Of course today he would be ignored and demoted. Highly recommend it. Guide because backdrop is a story of optimism. A sixth hit the number 3 engine, setting it on fire. The last chapter deals with the end of the war, as Gladwell examines the moral issues involved in LeMays actions and whether they were justified in the circumstances. After you enter your email address, youll get a unique link. New Review from Brian Castner: Malcolm Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia Tap the link to open your audiobook purchase in your podcast app. Gladwell begins the story in the Introduction in January 1945, on the Mariana Islands. This is an account of a team of elderly minds in the USA airforce who ended up being focused on accuracy battle to decrease innocent noncombatant casualties and also quicken completion of problem by strategically bombing factories and also battle production vital for your enemys ability to continue to combat on. [8] In that regard, this was at odds with Britain's Royal Air Force' doctrine of area bombing under the command of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris. The Bombing plane mafia under Hansell are bent on reduce the destruction as well as focused on throwing a spanner in the works of battle. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell (Audiobook Excerpt) But it was news to me. Most military thinkers in the . [18][19][20] James McConnachie of The Times stated "for a book that is not a war story, this one is brilliantly, brilliantly told". Everyone, generals included, hated the mass . [2] Fleets of heavy bombers were not able to achieve victory without the cooperation of the Army and Navy, and required the protection of long-range fighters for deep penetration missions. Japan was largely self-sufficient as far as food is concerned, they would have become uncomfortable but they would not have starved to death. We won the war when we did because our aircraft carriers were luckily out of Pearl Harbor when it was invaded, we were never going to lose but our task would have become daunting if we had to re-build our aircraft carrier fleet in my opinion Germany invaded Russia for its oil, oil was and is the commodity needed for modern militaries, Your email address will not be published. The system was then implemented in The second world war to varying outcomes. I just re-listened to Gladwell's podcast on Curtis LeMay and the Bomber Mafia. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. This was a ripoff and should have just been a podcast. Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. The podcast is called Revisionist History, and is excellent by the way. He was hardly a theorist, and especially not someone out to make war more humane. We have updated our Privacy Policy The Bomber Mafia | Pushkin Industries Malcolm Gladwell on the Hard Decisions of War, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/books/review/the-bomber-mafia-malcolm-gladwell.html. . Content Warning: The source text contains historical quotations that use offensive terms for Japanese people. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Yet he also concludes that in the long run, in the years that followed, the idealistic Hansell was right to believe that an air campaign based on precision strikes was possible. Captain Claire Lee Chennault, senior instructor in fighter tactics at ACTS, was a vocal Air Corps officer who challenged the bomber mafia for more than a decade; he was forced into early retirement in 1937, leaving the precision bombing advocates unopposed. The bomber mafia succeeded in their goal to have extensive bomber fleets in the US military, but they failed in their wish to achieve pinpoint targeting precision during World War II. Many of my academic friends have warned me to take his conclusions with at least a few grains of salt. One of Gladwells skills is enabling us to see the world through the eyes of his subjects. The airmen believed that the tool would allow forces to focus on taking out specific targets that could cripple the enemys production lines rather than engaging in the kind of indiscriminate bombing that the Germans did on London and the Allied forces would against Dresden. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War Buy on Bookshop Little Brown and Company, 256 pp., $27.00 The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the. Malcolm Gladwell - Home | Malcolm Gladwell The Bomber Mafia began as an audiobook, and later transitioned into a print book. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine for over 25 years and was named by Time magazine as one of its 100 Most Influential People. I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell. Please simply click here to enter your email address (no additional purchase required) and you will receive the Listeners Guide. The setting is Second World War. Scientists at Harvard repurposed a failed Dupont Chemical product and refined it into napalm, the most brutal bombing tool devised before the atomic bomb and one particularly suited to cause maximum damage to the wood-and-paper houses of Japan. Visit gladwellbooks.com for moreinformation. Perhaps bombing debate this is old hat to many of my readers. This page is not available in other languages. 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. Malcom Gladwells book Talking to Strangers is a very good book that ties together Much of the book concerns the technical and practical aspect. I was also aware of Bomber Harris who led the fire battle on Germany, and I have actually reviewed exactly how this impacted cities like Dresden. A small number of apps may require users to copy their URL and paste it directly into the app. This was all in one plane. The rest of the book focuses on the Pacific Theater during the last two years of the war. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Listeners Guide features additional commentary from, Suggestions, Fan Mail, Bones to Pick, and All Other Queries, For Speaking Engagements With Malcolm Gladwell, Hasta la Vista, America: Trumps Farewell Address, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. It's true: The audiobook breaks conventional audiobook standards, as this is a well-produced audio experience. The new discount program will be accessed through the exchange stores or websites, not Home Depot locations. Once Japan became secluded on their mainland why not just create a complete blockade of the whole nation? Yes. Most of his books deal with research into the social sciences, particularly sociology and psychology and have been best sellers. 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. No new apps to download, no subscription fees. Their empire building was targeted towards oil production, in order to be a world power you must have oil. The calculation is based on fuel vs weight vs resistance so tailwind wins. Or the soldier in a minefield whose buddy is bleeding to death? The villain, or at least loser in this account, is another Air Force general, Haywood Hansell, who had tried to win the war in the Pacific through the precision-bombing of Japan. First, the U.S. command didnt really seem to understand what LeMays campaign was doing to Japan. Yup, thats right! Emphasizes just how technical breakthroughs are typically made use of in means they were not indicated. In his first book since his #1 bestseller David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell has written a gripping guidebook for troubled times. The audiobook is an experience in itself, complete with sound results, music, and old interviews from the men he profiles (and also several of their battles survivors). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); June 29, 2021 9 comments. He and several friends decided People have been flocking to the Egypt-Sudan border to escape the violence from two Sudanese rival forces despite a South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged still-more strengthening of the U.S.-led security alliance guarding against nuclear-armed North Korea One fun way to see the world and visit unique locations is on a cruise ship. 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. What would happen with bombing in a really big war remains to be seen. What could be more American than the story of LeMay, a gruff, cigar-chewing Ohioan who made his way through the state university by working night shifts at a foundry? Tap the link to open your audiobook purchase in your podcast app. But a small band of idealistic strategists had a different view. If burning entire populated cities from the air was effective the war would have been over way sooner in Europe and the Pacific. Guide begins with a very genuine trouble. I'm interested in the Bomber Mafia for my 13 y.o. I went back and read The Bomber Mafia a second time. Did the podcast effect the way you approached the book, or understood it? Perfect tinder for firebombing. "[26] Fedman and Karacas state "[w]ittingly or not, [Gladwell] omits or downplays evidence that undermines the very premise of the book. They also complete an image analysis section and create two propaganda posters from different . 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. There are actual recordings of interviews conducted by Gladwell and also taken from documentaries filmed or recorded in the decades since the war. I have read up on LeMay, he did in fact tout a theory that killing civilians by carpet bombing was a winning strategy, that it would destroy the morale of the citizenry. The book description sounds exactly like the podcast. By stream There are a lot of moral dilemmas to chew on here. However the tale deserves to be informed. The Bomber Mafia His scorched-earth philosophy was most evident in the indiscriminate firebombings of Tokyo in 1945 that left an estimated 100,000 civilians dead. LeMays solution was to saturate Tokyo with napalm bombs, killing as many as 100,000 people in about six hours, and then to go on and firebomb dozens of other Japanese cities, killing thousands upon thousands, sometimes when the target cities were of little or no military value. A third hit the bombardier in the head and shoulder. Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to one another that isnt true? Two questions have students connect the material to today. What of the infinitely long nights of millions of concentration camp prisoners? It's true: The audiobook breaks conventional audiobook standards, as this is a well-produced audio experience. Gladwell argues that LeMays savage firebombing campaign succeeded, and that, combined with the two atomic bombs that followed, shortened the war. If yo. With thousands of Veterans Day military discounts to choose from, how do you find the best ones? The logistics of sending thousands of men, tanks, artillery and supplies from the western side of Russia to the eastern Pacific side would have been virtually impossible. Contact Us | ", He released a couple chapters from this book as episodes of Revisionist History. [1] The bomber mafia's strategic doctrine, changed by war and experience, helped shape the mission of the new Air Force and its Strategic Air Command.[2]. Do you know if the book had more/different material than the podcast? Gladwell 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. The imposter foods ought to additionally be moved up on the bomb listing. Malcolm Gladwell on the Hard Decisions of War - New York Times Please check back soon for future events. Bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945 with Operation Meetinghouse, "You Know Your History? And also yet, this publication is something that maintains you invested as it exists as a little bit more than an item of history. The next chapter details the pilots at the Air Corps Tactical School in Alabama who were known as the Bomber Mafia. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell - Audiobook - Audible.com The book is adapted from a series of podcasts Gladwell created for his show . A fourth shell hit the cockpit, taking out the planes hydraulic system. McFarland, Stephen L.; Richard P. Hallion (2008). USAAC Fighter Projects officer Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey appreciated that a large bomber fleet would be able to perform many military tasks, not just strategic bombing, and felt that the force's doctrine should remain flexible to meet any demand. The ACTS officers who believed in the heavy bomber doctrine realized that any other Air Corps expenditures such as for tactical bombers and fighter aircraft would take away from the proposed large fleet of heavy bombers. You can listen in your preferred podcast app (See below for a complete list of supported apps). This exclusive Listener's Guide gives you an inside look at the production process, archival imagery and commentary from Malcolm and the producers and engineers involved with this extraordinary project. For customer support, contact help@supportingcast.fm. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Hansells theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather and human error. Part one on the extraordinary life of the Air Force General Curtis LeMay. by . Margaritaville at Sea is a 1,680-passenger cruise ship that first started sailing early this year. Yet the issue the Bombing plane Mafia was attempting to fix has both physics as well as moral angles. Anyone can read what you share. Gladwell describes the challenges that both faced. This is a case where the audiobook definitely defeats the print version. Por Vs. Para Mafia Game. A novelty of this book is that Gladwell says it began as an audiobook and then became a written one, reversing the usual process. 1. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War. The print has its merits of being able to take your time to know the history of the "bomber mafia." When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Those are exactly the same, but there's a lot more to the book. [8], Although flawed and tested only under optimal conditions, the doctrine (originally known as the "industrial web theory")[9] became the primary airpower strategy of the United States in the planning for World War II. Group of soldiers arguing that long-range bombers could win wars, Braxton, Leon E.; Wagner, Arthur H. (2012), Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, "Warden and the Air Corps Tactical School: What Goes Around Comes Around. This advancement of how warplanes were deployed is rather remarkable. Because of a review from one of the Goodread friends, I decided to take on the audiobook, instead of the print/e-book version. Emergency workers and local residents battled to clear debris and extinguish fires in the Ukrainian city of Uman after Two U.S. army helicopters collided and crashed Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers 89-year-old Max Hancock was an U.S. airman stationed outside of Oxford, England, in 1953. Maybe so. ASIN: B08V1N49ZN Edition language: English . ", "Warden and the Air Corps Tactical School", "Malcolm Gladwell's Fantasy of War From the Air", "Malcolm Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia is misleading history-lite", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bomber_Mafia&oldid=1093347884, 1960s disestablishments in the United States, Organizations disestablished in the 1960s, 20th-century history of the United States Air Force, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. As long as youre comfortable with the numbers of people who were killed during the air attacks described throughout the book. This ferocious approach may have helped end the war, but there is no question that it was horrible. [24] DeGroot said "the subject demands more depth than this volume provides", and stated Gladwell boiled down the bombing strategy's evolution to personality clashes between Hansell and LeMay while ignoring other major factors, such as how the morality and acceptance of bombing evolved. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Groups Privacy Policy A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Take those in the hazardous category such as the spikey pineapple or a horned melon. 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. I did know that the British bombed during the night while the Americans seemed to have the much more hazardous daytime raids over Germany. Failure to see this issue through proved one of the Air Corps Tactical School's major shortcomings.