written。 Gladwell's best work to date。 Answers the big questions about how and why bombing strategy developed and worked during WWII。 Contrasting leading advocates for precision versus saturation bombing， Gladwell tells the story of the development of strategy， tactics and airplanes to accomplish the nation's goals in winning the war。 By exploring the war in Europe and then turning to the war against the japanese in Asia， the book explains what transpired and how it affec Superbly researched and written。 Gladwell's best work to date。 Answers the big questions about how and why bombing strategy developed and worked during WWII。 Contrasting leading advocates for precision versus saturation bombing， Gladwell tells the story of the development of strategy， tactics and airplanes to accomplish the nation's goals in winning the war。 By exploring the war in Europe and then turning to the war against the japanese in Asia， the book explains what transpired and how it affects our strategy today 80 years later。 For any serious student of warfare this is a must read。 The audiobook is gripping as you hear the sounds and voices of a long past time。 。。。more
Erich
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Listened to the audio edition - nice production with Gladwell’s soothing voice， choice interviews and some sound FX and music make this story come alive。 Nice production from Pushkin industries。
Alexis Newkirk
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You can’t get much better than a Malcom Gladwell audiobook。 This was super fascinating and followed a great historical narrative。 The audio interviews interspersed were great and leant a podcast feel to the listen。 I felt like Gladwell presented all the facts and， as always， still gave the reader the chance to question their own beliefs and come to a conclusion。 It also did a good job of relating the events to how the Air Force has evolved into modern times， and， in raising the ethical and moral You can’t get much better than a Malcom Gladwell audiobook。 This was super fascinating and followed a great historical narrative。 The audio interviews interspersed were great and leant a podcast feel to the listen。 I felt like Gladwell presented all the facts and， as always， still gave the reader the chance to question their own beliefs and come to a conclusion。 It also did a good job of relating the events to how the Air Force has evolved into modern times， and， in raising the ethical and moral questions， still acknowledged that we live in an imperfect world。 I sped through this and definitely recommend！ 。。。more
Elmira
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This is a very different subject matter than most of Malcolm Gladwell's books， but nonetheless told with his characteristic thoroughness and entertainment。 This is a very different subject matter than most of Malcolm Gladwell's books， but nonetheless told with his characteristic thoroughness and entertainment。 。。。more
Cathy
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This book evolved from a podcast and I encourage anyone interested in learning more about the air warfare in WWII to listen to the audio version。 Gladwell captures so many audio interviews of historians and even WWII key players （from the archives）。I learned so much from this book and appreciated the care with which Gladwell and team pulled the story together。 It is riveting and worth your time。
Dkettmann
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Everything you could want from a Gladwell work。 My only takeaway besides this was how blurry the line between audiobooks w/ high production and a podcast series。 This could be either one。 Wonderfully enlightening。
Rob Tesselaar
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An engaging review of how bombing evolved through WWII。 As he often does， the author highlights aspects of the story that are often taken for granted or assumed away， but where some real turning points actually occurred。
Bradmeliusgmail。com
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I will readily admit to being a Gladwell fan。 He often finds correlations among people， events or movements and translates them into larger themes that may be fanciful， but it is always an interesting ride。 The Bomber Mafia is no exception。 The contrasts he describes between LeMay and Hansell - in personality， strategy and ethical approach - are extremely compelling。 Gladwell is a talented storyteller， and this is a great story。 His description of the firebombing of Tokyo is gruesome and unforge I will readily admit to being a Gladwell fan。 He often finds correlations among people， events or movements and translates them into larger themes that may be fanciful， but it is always an interesting ride。 The Bomber Mafia is no exception。 The contrasts he describes between LeMay and Hansell - in personality， strategy and ethical approach - are extremely compelling。 Gladwell is a talented storyteller， and this is a great story。 His description of the firebombing of Tokyo is gruesome and unforgettable。 If you're looking for an accurate history of air power in WWII， look elsewhere。 If you want a well-crafted morality play， this is it。 。。。more
Steve Sokol
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This is a significant departure for Gladwell—but somehow， he makes the unlikely topic his own。 I don’t think this will be as influential as Outliers: The Story of Success or as timely as Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know。 However， the author has taken something personal yet universally interesting （WWII） and applied the same research， storytelling， and useful insight as his other work。 I thoroughly enjoyed it。Like many， the topics were already familiar and This is a significant departure for Gladwell—but somehow， he makes the unlikely topic his own。 I don’t think this will be as influential as Outliers: The Story of Success or as timely as Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know。 However， the author has taken something personal yet universally interesting （WWII） and applied the same research， storytelling， and useful insight as his other work。 I thoroughly enjoyed it。Like many， the topics were already familiar and I now have greater insights。 