Departing from his usual path, New York Times bestselling writer Malcolm Gladwell addresses a still heated historical debate: Was Allied carpet bombing during World War II reasonable or criminal? Chapter 8 resumes the narrative of the bombing campaign against Japan from the Marianas. It is indeed a conversational work, almost garrulous at times, as when he reports that one psychologist 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 has died along with the partner. However, this chatty style also glides over some important historical questions. Anyone can read what you share. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. Gladwell has been included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policys Top Global Thinkers. [23], Several reviewers criticized the book for its accuracy, and for being light on details. After the undeniable horrors of the Great War, a group of Army Air Corps generals spent much of the 1930s brainstorming ways to use airpower to make war bombing more strategic while keeping casualties to a minimum. [2] The Bomber Mafia was gradually replaced in the 1950s and 1960s by advocates of intercontinental ballistic missile warfare. What about the sailor whose ship is torpedoed and who hangs from debris in the water with no chance of rescue? Through Ashley Gutermuth's many military moves, she has learned to flip circumstances around to find the humor, and the President Joe Biden awarded the commander-in-chief trophy to the Air Force Academy for winning football games against its At the end of the day, "Minecraft Legends" has some compelling elements that unfortunately don't feel fleshed out. While we are at it, I really feel that nobody sane would actually mind if a barrel of olive loaf, or environment-friendly bean casserole catches a bomb or 2. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Hansells theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather and human error. Regardless, it was estimated that there would have been 2 MILLION American casualties had there been an invasion. Members of the "Bomber Mafia" produced the two airpower war plans (AWPD-1 and AWPD-42) that guided the wartime expansion and deployment of the Army Air Forces. I didn't know he had a podcast on this topic, but after listening to the book my immediate thought was "Why did I pay for this book? The words Bomber Mafia refer to a group of American pilots in the 1930s stationed at what was then called Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama. [4][5] In contrast, American theorists devised a strategy of pin-point bombing that targeted the enemy economy and the production of weapons. Japan was largely self-sufficient as far as food is concerned, they would have become uncomfortable but they would not have starved to death. LeMay has taken over from Hansell and used napalm, resulting in markedly more success but also much greater destruction and killing of civilians. LeMay replaced Hansell at the end of 1944 and soon began a campaign of terror that eventually visited virtually every major city in Japan. Yes. As long as youre comfortable with the numbers of people who were killed during the air attacks described throughout the book. To implement these changes, the ACTS instructors began to instill a sense in their students that a separate and independent air arm of the type described earlier by Mitchell, to be called the United States Air Force, was the way forward. Suggestions, Fan Mail, Bones to Pick, and All Other Queries, For Speaking Engagements With Malcolm Gladwell. Moreover, the men realized that the United States government would have to reduce funding to naval and ground forces in order to establish a great air fleet. Please check back soon for future events. Sen. Amy Klobuchar Talks the G7 Summit. Many historians posit that the primary reason for Japanese surrender was not the use of the atom bomb. Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to one another that isnt true? Because even though his bombing caused more than 500,000 Japanese citizens to lose their lives, it prevented a land invasion which undoubtedly would have cost many more deaths than that. World War II had begun in Europe in 1939, and the United States entered in 1941, after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Chapter 3 is about the British and American bombing campaign against Germany in 1943. They believed that bombing strategic targets made sense, and bombing population centers didnt. It's true: The audiobook breaks conventional audiobook standards, as this is a well-produced audio experience. The problem here was there above Japan there was a 140 mph (125 knot) jet stream, which played havoc with the bomb sight and precision bombing. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War is a nonfiction book by Malcolm Gladwell, published in 2021. And then they did the same thing to another city. Why were the North Vietnamese such a powerful force, because they were colonized for generations and their cities were being carpet bombed by B52s from 40,000, if you kill someones family you should prepare to face their relatives. Malcolm Gladwells exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War is a 2021 book by Malcolm Gladwell that examines the US Bomber Mafia of World War II, which advocated precision aerial bombing as a means to win a war. Do you prefer this format. Copyright 2023 Military.com. He was hardly a theorist, and especially not someone out to make war more humane. Most of his books deal with research into the social sciences, particularly sociology and psychology and have been best sellers. In the end, the book's central flaw resides at the core of Gladwell's supposed greatest strength. A novelty of this book is that Gladwell says it began as an audiobook and then became a written one, reversing the usual process. The next chapter details the pilots at the Air Corps Tactical School in Alabama who were known as the Bomber Mafia. It certainly is arguable that others, like Gen. George C. Marshall, were just as important, but Gladwell simply tosses out the claim about Stimson and hurries on. General Haywood Hansell was the leader of The Bomber Mafia, a small group within the military that believed an emerging technologyairborne warfarecould make wars shorter and far less deadly. Overall casualties in the war were not minimal, and victory did not come significantly more quickly. The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war. As for Vietnam, Johnson and Mcnamara screwed that up by NOT applying LeMay principals and the war should have