This book is fascinating as it gives a comprehensive insight on the doctrine of the allied Bombing Campaigns of World War ll. Starting with the embryonic bombing efforts in WW l and continuing with the evolution of the use of bombers in future conflicts during the inter-war years, doctrines were developed and adopted with only minimal testing that were soon to be proven ineffective in the upcoming conflict. The technological limitations of aircraft equipment combined with the uncontrollable element of weather conditions soon proved the early doctrines to be flawed; despite this, the early bombing leadership initially stuck to the flawed strategy at terrible cost in aircrew and aircraft. Only when there was a change of leadership in both the European and Pacific theatres of operation with a change in operational doctrine, did the bombing offensives become more effective.
The research for this book is very thorough and the description of the individuals and their personalities show that eventually the right person came to the fore to achieve the successes required to prosecute the campaigns. In addition, the lessons learnt from these conflicts have driven technological solutions to be developed for the era of ‘smart’ weapons that can minimize collateral damage.

I read the synopsis and did not believe a word of it. In spite of that I "gave it a go" and was amazed to discover that the synopsis undersold the book and that, as outlandish as it all seemed, it was all true and then some.

If you have any curiosity as to what went on behind the scenes to set up independent and self-ruled air forces in the US and to some extent in the UK after 1919 and then the hoops the Americans had to jump through to make their air force work at all, this is absolutely a book that you should read.

I would also say that if, like me, you find truth to be often stranger than fiction then this is definitely a book for you too. Overall, a fascinating and engrossing book that I have no hesitation in recommending.

I had never heard of Malcolm Gladwell before seeing this book on NetGalley. Wow, it's a fanastic history of American air tactics and the men behind them. Unbelievable in many places, but it's history and not fiction. Very well written and researched. As a history buff, especially military history, I shall be looking for more books by the author - and also hopefully listening to his podcasts. With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

Another Gladwell triumph. I had no idea how that a change in american air power tactics had such an enormous influence on the outcome of world war 2 and even less of an idea that I might be interested in hearing about it.
This book is a spell-bounding read on the hope of ideas and the strange (and often very brutal) ways that they are made reality.
You definitely don't have to have an interest in either war or planes for this book to have you hooked right in. Gladwell's flair for presenting niche topics shines again!

I have minimal interest in second world war military campaigns, but I like Malcolm Gladwell's books, so took a chance with this one. I am so glad I did because this book is fascinating. It not only told an interesting story, which I was completely unaware of (possibly an American audience would have greater knowledge of the bombing of Tokyo) but it also raised issues of ethics and morality in war. Definitely a book I will keep thinking about long after I finished it.

In his latest book, Malcolm Gladwell takes a step away from his usual writings to get closer to his podcast series "Revisionist History". He maintains his usual study of people and their behaviors but rather than looking at the psychology in modern events, he applies it to the American Airforce and the role they played in the 2nd World War. He studies how a group of rebels (The Bomber Mafia) tried to influence the war with their approach of Precision Bombing.
Anyone who loves reading historic books will appreciate this latest book.

Malcolm Gladwell as a brilliant storyteller offers a fresh, innovative approach to WW2 history.

Bomber mafia as he calls it, group of renegade pilots and others, such as scientists and politicians, have an idea to make a bombing so accurate that all wars could be fought entirely from the air.

Gladwell asks us what is a price of progress in a thought and in a technology and where can obsession leads us. Is it just a way to destruction or redemption?

Interesting and compelling read, especially for all history lovers.

This is a very engaging study of the two approaches the Allies adopted to bombing during WWII: area bombing and precision/strategic bombing. General Hansell was part of the 'Bomber Mafia' who sought to develop a kind of surgical strike on strategic 'choke points'. The aim was to avoid the kind of protracted ground war that had make WWI so horrific. General Curtis LeMay stuck with mass air strikes as he couldn't see any evidence that precision bombing worked.

That debate and its history have been covered often, but rarely with the level of story-telling ability and personal charm that Gladwell brings. It is not a lengthy read, but it was entirely gripping and I recommend it highly. This is a book that you will enjoy.

Gladwell brings back the sheer wonder and risk to it all. Air warfare was new and in a state of rapid development. He emphasises the vision and the imagination required - from either side of the argument. I knew Japan was at the limit of American flying range, but he really brings home the difficulties of the Pacific theatre. Just getting within reach of Japan was a heroic feat. Once there, Gladwell is manages to convey what it must have been like to face such decisions without any real precedent and in times of absolute emergency.

Books on a similar theme and of great moral and literary skill include Gralying's Among the Dead Cities (2006), Lindqvist's A History of Bombing (2001), Sebald's On the Natural History of Destruction (2004) and Takaki's Hiroshima (1995). Like these books Gladwell's study emphasises what it was like to do moral thinking in the midst of battle.

<i>"Without persistence, principles are meaningless. Because one day your dream may come true. And if you cannot keep that dream alive in teh interim, then who are you?" </i>

War stories are a new genre for those used to Macolm Gladwell's unique brand of nonfiction. And yet, this book is something that keeps you invested as it is presented as a bit more than a piece of history.

Curtis Lemay and Haywood Hansell are opposite ends of a spectrum in the high adrenaline combat Air Force. While one is a celebrated hero, the other was an idealist whose principles allowed him to be sidelined in the annals of history.

The book starts with a very real problem. People growing up on cartoons and movies see planes dropping bombs/shooting targets as if done through cross hairs. But the problem the Bomber Mafia was trying to solve has both physics and moral angles.

With battles in the air having the power to win you the war, can we do precision bombing to help reduce the casualties of war? If you have ever tried to throw a can from a moving car into a thrash can - you would understand the math/physics behind it. Just that, with bomber B29s the problem is infinitely more complex with visibility, weather conditions and anti-aircraft guns to combat with.

The annals of WW-II is replete with cities razed to ground across all countries (though advertised, thanks to popular media/winning side account, only the Allied cities). Kurt Vonnegut's seminal book Slaughterhouse five took the allied bombing (pointless) of Dresden through the POV of Prisioners of war. This was not a standalone incident.

The mushroom cloud of atomic bombs downplays the role of air strikes which annihilated the cities with a view to break the morale of the forces. The book in that backdrop is a story of idealism.

The Bomber mafia under Hansell are out to minimize the destruction and focused on throwing a spanner in the works of war. Their promise, their journey gets delivered a bit too late for it to have any significant bearing on the war. But the story deserves to be told.

What I enjoyed in addition was the narrative consistency that made facts being the backdrop of a compelling story.

Loved it and I would recommend it to history buffs!

Note: I would like to thank Penguin Press UK (Sarah Wright) and the Netgalley for providing the ARC of the book. The book is getting released on 27th April.