The Bomber Mafia

A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

De: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrado por: Malcolm Gladwell

In The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist 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. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines 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 Revisionist History, Gladwell reexamines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. In The Bomber Mafia, he employs all the production techniques that make Revisionist History so engaging, stepping back from the bombing of Tokyo, the deadliest night of the war, and asking, “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, Hansell’s theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather 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.

©2021 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2021 Malcolm Gladwell

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The Bomber Mafia is a parable written for the age of technological disruption.” (The Times, London)

"Gladwell is a wonderful storyteller. When he is introducing characters and showing them in conflict, The Bomber Mafia is gripping. I enjoyed this short book thoroughly, and would have been happy if it had been twice as long." (The New York Times)

“An innovative audio book with music, sound effects and archival clips. Gladwell’s easy conversational style works well, and his admiration for the Bomber Mafia shines through.” (The Washington Post)

Paradigms are broken

Been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell for a while, but taking his podcast approach to an audiobook is the first instance I have seen of using the full auditory capabilities of the podcast in an audiobook. E.g., music, audio files, interviews, newscasts of the day, etc. Takes the written word and gives it new dimensions. Moving and effective. By the way, great story too.

Gladwell Does It Again

If there’s somebody who’s better at writing and producing audio books than Malcolm Gladwell, I’d like to know who it is. This is a bit of a departure from his regular style but engrossing and compelling nonetheless.

Eye opening

I like to pretend that I know how the military works seeing as I was in it for 8 years. but it's books like this one that opens my eyes to the fact that I may know how aspects of the military works but I truly don't know how it got there. I've watched plenty of documentaries on this very subject and I find that this book was more informative than any one of them. there's just so many things that click together now. if you're a history buff or even somebody who likes a particular aspect of the military like bombers you will love this book.

the question

I love Malcolm Gladwell. passionate research, stories, voice, and of course a unique perspective. I was taken by the four episodes dedicated to Curtis Lemay in revisionist history and at my height of terror-realized, determined to listen to this book. it was captivating and increased my knowledge on the topic 100%, as in I had none and now I have some. the normally unique perspective wasn't so unique, though it feels it should've been. it may be that Malcolm Gladwell has been swayed enough by the sad yet nostalgic truth of these people making tough decisions to not really know how to dedicate more time to help answer the question of hard choices. I guess I wish for more time so that Malcolm's unique perspective can be more completely formed in order to help us see clearer the multi-sided monster of hard choices. also more time on the reaction to Lemay's work from the leaders of the country and military. it's still very simple to me. brutal atomic bomb and napalm murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the devastation of their cities and homes (more than 60 cities in Japan) is not a first option nor a last option. it's a non option. so it wasn't clear that Malcolm's intentions were with this book.

Interesting but conclusions are pushed too far

Not the first to describe how poorly planned and executed were the so-called "precision bombing" crusades by the US Army Air Force in Europe. More interesting are the colorful descriptions of the massively incompetent B-29 operations in Asia. If a commander moves from one giant mistake to another colossal miscalculation, is he better -- or just better at sacrificing innocents on both sides of the front? Were the likes of Bomber Harris and Curtis LeMay really humanitarians in disguise? I'm not convinced. But the book is well written and deserves careful thought.

What a terrific story from a key period of time

This is a wonderful story crafted from an enormous body of work. As a WWII aviation historian I am very impressed with the story Mr. Gladwell told about this key period of time.

Masterful

Very captivating and colorful. M. Gladwell is an awesome storyteller and a great descriptionist period.

Fascinating and Well Produced

Say what you will about Malcolm Gladwell, he does a wicked audiobook. I'm an avid listener to his podcast, but still wanted to see what he did with this audiobook, based on those episodes I'd already heard. He really does an incredible job making content especially for audio. It's innovative with format, which makes an already interesting story more engrossing. It's so much more than just someone READING a book.

He did it again!

Like all his novels I've read before; I must congratulate Mr. Gladwell on another masterpiece! Job well done.

This isn't a war story

I am a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell, reading/listening to all of his books to not only grow as an individual, but to contribute to my curriculum as a college level educator. This story is one that will change our perception of right and wrong and debates the question of morality versus efficacy. The interviews are well structured and presented in a way that brings the listener closer to the subjects - you really feel like you are there in a B-29 bomber, or in a lecture hall at the US Air Force Academy. I was initially hesitant to purchase this book because I'm not a huge fan of war stories full of valor and misplaced braveries, however, I listened anyway and the underlying theme of the book - perseverance toward doing the right thing, and not the thing that works 'right now' - will stay with me forever.