The Bomber Mafia: A Tale of Innovation and Obsession
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- Create Date：2022-05-07 06:51:41
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- Author：Malcolm Gladwell
- ISBN：0141998407
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Summary
An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
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。
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
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
Marie Stephanie
，
Oh no… I have found an area of topic where even Malcolm Gladwell can’t hold my interest！ I listened to this on audio which has a podcast feel to it with music and a great performance by Gladwell。 I love and listen to his podcast revisionist history so I am comfortable with the way he narrates。 The book also has interviews and sound clips so it’s definitely worth getting the audiobook here。Aside from that。 War bores me。 Bombs bore me。 The military bores me。 I just can’t give it a high rating caus Oh no… I have found an area of topic where even Malcolm Gladwell can’t hold my interest！ I listened to this on audio which has a podcast feel to it with music and a great performance by Gladwell。 I love and listen to his podcast revisionist history so I am comfortable with the way he narrates。 The book also has interviews and sound clips so it’s definitely worth getting the audiobook here。Aside from that。 War bores me。 Bombs bore me。 The military bores me。 I just can’t give it a high rating cause I found it absolutely dull。 And here I thought Malcolm Gladwell could make absolutely anything interesting， but I guess you can’t win em all。 If you you’re a war buff then this is right up your alley！ I’d just rather read any of his other books again。 Looking forward to the next one！ 。。。more
Lucas Hlavacek
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An absolute must-read for any fan of military history， WWII history， military aviation， etc。 Along with the research and interviews， Gladwell does an amazing job of laying bare the divergent mindsets of two principles in the book， Hansell and LeMay。 And， in doing so， causes us all to take stock of our own moral compass。Excellent read！！
Sarah Greider
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The audio book is great。
Brian Foster
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Audiobook-I 100% recommended this book for anyone interested in military history （specifically WWII）。 It is available in print， however it is best absorbed in audio form。 Great insight into known historic figures and introduction to figures & information I’d not previously known。
Koh
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+1 for audiobook
Mike White
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“If you are a morally guided person， and you want to be able to sleep at night and reconcile what you’re doing with your own principles， you’ve got to find language and concepts to tell yourself that what you’re doing is okay。” Tami Biddle“The other thing that would have happened is that there would have been millions of Japanese who would have starved to death in the winter。 Because what happens is that by surrendering in August， that gives MacArthur time to come in with his occupation forces a “If you are a morally guided person， and you want to be able to sleep at night and reconcile what you’re doing with your own principles， you’ve got to find language and concepts to tell yourself that what you’re doing is okay。” Tami Biddle“The other thing that would have happened is that there would have been millions of Japanese who would have starved to death in the winter。 Because what happens is that by surrendering in August， that gives MacArthur time to come in with his occupation forces and actually feed Japan。。。I mean， that’s one of Macarthur’s great successes bringing a massive amount of food to avoid starvation in the winter of 1945” Conrad Crane。The Bomber Mafia were those who believed that the most humane and effective way to win a war was by strategic bombing， destroying the means to fight。 Opposed to them were those who favoured breaking the will of the enemy by indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets。The problem with strategic bombing was that accurately delivering bombs was made difficult by the technology and meteorology of the time。 The Bomber Mafia was supplanted by the carpet bombers， using the new invention: napalm。A fascinating and instructive book。 。。。more
Keegan McMenamin
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Gladwell has quickly become one of my favorite authors， and this book helped keep that going。 A relatively short history piece， this was a quick read and really interesting。 Would recommend it to those who arent big history fans as well。
Andika Lesmana
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Best by Gladwell even if compared to the Outliers。 Concerning battle strategy。 For he sake of future war strategy。
James Kenney
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What a fascinating book！ Would highly recommend the audiobook - primary source， original audio clips and interviews。
Timothy Johnson
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War， what is it good for？
Tracy