I have more understanding of Yossarian， the bombardier and protagonist from Catch-22。 The British morale bombings and fire bombings of Japan inform the Dresden bombings in Slaughterhouse-Five。 My own grandfather was a flight surgeon in the Pacific during the war and I’ve heard surprisingly little about what he faced there。 Gladwell takes on huge swaths of the war that are not as frequently examined。As for the immersive audio book， which is the version I read… I’m sure this is the future and we all might as well get on board。 This format is obvious for non-fiction: Just include the interviews themselves。 Sound effects， like them or hate them， are an easy addition in this era。 The lines between a book and a podcast become blurry， especially for a short book like The Bomber Mafia。 This really is only a step beyond where things are already with all-star productions of new release blockbuster books （e。g。， The Dutch House release with audio by Tom Hanks）。 。。。more
Angeli
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These two quotes resonated with me。"Little bits of ourselves reside in other people’s minds。 Wegner has a heartbreaking riff about what one member of a couple will often say when the other one dies—that some part of him or her died along with the partner。 That， Wegner says， is literally true。 When your partner dies， everything that you have stored in that person’s brain is gone。”"The more you invest in a set of beliefs， the greater the sacrifice you make in the service of that conviction， the mo These two quotes resonated with me。"Little bits of ourselves reside in other people’s minds。 Wegner has a heartbreaking riff about what one member of a couple will often say when the other one dies—that some part of him or her died along with the partner。 That， Wegner says， is literally true。 When your partner dies， everything that you have stored in that person’s brain is gone。”"The more you invest in a set of beliefs， the greater the sacrifice you make in the service of that conviction， the more resistant you will be to evidence that you are mistaken。"I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook which the author narrated。 There were numerous interview clips from WW2。 An amazing （and devastating） part of our history。 。。。more
Martin
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“the temptation to do evil that good may come; to justify the illegitimacy of the means by the greatness of the end。”“But the only way those new technologies serve some higher purpose is if a dedicated band of believers insists that they be used to that purpose”“Did we lose our souls？ Did we go into a Faustian bargain to win， where winning cost us so much morally？”
Victoria Morris
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Popup-ch
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Precision bombing was the brainchild of a small group of interbellum US airforce thinkers， and the idea was tried during WWII。 It wasn't overly successful in that war， where the British idea of night-time area bombing， as advocated by Bomber Harris， won the day， and ultimately culminated in the fire storms of Dresden as well as the fire bombings of Tokyo （and 66 other Japanese cities） and the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki。 In the years since， however， bombing precision has become the Precision bombing was the brainchild of a small group of interbellum US airforce thinkers， and the idea was tried during WWII。 It wasn't overly successful in that war， where the British idea of night-time area bombing， as advocated by Bomber Harris， won the day， and ultimately culminated in the fire storms of Dresden as well as the fire bombings of Tokyo （and 66 other Japanese cities） and the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki。 In the years since， however， bombing precision has become the norm。This is not a regular book， but rather an extended podcast， with interviews and audio excerpts。 The format works very well， and I don't think it's the last such hybrid work。 。。。more
Brent Toderash
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Why did this book end so quickly？ That's both good and bad - good in the way a good book always reads too fast and ends too quickly， and bad in that it seriously could have used another chapter。 Why did this book end so quickly？ That's both good and bad - good in the way a good book always reads too fast and ends too quickly， and bad in that it seriously could have used another chapter。 。。。more
Ronald E Davison
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Bomber Mafia review。An interesting subject ， well researched， and well written， a joy to read。 I wish it was more in depth and longer but the author points out where to go or other authors to read further on the interesting characters that we we introduced too in this book。
Hugo Patricio
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Interesting WWII story that I had never heard before。 As usual Malcolm Gladwell’s audio books productions are amazing。I’m a fan， so I i read anything he writes。
ReadingMama
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This is an interesting collaboration of Malcolm Gladwell， one of the 21 century’s brilliant scholars， combining archival footage with special sound effects， original interviews with many military leaders， and his own unique analysis。 “All war is absurd。 Human beings have chosen to settle their difference by obliterating one another。” Yes， throughout human history， wars have been exited and right now， somewhere in the world， we are killing one another under the name of ideology， religion or polit This is an interesting collaboration of Malcolm Gladwell， one of the 21 century’s brilliant scholars， combining archival footage with special sound effects， original interviews with many military leaders， and his own unique analysis。 “All war is absurd。 Human beings have chosen to settle their difference by obliterating one another。” Yes， throughout human history， wars have been exited and right now， somewhere in the world， we are killing one another under the name of ideology， religion or political propaganda… Anyhow， 'precision bombing’ is actually based on the idealism of overall less impact and making the war less lethal， by taking out the critical choking points such as industrial and transportation hubs。 