THE BOMBER MAFIA: A DREAM, A TEMPTATION, AND THE LONGEST NIGHT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

New York: Little Brown, 2021. 240 pp, 8 1/4" H. B&w photographs. "Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small group of idealistic strategists had a different view. This 'Bomber Mafia' asked: What if precision bombing could, just by taking out critical choke points - industrial and transportation hubs - cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? (In this book, Gladwell) steps back from the bombing of Tokyo on 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 tens of thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared more by averting a planned US invastion. Things might have gone differently had LeMay's predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Hansell believed in precision bombing, but his theories had been foiled by bad weather, enemy jet fighters, and human error. When he and LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. (This) is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war." Very minor wrinkle at the top of the spine. Dust jacket has a very minor wrinkle at the top of the spine.. Not Signed. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine.