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

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First edition.

"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." --

Available copies

  • 44 of 46 copies available at Westchester Library System.

Current holds

1 current hold with 46 total copies.

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Book 1 Large Print Book 1 English 1 Undetermined 1 All formats and editions 2
Location Call Number /
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Barcode Status /
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Ardsley Public Library 940.54 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31000151265801
Available
-
Bedford Free Library 940.544 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31002150814324
Available
-
Bedford Hills Free Library 940.544 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31003151575427
Checked out
05/08/2024
Briarcliff Manor Public Library 940.544 GLADWELL (Text)
Nonfiction
31036150949615
Available
-
Bronxville Public Library 940.544 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31004151768715
Available
-
Chappaqua Library 940.544 GLADWELL (Text)
Nonfiction
31005600100343
Available
-
Croton Free Library 940.5449 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31006151805868
Available
-
Dobbs Ferry Public Library 940.5449 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31007151425558
Available
-
Eastchester Public Library 940.544 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31008152548679
Available
-
Greenburgh Public Library 940.544 G (Text)
Nonfiction
31009154759041
Available
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050 4. ‡aD790 ‡b.G534 2021
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1001 . ‡aGladwell, Malcolm, ‡d1963- ‡eauthor.
24514. ‡aThe Bomber Mafia : ‡ba dream, a temptation, and the longest night of the second World War / ‡cMalcolm Gladwell.
250 . ‡aFirst edition.
264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bLittle, Brown and Company, ‡c2021.
264 4. ‡c©2021
300 . ‡axiv, 240 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : ‡billustrations ; ‡c21 cm
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
336 . ‡astill image ‡bsti ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 211-231) and index.
50500. ‡tIntroduction: "This isn't working. You're out." -- ‡tPart one: The dream. "Mr. Norden was content to pass his time in the shop." ; ‡t"We make progress unhindered by custom." ; ‡t"He was lacking in the bond of human sympathy." ; ‡t"The truest of the true believers." ; ‡t"General Hansell was aghast" -- ‡tPart two: The temptation. "It would be suicide, boys, suicide." ; ‡t"If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." ; ‡t"It's all ashes--all that and that and that." ; ‡t"Improvised destruction." -- ‡tConclusion: "All of a sudden the Air House would be gone. Poof."
520 . ‡a"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." -- ‡cProvided by publisher.
650 0. ‡aWorld War, 1939-1945 ‡xAerial operations.
650 0. ‡aWorld War, 1939-1945 ‡zJapan ‡xAerial operations.
650 0. ‡aBombing, Aerial ‡zJapan ‡xHistory ‡y20th century.
650 0. ‡aAeronautics, Military ‡xHistory.
650 0. ‡aPrecision bombing ‡xHistory.
650 7. ‡aMilitary operations, Aerial. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01710198
650 7. ‡aPrecision bombing. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01074967
650 7. ‡aAeronautics, Military. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst00798542
650 7. ‡aBombing, Aerial. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst00835808
650 7. ‡aMilitary operations, Aerial ‡xAmerican. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01710199
651 7. ‡aJapan. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01204082
647 7. ‡aWorld War ‡d(1939-1945) ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01180924
648 7. ‡a1900-1999 ‡2fast
655 7. ‡aHistory. ‡2fast ‡0(OCoLC)fst01411628
655 7. ‡aHistory. ‡2lcgft
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948 . ‡hNO HOLDINGS IN VVW - 988 OTHER HOLDINGS
901 . ‡a5180073 ‡bOCoLC ‡c5180073 ‡tbiblio

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