[18]. 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. When he is introducing characters and showing them in conflict, The Bomber Mafia is gripping. War stories are a brand-new category for those utilized to Macolm Gladwells distinct brand of nonfiction. 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. InThe Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, Malcolm Gladwell, author ofNew York Timesbestsellers includingTalking to Strangersand host of the podcastRevisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage and his trademark insight to weave 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. Malcolm Gladwell and "The Bomber Mafia". These four instructors, the core of US bomber advocacy, argued that an enemy's army and navy could be defeated intact due to the destruction of industrial and military targets deep within enemy-held territory. The pilot kept flying.. Do Not Steal My Personal Information. Regardless, it was estimated that there would have been 2 MILLION American casualties had there been an invasion. The Bomber Mafia A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War By: Malcolm Gladwell Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins 4.7 (8,338 ratings) Try for $0.00 Pick 1 title (2 titles for Prime members) from our collection of bestsellers and new releases. You can send this audiobook as a gift by visiting this page to select the audiobook and enter your lucky recipients information. (For the Japanese the atom bomb was just a more effective way to bomb them, some watching they were used to.) The Sound features songs, audio effects, spoken archival interviews, even one by Ronald Reagan and also Gladwells voice was best for the narrative. [23], Several reviewers criticized the book for its accuracy, and for being light on details. Malcolm Gladwell, "The Bomber Mafia" : CSPAN2 - Archive 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. During World War II, some of these pilots became major decision makers. Whats more, the sight itself was less accurate in real-world conditions than during testing. InRevisionist History, Gladwell re-examines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. Would this audiobook be appropriate for a teen with an interest in military history? But I dont think the ghost of LeMay can be put to rest so easily. He basically reported that he hired hackers to pull the criteria for university rankings. His interview with Fareed Zakaria was interesting, spanning everything from auto-pilot vehicles to U.S. university rankings to a critique of The Little Mermaid (which, thankfully, I have never seen). Just how wrong was I, however in a blink of an eye I had a book I could not take down. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War (Kindle Edition) Published April 27th 2021 by Little, Brown and Company Kindle Edition Author(s): Malcolm Gladwell. and Terms of Use, 2023 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | The nascent, emerging and the ambitious force that . Two new bomber groups were formed in the Pacific: LeMay headed one in India and Hansell led another in the Marianas. Suggestions, Fan Mail, Bones to Pick, and All Other Queries, For Speaking Engagements With Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm Gladwell's extraordinary new book, "The Bomber Mafia," tells the story of a group of pilots who met on a muggy airbase in central Alabama and hatched a plan to revolutionize warfare. [1], The term "Bomber Mafia" came from the sometimes bitter debates between United States Army staff and Air Corps men who observed, and argued with, the insistence by instructors and students of the ACTS that heavy bombers were the new primary weapon of war, and that a separate air arm was required to command them. Yes. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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 Listeners Guide features additional commentary from Malcolm Gladwell, reflections on the production from producers and engineers, and archival photos from the period. In spite of the horrifying damage inflicted by napalm bombs, many Japanese believed theyre what caused the government to surrender. Much of the book concerns the technical and practical aspects of the Norden bombsight, in a 'grown-ups arguing' sort of way. The Listeners Guide is only available from Pushkin Industries when you buy The Bomber Mafia. Kenney left ACTS in 1929, and heavy bomber doctrinarians filled the vacancy. LeMay has taken over from Hansell and used napalm, resulting in markedly more success but also much greater destruction and killing of civilians. As a work of history, it borders on reckless". 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. Rather than focus on industrial or military targets, the napalm bombs spewed all over cities, destroying housing and killing civilians in a most devastating way. Overall casualties in the war were not minimal, and victory did not come significantly more quickly. 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? Gladwell conceived this project as an audiobook and previously made much of it available as a podcast, so the production values for the audio version are impressive. Restricted in scope, short in play time, I located this believed prompting. 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. In The Bombing plane Mafia, he hones in on a specific period of history.
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