Bomber Mafia

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, 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 outcritical choke pointsindustrial or transportation hubscripple the enemyandmake 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. InTheBomber 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 brutalpragmatism 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, 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 Mafiais a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war. (From Little, Brown & Company)

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Interviews with Malcolm Gladwell

More with Anna Maria Tremonti1:04:03Malcolm Gladwell wont make up his mind

Malcolm Gladwell is known for turning assumptions on their head, and looking at situations from a different point of view. In this chat recorded before COVID-19, the journalist and podcaster speaks to Anna Maria Tremonti about the importance of changing our minds. The good news is hes hopeful about our ability to do so. In fact, Gladwell believes closed-minded dogmatists are the real outliers. Most people are actually open to new interpretations surprisingly so. In a season finale that goes down many rabbit holes, Gladwell reveals why hes rapidly losing interest in print; where he gets his best ideas; why overconfident people may be more dangerous than ignorant ones; and why people reacting with a huh is the ultimate compliment.

Other books by Malcolm Gladwell