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3。5/5 The Bomber Mafia is very different from Gladwell’s other books， probably because it was developed as an audiobook first and thus feels like an extended Revisionist History podcast。 Gladwell explores the developing stages of airpower as a primary method of warfare through two competing methodologies during WWII。 One method championed by Haywood Hansell and one by Curtis LeMay。 Hansell believes in precision bombing designed to strike strategic targets while minimizing civilian casualties and 3。5/5 The Bomber Mafia is very different from Gladwell’s other books， probably because it was developed as an audiobook first and thus feels like an extended Revisionist History podcast。 Gladwell explores the developing stages of airpower as a primary method of warfare through two competing methodologies during WWII。 One method championed by Haywood Hansell and one by Curtis LeMay。 Hansell believes in precision bombing designed to strike strategic targets while minimizing civilian casualties and LeMay believes in maximizing damage and targeting civilian populations with the goal of achieving a quicker surrender。 The book goes on to explore the limitations， efficiencies， and moralities around the two schools of thought。 Overall， The Bomber Mafia was interesting， but it did feel a bit disjointed and would be better as a podcast series。 。。。more
Heidi
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Hands down the best audiobook I have ever listened to （though admittedly that list is not long）。 The topic was interesting， of course， but the production value of this book was amazing。
Hunter Ross
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So， the author decided to cash in on a podcast series and make money by producing a book about his opinions and a sprinkling of facts。 He is not a historian， he is certainly not a military historian and he has no clue what he is talking about。 That does not stop him from pontificating his opinions and labeling some of the "Bomber Mafia" as angels and others as demonic。 He constantly uses the Bible and Jesus as examples of temptation and then self-righteously states that he knows what is the corr So， the author decided to cash in on a podcast series and make money by producing a book about his opinions and a sprinkling of facts。 He is not a historian， he is certainly not a military historian and he has no clue what he is talking about。 That does not stop him from pontificating his opinions and labeling some of the "Bomber Mafia" as angels and others as demonic。 He constantly uses the Bible and Jesus as examples of temptation and then self-righteously states that he knows what is the correct decision and it would not be to bomb Japan with napalm。 In grad school I had a prof。 who told three jokes about individuals。 The first from a millennia ago， the second from a century ago， and the last one controversial current person。 The closer the subject was to the current moment the less laugh produced-it was personal （the point is sitting in his air conditioned apartment in NYC sipping wine with no skin the game as to the outcome he can detachedly cast judgement on these men）。 Some non-historian， non-military person casting shade on someones' decisions to end a brutal war almost a century ago is ridiculous and absurd beyond comprehension。 I could not even sleep after finishing this horrible book。 Japan of WW II was ruthless， put Japan over themselves or the family， and mobilizing their entire population to defend their island including women and children。 The bombing campaign saved lives and if we had gone to a ground war and the Russians got involved the island would still be scarred as a former Soviet "Republic" with massively higher casualties （real military historians i。e。 "personnel at the Navy Department estimated that if we had invaded Japan via ground the total losses to America would be between 1。7 and 4 million with 400，000 to 800，000 deaths。 The same department estimated that there would be up to 10 million Japanese casualties。"） But， this Malcolm guy knows better。 He knows the bombing campaign was bad， like if Jesus had succumb to the devils temptation in the desert （that is HIS analogy-not mine）。 If you are happy with someone with no expertise casting disparaging remarks about heroes this book is for you。 I wonder if you or your family had to storm the bees nest of Japan if you would have wanted it to never come to that via bombing？ I wonder if the 20 million Chinese， half a million Koreans， and the million Filipinos who died after years of brutal genocide and rape by the Japanese would vote on quickening the end of the war？ Ignorant and disrespectful。 Worst book I have read in a long time。 。。。more
James Livermore
，
If you are looking for history this isn't it。 Instead you get one person's opinion of actions that happened almost a century ago。 He is too busy passing his biased judgements on the actions of commanders with intense pressure on them。 Malcolm will be the first one I shove through a time machine if to be in the front lines of a ground invasion of Japan in 1945。 The casualty rate would have been astronomical because they were fanatical and convinced we were demons （women and children threw themsel If you are looking for history this isn't it。 Instead you get one person's opinion of actions that happened almost a century ago。 He is too busy passing his biased judgements on the actions of commanders with intense pressure on them。 Malcolm will be the first one I shove through a time machine if to be in the front lines of a ground invasion of Japan in 1945。 The casualty rate would have been astronomical because they were fanatical and convinced we were demons （women and children threw themselves off of cliffs rather than surrender and the military fought to the death）。 This is a righteous rant by someone who should not be writing about war or history。 。。。more
Cristina