been ended in 1965 , again saving many lives. [4] He devoted four episodes of the fifth season of Revisionist History to air power in World War II, and stated the audiobook served as an expansion of material from the podcast. The additional we obtain from these events the less we appear to appreciate it was a various time and lacking much of the technology we currently take for given. His latest book, The Bomber Mafia, deals primarily with the philosophies of bombing during World War II, and has not become a best seller at least not yet. How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Malcolm Gladwells exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war. After difficulties in applying the Bomber Mafia's theoretical strategy, Major General Hansell was replaced by Major General Curtis LeMay, who utilized tactical changes such as attacking Japanese population centers with napalm to ensure a Japanese surrender. This was a ripoff and should have just been a podcast. Here is Gladwells stunning description of a United States Air Force B-17 bomber being cut up on a run over Germany: One 20-millimeter cannon shell penetrated the right side of the airplane and exploded beneath the pilot, cutting one of the gunners in the leg. It does give you a sense of the futility of war and leaves you feeling like there must be a better way, which is a good message for a 13 yo. the moral challenges of modern american history. 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. Hes more of an intellectual explorer than a disciplined academic. Precision-guided munitions are hugely expensive, and the stockpiles of them are surprisingly small. This was in the 1930s, the era of the bomber, a new breed of aircraft that could supposedly drop a bomb from six miles up and land it in a pickle barrel. The Bomber Mafia isn't an honest or earnest look at what experts have written and thought about America's air campaigns during WWII. [1] Hansell concurred that both the theorists and the authors of the AWPD-1 war plan (of which he was both) made a serious mistake in neglecting long-range fighter escort in their ideas. Developed over the years 19261929 at Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) at Langley Field in Virginia, a forward-looking doctrine of daylight precision bombing was promulgated by Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell who advocated a greatly expanded role for the bomber force. The audiobook brings to life the stories. To most people, a city park is a grace note, a green space that makes urban life more livable. As a compromise first step, the General Headquarters (GHQ) Air Force was established within the Army Air Corps in 1935, commanded by General Frank M. Andrews, a strategic bombing advocate. Malcolm Gladwell's new book and audiobook "The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation and the Longest Night of the Second World War" digs deep into one of the lesser-known rivalries of the war,. Some apps may require users to copy their URL and paste it directly into the app. These pilots dreamed of more humane ways to conduct wars. Since I had the ability to concentrate on guide as a historical message, I had much more success following along. Its proponents continued to promote the doctrine into the Atomic Age, forming the Strategic Air Command to carry out a vision modified to fit the needs of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear warfare. It does give you a. Sort: Relevance. Much of Japanese housing was wood, paper, with straw mats. Haywood Hansell won the war. The evidence for this, of course, is the ability of todays stealthy radar-evading bombers to drop ordnance from great heights and have them guided to precise points on a given target say, a hardened aircraft hangar or an enemy intelligence agencys power system. https://ipaudio.club/wp-content/uploads/GOLN/Bomber%20Mafia%20(Malcolm%20Gladwell)/01.mp3, https://ipaudio.club/wp-content/uploads/GOLN/Bomber%20Mafia%20(Malcolm%20Gladwell)/02.mp3, https://ipaudio.club/wp-content/uploads/GOLN/Bomber%20Mafia%20(Malcolm%20Gladwell)/03.mp3, https://ipaudio.club/wp-content/uploads/GOLN/Bomber%20Mafia%20(Malcolm%20Gladwell)/04.mp3, https://ipaudio.club/wp-content/uploads/GOLN/Bomber%20Mafia%20(Malcolm%20Gladwell)/05.mp3, Terry Pratchett The Colour of Magic Audiobook, Catherine Ryan Howard The Liars Girl Audiobook, James Islington The Shadow Of What Was Lost Audiobook, Gary Taubes The Case for Keto Audiobook, Ken Follett A Place Called Freedom Audiobook. Senora Panqueque's Classroom. Show Description. The State of Journalism on World Press Freedom Day. Content Warning: The source text contains historical quotations that use offensive terms for Japanese people. Unanswered Questions (2) Because of a review from one of the Goodread friends, I decided to take on the audiobook, instead of the print/e-book version. It's a history of the dueling philosophies regarding bombing that existed in the US military during World War II. [16], The book was met with mixed reviews upon release, with four mixed reviews, one positive review, three pan reviews, and two rave reviews as of November14, 2021[update] according to review aggregator Book Marks. Gladwell stated the audiobook for The Bomber Mafia came about as an expansion of material from his podcast Revisionist History, and that the print book originated from the audiobook. Bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945 with Operation Meetinghouse, "You Know Your History? WATCH SEGMENT. Malcolm Gladwell - The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War Audiobook. The notion that we were ever going to tolerate a land invasion of Japan is simply not true, we could have cut them off and let their cities crumble. If the Allied forces had been forced to invade Japan, the country likely would have been split up by the Soviets and Americans after the war, and the casualties are almost impossible to imagine. This change of commandand what it meant in terms of military strategyis the crux of this book. Ultimately, though, the Bomber Mafia was right. This book is so much extra; not just filling up a few spaces in my understanding but educating me, simply exactly how little I understood about the altering role of the airforce. But it was news to me. Gladwell is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including The Tipping Point, Outliers, David and Goliath, and this book. 1. It's true: The audiobook breaks conventional audiobook standards, as this is a well-produced audio experience.
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