General Haywood Hansell’s idea was brutally failed because of bad weather and human error then his successor General Curtis LeMay did not mind sacrificing thousands of Japanese civilians， which he justified as averting U。S。 invasion。 Who is right？ What does history conclude？？ This is a riveting tale of the incalculable wage of war。 It starts with the technology and best intention but what about moral challenge？ What is the best choice for the allies or even humanity？ Yet there is a price to pay no matter what you choose。 Each choice has its own consequences。 Another interesting point of “Transactive memory”: Little bits of ourselves reside in other people’s minds。 When your partner dies， everything that you have stored in that person’s brain is gone。 It is also comparable with the “Selective memory” that we all choose to remember what we want to retain。 Therefore， it is almost impossible to find the absolute truth among us; because we are all biased to a certain level and our transactive and selective memory tends to define who we are。 。。。more
Jodi
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I am a Malcolm Gladwell super fan。 He is one of the most innovative storytellers of our time。 This work is no exception。 Loved it！ It's entertaining and you learn stuff。 I am a Malcolm Gladwell super fan。 He is one of the most innovative storytellers of our time。 This work is no exception。 Loved it！ It's entertaining and you learn stuff。 。。。more
Jennifer Schmidt
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Audiobook。 Fascinating WWII history I wasn’t previously familiar with。
Andrew Gibson
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Enjoyable， insightful of course it's Gladwell。 Like "Talking to Strangers"， if felt like he was just starting the conversation， the question vs。 completing it。 Only this time he completed it without paying enough attention to the highest tension part。 Enjoyable， insightful of course it's Gladwell。 Like "Talking to Strangers"， if felt like he was just starting the conversation， the question vs。 completing it。 Only this time he completed it without paying enough attention to the highest tension part。 。。。more
Ryan
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A podcast that became a book that became an audiobook。。。and that’s just fine with me。 Gladwell is making the most of owning his own publishing and production company， showcasing his creative agency。 Real interview audio， musical score， and Gladwell’s signature narration make this a joy to listen to。 This should be a model for future audio books。
Michael Parker
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Excellent audiobook。 Learned much about history that I never learned in school。Also interesting that it was first recorded as an audio book with actual recordings of the people talked about。 Later written as a book。
Williamslindsey3
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I loved it， but it's not as universally applicable as his other books。 If you love his Revisionist History podcast， you'll love this audio book。 If you expect what Malcolm usually does in his other books， you'll be surprised， pleasantly or otherwise is debatable。 I loved it， but it's not as universally applicable as his other books。 If you love his Revisionist History podcast， you'll love this audio book。 If you expect what Malcolm usually does in his other books， you'll be surprised， pleasantly or otherwise is debatable。 。。。more
Kevin Mahon
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I can't get enough of Malcolm Gladwell。 One of very few authors that I have read all of their books。 I preorder his new books to have them right away - and for some reason I have multiple copies of few。。。I always walk away from his work feeling enlightened！ I can't get enough of Malcolm Gladwell。 One of very few authors that I have read all of their books。 I preorder his new books to have them right away - and for some reason I have multiple copies of few。。。I always walk away from his work feeling enlightened！ 。。。more
Douglas Meyer
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Malcolm Gladwell mastered the art of conveying a central thesis and supporting data through compelling narratives。 This book is no different， combining thorough research and approachable language to grip the reader。 His central thesis is that the world and advancements are driven by the obsessives， but those very same people have glaring shortfalls。 He combines this thesis and his passion for WWII history， to bring you the story of the birth of strategic precision bombing through the eyes of tho Malcolm Gladwell mastered the art of conveying a central thesis and supporting data through compelling narratives。 This book is no different， combining thorough research and approachable language to grip the reader。 His central thesis is that the world and advancements are driven by the obsessives， but those very same people have glaring shortfalls。 He combines this thesis and his passion for WWII history， to bring you the story of the birth of strategic precision bombing through the eyes of those who drove it at inception （Gen。 Haywood Hansell） and those who overcame its initial shortfalls （Gen。 Curtis LeMay）。 Originally written as an audible script with audio clips from first person interviews， the written book version is also a great read - consume as you wish。 。。。more
Ozgun
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I love MG but this was just an average topic compared to his incredible books
Lei
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One can always count on Malcolm Gladwell to tell a good story， and this time with an innovative podcast/audiobook format， it’s gripping for sure。 But in the end it feels more like a podcast than a book。 Either way I’m glad I listened to it。
Mary
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A fascinating new look at the second world War that invites the reader to examine their own ethical beliefs and moral philosophies。
Xander
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