The Bomber Mafia : a dream, a temptation, and the longest night of the second World War
(Book)

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Published
New York, New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2021.
Physical Desc
xiv, 240 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : black & white illustrations ; 21 cm
Status
San Luis Obispo Library - Adult Nonfiction
940.54497
1 available
Atascadero Library - Adult Nonfiction
940.54497
1 available
Cambria Library - Adult Nonfiction
940.54497
1 available

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatusDue Date
San Luis Obispo Library - Adult Nonfiction940.54497On Shelf
Arroyo Grande Library - Adult Nonfiction940.54497Checked OutApril 4, 2024
Atascadero Library - Adult Nonfiction940.54497On Shelf
Cambria Library - Adult Nonfiction940.54497On Shelf
Los Osos Library - Adult Nonfiction940.54497Checked OutApril 3, 2024
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Published
New York, New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2021.
Format
Book
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-231) and index.
Description
"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 had a different view. This 'Bomber Mafia' asked: What if precision bombing could, just by taking out critical choke points -- industrial or transportation hubs -- cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In his podcast, Revisionist History, Gladwell re-examines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. In The Bomber Mafia, he steps back from the bombing of Tokyo, the deadliest night of the war, and asks, "Was it worth it?" The attack 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 more by averting a planned US invasion. Things might have gone differently had LeMay's predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Haywood's theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather, enemy jet fighters, and human error. 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."--Provided by publisher.

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