The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through the Goodreads Giveaway program. The views expressed are mine and not that of the author, publisher, or Goodreads.)
Though I have heard him on radio shows like The TED Radio Hour and have thoroughly enjoyed his insights, I have never actually read a Malcom Gladwell book. But when I read the description for this book, I knew that this would be right up my alley. Having recently finished this book, I can understand why people love his works so much. Combining history, technology, and a propulsive narrative, Mr. Gladwell explores the development of bomber technology leading up to and during World War II and meditates on the ethics and tactics at the very heart of modern war.
Starting in the period between World War I and World War II, Mr. Gladwell follows the rise and fall of “the bomber mafia”, a group of U.S. Army Air Force boosters who believed that advances in bomber tech made it possible to end wars quickly by targeting key infrastructure, or chokepoints, such as factories, bridges, etc., that would make it impossible for the enemy to effectively conduct war. With the creation of bombers such as the B-29 Superfortress and the Norden bombsight, they believed they had a chance to prove their theories. But when those theories turned out to be just out of their reach, less scrupulous generals such as Curtis LeMay and the invention of napalm would lead to such horrendous bombings as the fire bombing of Japan.
For World War II buffs, the general outline of the U.S. bombing campaign is already well known. But what Mr. Gladwell does is that he also charts the intellectual progression of the Air Force’s biggest boosters as well as the technologies they relied on. He also gives sympathetic portraits of all the key figures. Even Gen. Curtis LeMay, who is so often portrayed as a warmonger in American history, is treated with sympathy.
Throughout it all, Mr. Gladwell also meditates on the ethics and tactics behind war. Specifically, the ethics behind precision bombing favored by the bomber mafia and the carpet bombing favored by Gen. Curtis LeMay. At the heart of it is this question: what is the most ethical (moral) way to wage war? Should attempts be made to reduce casualties to an absolute minimum? Or should you ratchet up the death and destruction in an attempt to shorten the war? Mr. Gladwell seems to have a particular point of view on this question and he does stretch his point at times, but he doesn’t shortchange the other side’s arguments either. So, not only is this a great short history of the advancements in bomber tech during World War II, it is also a meditation and case study on the ethics of war itself.
Overall, this was a great little history book. It is short enough and written in such a way that a layman can enjoy, but with enough details to enlighten both laymen and history buffs. While this won’t replace any of your histories on World War II, it is a great thought-provoking supplement that should not be missed.
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