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While most books typically begin in print and then become audiobooks， this book was the opposite。 Due to interviews， I'd highly recommend the audio version。Interesting history， but not info I was hoping for。The line that stood out most to me was:"Can we wage a war in someway that'll satisfy our conscience？" While most books typically begin in print and then become audiobooks， this book was the opposite。 Due to interviews， I'd highly recommend the audio version。Interesting history， but not info I was hoping for。The line that stood out most to me was:"Can we wage a war in someway that'll satisfy our conscience？" 。。。more
Willow Moellering
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Malcolm Gladwell does it again！ He can even make air warfare in WWII unable to put down！
Mon
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Cannot make to the top of my fav Gladwell's book。。。 Cannot make to the top of my fav Gladwell's book。。。 。。。more
Shu
，
I wasn’t surprised by the production value of this audiobook given that it was a Gladwell original。 I was shocked， though， by many of the historical statistics （e。g。 civilian casualty of the 1942 bombing of Tokyo） - were they omitted in my AP US History textbook？ I was even more appalled to learn that my hometown Chengdu played a part in the absurdity of the events retold in this book。
grieshaber。reads
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UH-MAZING audiobook。 Review to come！
Chris
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The Skinny: A quick and enjoyable read about an esoteric but fascinating WWII topic。 The Good: It is a very fast， easy， and interesting read。 You can finish this on a long flight or over the weekend。 Obviously the author is real passionate about the subject matter and the excitement is evident in the writing。 There is a lot of detail and additive footnotes。The Bad: It feels as if this was more of an extended blog post than a book， not a ton of structure and I think the injections of detail somet The Skinny: A quick and enjoyable read about an esoteric but fascinating WWII topic。 The Good: It is a very fast， easy， and interesting read。 You can finish this on a long flight or over the weekend。 Obviously the author is real passionate about the subject matter and the excitement is evident in the writing。 There is a lot of detail and additive footnotes。The Bad: It feels as if this was more of an extended blog post than a book， not a ton of structure and I think the injections of detail sometimes make the subjects muddled and bounced around。 This may be due to the fact that this started as a podcast。 。。。more
Riley Lewis
，
Gladwell can tell a great story when he avoids being racially controversial。 This book avoids race and is actually a fascinating moral debate reviewing WWII bombing strategy。 The two sides of the debate represented are strategic bombing vs area bombing。 Strategic bombing is infamously represented by the targeting of ball baring manufacturing in Germany with negligible impact。 The US would fly during the day on clear days only and took massive casualties trying to be precise while the RAF would n Gladwell can tell a great story when he avoids being racially controversial。 This book avoids race and is actually a fascinating moral debate reviewing WWII bombing strategy。 The two sides of the debate represented are strategic bombing vs area bombing。 Strategic bombing is infamously represented by the targeting of ball baring manufacturing in Germany with negligible impact。 The US would fly during the day on clear days only and took massive casualties trying to be precise while the RAF would night bomb and would just try to get close。 In the Pacific General Curtis LeMay led the Tokyo firebombing at night and low altitude using napalm to achieve huge success but also many civilian casualties; Many times more than the atomic bombs。 LeMay was not part of the strategic thinking bomber mafia that tried to hit precise military targets。 While there are many rational arguments to justify weakening the homefront， Gladwell hints that many are rationalizations。 However he gives LeMay credit that he had lost many men in the European theater from strategic bombing， as many as 24% per mission so he was open to new ideas。 In his conclusion he argues that while LeMay won the battle， strategic bombing wins the ideological war。 With the development of technology the foreseen high altitude precision bombing is now possible。 Very interesting read but like Gladwell he loves making so many connections sometimes you wonder if he is oversimplifying things。 。。。more
Julian Batz
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Is there a way to morally execute a war？ If self imposed constraints prolong the war， is it just？ Is a victory at any cost worth the cost to humanity？An age old philosophical debate overlaid on a strategic bombing allegory in WW2。 Worth the read and great brain food， though I wouldn't say it answered the question。 Nuance and circumstance always leads to。。。。 it depends。 Is there a way to morally execute a war？ If self imposed constraints prolong the war， is it just？ Is a victory at any cost worth the cost to humanity？An age old philosophical debate overlaid on a strategic bombing allegory in WW2。 Worth the read and great brain food， though I wouldn't say it answered the question。 Nuance and circumstance always leads to。。。。 it depends。 。。。more
Andrew Goode
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Highly recommend listening to this as an audio book， it’s a delightful experience as Gladwell brings in interviews， quotes， and commentary from the very people he’s writing about。 Insightful look into the rise of bombing of WW2 however， the main point in the clashing philosophies of Hansel vs。 Lemay felt like a bit of a stretch at times to tie together。
Salman Ladha
，
A thrilling， historical， and educational read on the unsung heroes and innovations of World War 2。 This felt like a different type of Gladwell book。 His previous work， such as Blink， The Tipping Point， and Outliers took on a narrative focused on some type of concept。 Whether it was how we interpret information or patterns of success， they were grounded in theory。 This book， however， is an ode to a group of individuals who influenced the trajectory of warfare in the United States Airforce。 For an A thrilling， historical， and educational read on the unsung heroes and innovations of World War 2。 This felt like a different type of Gladwell book。 His previous work， such as Blink， The Tipping Point， and Outliers took on a narrative focused on some type of concept。 Whether it was how we interpret information or patterns of success， they were grounded in theory。 This book， however， is an ode to a group of individuals who influenced the trajectory of warfare in the United States Airforce。 For any history buff， hearing the tales of The Bomber Mafia is an absolute treat。 The detail on innovation （or lack thereof at times） on the approach to bombing is a nice reminder to constantly strive to do better。 。。。more
Sarah Bodaly
，
War in the first half of the 20th century was a blend of the old and new， a time of trying to figure out how to “improve” what had always been。 Against the advice of so many， one small group of men saw potential in airplanes; in using them to fight， and to attack from a distance， effectively saving lives from close combat。 （Kind of like how the guillotine was invented to be merciful during the French Revolution， I know。） One scientist with a homemade computer designed an early algorithm for a bo War in the first half of the 20th century was a blend of the old and new， a time of trying to figure out how to “improve” what had always been。 Against the advice of so many， one small group of men saw potential in airplanes; in using them to fight， and to attack from a distance， effectively saving lives from close combat。 （Kind of like how the guillotine was invented to be merciful during the French Revolution， I know。） One scientist with a homemade computer designed an early algorithm for a bomb sight， and the plan was put in motion。I found the first half of the book to be more “enjoyable” than the second half。 Politics and leaders changed as the war shifted from Europe to Asia， and ethics seemed to be highly in question。 It probably didn’t help to see so many comparisons in the types of attacks that were ethically questioned even back then， with the attacks going on in Ukraine right now。 All in all， a pretty good， interesting book， I just started getting grumpy with it near the end。 Fun fact - this was originally published as an audiobook， and the print edition came later。 I listened to the audiobook， and it is filled with original recordings of interviews， radio broadcasts， and speeches， all the way from World War 2 to the present day， telling the story。 It was neat to hear the narrative in the speakers’ own words。 That would certainly be lost in the print version。 。。。more
Essien Allan
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Then Norden sight。。。thanks Malcolm
Dakota Morgan
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I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast and this is， quite literally， just a more fleshed out version of his podcast。 Gladwell notes that this is the rare book to start in the audio format and then be published in a physical book。 Yeah， sure buddy， but in this case， stop calling it an audiobook - it's a podcast。I digress; it's still great。 Gladwell has a way of telling a story that inescapably pulls you in。 The odd part is that you can tell he's doing it too。 He's telling you I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast and this is， quite literally， just a more fleshed out version of his podcast。 Gladwell notes that this is the rare book to start in the audio format and then be published in a physical book。 Yeah， sure buddy， but in this case， stop calling it an audiobook - it's a podcast。I digress; it's still great。 Gladwell has a way of telling a story that inescapably pulls you in。 The odd part is that you can tell he's doing it too。 He's telling you that this is the neatest thing since sliced bread， with no real proof， and you're just like "oh wow tell me more。" I'll admit to being suckered in， I guess。 It's a great deal: Gladwell tells you a compelling story and you don't think too hard about why it's compelling。I feel like this review has been all about Malcolm Gladwell up to this point and not about The Bomber Mafia。 Sorry！ The "audiobook" is really good。 The story of bombing in the Second World War is fascinating and often shocking。 This would have been a satisfying tale without Gladwell's theatrics， but it's ultimately the better with integrated interviews and sound effects。 My only complaint is that it's a hair over five hours。 Some of Gladwell's tangents seem to go deeper on a topic than he goes on the main topic。 I would have been happier with twice the length or more。 Still， I can't wait for the man to produce another "audiobook" like this。 。。。more
dragko
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Great stories。 Eye opening about the events that led to our modern view of air warfare。
Matthew
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It was good。 Definitely do this as an audiobook。 It really should have just been a podcast intead。
Brianna
，